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North American Audi FIS World Cup Alpine Events Cancelled For 2020/2021 Season


"After discussions among FIS, the National Ski Associations, and the Local Organising Committees in Canada and the USA together with their stakeholders, all parties have together decided that the Alpine World Cup tours will not travel to North America in late November for their traditional two-weeks of competitions." - International Ski Federation

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020/2021 Audi FIS Alpine World Cup will not be making stops in the United States or Canada this season, much to the disappointment of officials, organizers, and fans of these races.

“The North American races are always a very special two weeks for the entire FIS World Cup tour and we are very disappointed that we could not find a way to have them on this year’s calendar,” said FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis. “But if there is a silver lining, it is seeing how all of our stakeholders involved with the FIS World Cup are working together. The willingness of several National Ski Associations, Organisers, and resorts to step up, alter their schedules and plans, shows that we truly are a united ski family working toward the common goal of carrying out a full and successful season. The engagement and commitment shown by the North American Organisers and National Associations in the past months are continuing with both USA and Canada already focusing on preparations for their key roles with FIS Freestyle, Freeski and Snowboard events that take place later in the season."

Both the men's and women's tours are affected by the cancellation of the North American stops for the World Cup. For the men, speed weekend at Lake Louise (CAN) on November 25th-29th and the speed & technical events at Vail/Beaver Creek (USA) on December 1st-6th are the canceled events. For the women, their speed week in Lake Louise (CAN) on December 1st-6th and the incredibly popular Homelight Killington Cup on November 28th-29th, featuring slalom and giant slalom events, at Killington (USA) are canceled.

“We take a lot of pride in hosting the FIS Ski World Cup at Killington and we’re disappointed that we won’t be able to host it this year. It’s a world-class event that brings the entire Killington community together every fall to celebrate the world’s fastest female ski racers,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort. “It’s unfortunate that we can’t bring thousands of fans together for another World Cup race this season, but we fully support the FIS’ decision and know it’s best for the health and well-being of our community, guests, and employees given the current health crisis. We will continue to focus on the upcoming 2020-2021 winter season and welcoming back fans of ski racing in 2021 for the fifth Killington Cup.”

The fifth Killington Cup next season will also be part of the Olympic qualification season for the 2022 Winter Games.

“As much as we regret not being able to host the HomeLight Killington Cup this year, we have to be smart, keep everyone safe, and focus efforts on keeping Killington operating in these challenging times,” says Herwig Demschar, chair of the local organizing committee in Killington. “I am confident that the dedication of our volunteers, the support of our community and the passion of our fans will not be diminished by our hiatus, and we look forward to getting together again next year to celebrate the women who will continue to train and compete to be the best in the world.”

The decision was made as early as possible, with input from all parties, to aid in developing the adjusted calendars before the FIS Technical Committee Meetings in late September. The adjusted calendars will involve the rescheduling of the canceled events at existing European locations later in the season. 

"These preliminarily include events in December, with Val d’Isere (FRA) taking on an additional weekend for the men. The planned giant slalom races will be moved up one weekend to 5th-6th December making room for an added downhill and super-G on 12th-13th December to replace one of the North American weekends. The women’s tour will add a downhill to its traditional weekend in St. Moritz (SUI) on 5th-6th December. The Swiss resort has picked up a downhill as part of its race weekend to compensate for the Lake Louise race. Additionally, Courchevel (FRA) will host a two-race technical weekend in December." - International Ski Federation

The revised calendars with all of the needed adaptations and adjustments will be approved following the FIS Technical Meetings from Sept. 30th to October 2nd for ratification by the FIS Council on October 3rd. The confirmed changes will be made public at that time.

While these events have been canceled for this season, the FIS, National Sports Associations, organizers, and all others involved are looking forward to bringing Alpine World Cup action back to the United States and Canada for the 2021/2022 season.




Photo: Slovak slalom specialist & slalom discipline champion for 2019/2020 Petra Vlhova crossing the finish link at the Homelight Killington Cup GS race in 2019. - Credit: Tim Meyer for Ski Rex Media
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