Everything is ready for the ski mountaineering World Championships in Andorra
Press release
The Opening Ceremony will be held today afternoon in the Arinsal village, while on Tuesday morning there will be the first competition, the Sprint race
Lausanne/Mondovì, 1 March 2021 – The international ski mountaineering returns in Andorra, on the snows of Arinsal – Vallnord for the ISMF World Championships, Comapedrosa Andorra. The event will include 4 disciplines (Sprint, Relay, Vertical and Individual race) to be faced by all categories; therefore, U18, U20, U23 and Senior athletes will be on the track.
The curtain of the World Championships will be risen today afternoon, Monday 1 March 2021, when the World Championships will be declared open in Arinsal with the traditional official Opening Ceremony, even if in a reduced version due to Covid-19 reasons. As previously mentioned, the race programme will consist of four days of competitions, from Tuesday to Saturday with a rest day on Friday. On Tuesday 2 March 2021 (morning), the skimo athletes expert in the Sprint discipline will get on track, which will be set up above the Comallemple – Vallnord / Pal ski station, a few kilometres from Arinsal.
The race for the U18 and U20 categories will start at 9:30, while the finals are scheduled at 11:00. The Senior and the U23 categories, instead, will start with the qualifications at 11:30 in order to proceed with the finals afterwards.
On Wednesday 3 March 2021, on the other hand, it will be the turn of the Relay race, while on the following day of the Vertical race. On this occasion, the Senior competitors will have to face 720 metres of positive altitude difference, while the youngest competitors of 420 metres.
At the end of the week, on Saturday, after a rest day, the last race of these World Championships, the Individual race, will take place. The “queen competition” of the entire event will have a total height difference, for the Senior category, of 1900 metres divided in three ascents.
Thomas Kähr, the ISMF President, affirms: “Although the challenging and unpredictable times which we are living, I want to express my huge happiness with regards to be at the start gates of the most important event of the season: the World Championships in Andorra are starting today celebrating the official opening with a ceremony worthy of 18 nations participating. All this would not have been possible without the support and the long-standing experience of the Andorran Organising Committee in close collaboration with the Federació Andorrana de Muntanyisme, which we have to thank for their support and their effort in the organisation of the event. And now, let me congratulate and express good luck to the athletes and their teams, hoping that they can really enjoy these competition days.”
Carlo Ferrari, mountain guide and Race Director of the World Championships, says: “Here we are! Even if in a very particular period for the whole humanity, we have managed to organise these World Championships in Andorra, following all anti-Covid safety protocols. Despite the restrictions, we have maintained the quality and beauty levels of our tracks. The Sprint and Relay races will take place in the heart of the Arinsal station which, unfortunately, will be closed to alpine skiers this year. The Individual race will have the first ascent and last descent within the same area of the ski resort, while the other part of the route will actually enter the Comapedrosa Natural Park. It will be a real skimo race!”
Contact
Roberto Cavallo, General Manager, rcavallo@ismf-ski.org, +39 335 5745945
About the ISMF
Founded in 2007, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation ISMF is the global governing body for ski mountaineering competitions. Since 2016, the organization is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee IOC. Its main goals are the promotion, regulation and development of the ski mountaineering sport worldwide. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the ISMF’s membership consists of 38 national mountaineering or ski sports federations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The ISMF organizes ski mountaineering World Cups events and World Championships. For the first time, ski mountaineering has been a medal sport at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne Switzerland. The ISMF’s ambition is to become an Olympic sport by the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.
For more info www.ismf-ski.org
Follow us live on:
TW @ISMFSkimo
FB @ismf.ski
IG @ismf_world_cup
YT @ISMFSkimo
ISMF press office
Photo Gallery