Alpine Ski World Cup | |
---|---|
Genre | Alpine skiing |
Location(s) |
Europe Canada United States Japan (rarely) Russia (rarely) Australia (rarely) Argentina (rarely) South Korea (rarely) New Zealand (rarely) |
Inaugurated | 5 January 1967 7 January 1967 (ladies) |
(men)
Founder |
Serge Lang Honore Bonnet Bob Beattie |
Organised by | International Ski Federation |
People |
Markus Waldner (men) Atle Skårdal (ladies) |
Sponsor | Audi Quattro |
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France (Honore Bonnet) and the USA (Bob Beattie). It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon. The first World Cup ski race was held in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, on January 5, 1967. Jean-Claude Killy of France and Nancy Greene of Canada were the overall winners for the first two seasons.
Competitors attempt to achieve the best time in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, super G, and downhill. The fifth event, the combined, employs the downhill and slalom. The World Cup originally included only slalom, giant slalom, and downhill races. Combined events (calculated using results from selected downhill and slalom races) were included starting with the 1974/75 season, while the Super G was added for the 1982/83 season. The current scoring system was implemented in the 1991/92 season. For every race points are awarded to the top 30 finishers: 100 points to the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The racer with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe. Sub-prizes are also awarded in each individual race discipline, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe. (See the section on scoring system below for more information.)