Arlberg-Kandahar

The Arlberg-Kandahar race (often abbreviated A-K or AK) is an annual alpine skiing event. The first edition of the race was held in 1928 in St. Anton, in the Arlberg district of Austria. The location originally alternated between St. Anton and Mürren, Switzerland. Later, it began to be held in other locations as well, such as Chamonix, France,Sestriere, Italy, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

The two organizers of the original 1928 race were the Ski Club Arlberg in Austria and the British Kandahar Ski Club, based in Mürren. The latter is named after the British military commander Frederick Roberts, Earl of Kandahar, the major benefactor of the club. (At the first downhill race organized by skiing pioneer Arnold Lunn, held at Crans-Montana in 1911, Roberts donated the trophy, the Roberts of Kandahar Challenge Cup.)

Lunn, founder of the Kandahar Ski Club, met Hannes Schneider of the Ski Club Arlberg in 1927. Together they organized the first slalom race in Arlberg, held at St. Anton. The event was successful, so on March 3 and 4 of the following year they held the first Arlberg-Kandahar races. The slalom and downhill events constituted the first alpine combined events in the history of alpine racing. 45 racers from Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States took part. Within two years, the popularity of the event brought a major success: in 1930, the International Ski Federation recognized alpine skiing events in addition to the traditional Nordic disciplines.

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