The FISI has withdrawn Cortina’s bid for the 2017 Alpine World Ski Championships. The news that hit the ski world this morning came like a bolt from the blue. After so much work, Cortina d’Ampezzo is withdrawing its bid for the 2017 World Championships, effectively handing victory to St. Moritz.
Today at 6:00 p.m. (Korean time, 11:00 a.m. in Italy) FISI President Flavio Roda delivered the following letter to FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. Following the FISI’s decision, all members of the Promoting Committee commented on the matter (their statements are at the bottom of the document).
Dear President Kasper, Members of the FIS Council,
with this letter I inform you and the entire FIS Council that the FISI is withdrawing Cortina’s bid for the 2017 Alpine World Ski Championships. I would be grateful if you would read this letter to all Council members before the vote.
What led me to this decision is the awareness that this time it is not Cortina’s moment, and that in difficult situations such as this one, strong and courageous choices are needed, even if they are not easy to make. In line with what the FIS itself has granted in past years to the countries that are candidates today, I believe it is our duty to take a step back out of respect for the rotation among nations.
My decision is the result of a long and painful process of reflection. It is not an easy one, because the group that carried this bid forward, which I joined only recently, did an excellent job in preparing the dossier, in all the events surrounding the bid and in last Tuesday’s presentation. My first thoughts go to all of them.
Precisely for this reason, however, we are determined to carry on immediately and to bid for the 2019 World Championships with even more energy, showing that in 2014 in Barcelona Cortina will be able to present the new renovation works in the resort, which will serve the World Championships but will not be an end in themselves.
Cortina’s efforts to stage a good World Cup race even in difficult snow conditions, or to keep its slopes open until May 1 in defiance of the unusual heat, were of little avail.
Now all efforts will be focused on the 2019 bid, even though this decision will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many skiers and the many Italians who had hoped for the 2017 World Championships.
According to some, the biggest obstacle Cortina has to overcome is infrastructure. Cortina currently needs an overhaul of its roads and accommodation facilities, as well as new sports facilities capable of properly meeting the needs of such an important event. All that remains is to wait, hoping that in 2019 the World Ski Championships can return to Italy.
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