Category: Sports

The winter season starts and we’re pumped already about snow sports, and it doesn’t get better than the FIS Ski World Cup! The biggest highlight after the Winter Olympics, the Ski World Cup is an annual event, so really keeps the athletes on their tows. Once travel gets easier, you simply have to plan in some time to visit any of the fabulous winter destinations, where the tournament is staged.

Feel the vibe, the competitive smell in the air, maybe you’ve got a favourite athlete you want to follow and put your marker down on the map to follows the competition. The Ski Jumping event over New Year are a huge tradition for snow rich countries like Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which allows you to hop across the borders to support the event of your choice quite easily. Let’s be serious for a moment: the hype is real! Anyone, who has ever watched a downhill race can only be in awe of these incredible sportsmen and women, who train throughout the year with passion, wanting to win and make their country proud.

Pick up a typical cow bell on the way, not just as a visiting moment, but that’s what locals use to express their excitement and their pride for success at breakneck speed. The biathlons are fascinating to watch as well, as you’re not only supposed to be acing it in the cross-country skiing discipline, but you need to be a good shot as well. Amazing to watch this competition…we could go on and on – best is for you to go online and sort your tickets for the next event and then prepare to experience crazy (fis-ski.com)

The Audi FIS Ski World Cup

Bringing you the latest news in the skiing world! The current season of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup is drawing to a close, with overall winners to be awarded at the finale in Lenzerheide in Switzerland at the end of this month! With this in mind, let us take a closer look at how this huge annual event came to be, and the many events it consists of.

History of FIS Ski World Cup

Starting with its first ski world cup event in 1967, the FIS has decades worth of captivating history to look back on. The first was held in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, on January 5th. Seeing Jean-Claude Killy and Nancy Greene walking away with Crystal Globes. Leading the way for many more alpine ski champions to follow in their footsteps as overall winners. Birthed from the minds of a group of ski racing friends and some experts in the industry, with the backing of the International Ski Federation, it was decided in early 1967 this would be an official FIS event.

The FIS have since held this event annually, seeing up to a total of 80 races. The event is enthralling and ever so popular viewing for the avid skiers and ski enthusiasts amongst us. Sponsored by Audi, the world cup gathers global attention, but particularly gains great interest from host countries such as Germany, Italy, France, Canada, and Austria. Think epic ski races, your favourite ski resorts, and lots of excitement. These events are not to be missed.

Disciplines Included in the World Cup

The competition consists of five disciplines: Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G, Downhill, and Combined (a combination of the downhill and slalom).

Slalom

Slalom skiing is a race style between flags and poles, slalom requires the competitor to make rapid and sharp twists and turns. Making this a super thrilling event to spectate!

Giant Slalom

The giant slalom and the slalom are very similar in the style and course. What keeps them apart is how spaced out the poles and flags are from each other. When competing in the giant slalom competitors will race through poles set out at a great distance and typically use skis that are longer than slalom skis.

Super G

Super G certainly lives up to its epic name. Considered a speed event in its nature, this is a fast-paced race to achieve the quickest time through widely set gates, with participants only getting one chance to achieve their best time. Making for intense competition.

Downhill

Unlike the previously mentioned disciplines, downhill is focused on gaining high speeds. Competitors will reach speeds of up to 81mph, according to the FIS) – so this is certainly not for the faint hearted. The speeds and the courses allow for extraordinary races, combining excitement, thrills, risks, and plenty of courage!

Combined

Combined skiing is where competitors take part in both slalom and downhill races to amass a total aggregate score. Races take part over several days and allow for participants to demonstrate their skills on the slopes in both disciplines.

Hosts as Top Holiday Destinations

Cortina d’Ampezzo –

Making up part of the Dolomites, this beautiful ski resort is popular amongst Italians and visiting European skiers alike. Having been a top host of the FIS ski world cup numerous times, it is no surprise the ski resort and town itself see an influx of globetrotters, holiday makers and ski enthusiasts each year. Two hours north of Venice, the town of Cortina is surrounded by the breath-taking scenery the Dolomites have to offer.

It’s an excellent spot for first timers looking to don a pair of skis and hit the slopes! Cortina can also keep those of you entertained with other means, such as tempting designer stores (our fave) and unique Italian cafes, bars, and bistros. Perfect for your morning espresso or afternoon slice of pizza.

And what’s good for James Bond, surely is good enough for us! Not for nothing did they film the James Bond movie ‘For Your Eyes Only’ there – the scenery and lifestyle in Cortina is top class.

Val-d’Isère –

We cannot chat about skiing and miss out on mentioning Val- d’Isère, one of the world’s most famous skiing holiday destinations. The original winner of the world cup title, Jean-Claude Killy, grew up here, so we know this is one of the best ski resorts in the world. Not just for skiing but for everything else you would expect. Offering you Après ski, nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, you can certainly indulge yourself at Val-d’Isère – absolutely fabulous!

Wengen –

With picturesque log cabins and sweeping mountain views, Wengen is the quintessential Swiss winter holiday destination. This resort is particularly popular with families, offering child friendly outdoor activities. These include easy mountain hikes with some amazing views of glaciers, mountain peaks, and vast alpine greenery. Taking the Wengeralp railway up the mountain you can reach this peaceful village and stroll along the sleepy streets at your leisure. Pure bliss for you and your family.

It’s a great feat and has taken years nd the hard work of many dedicated people, passionate about making the dream a reality: the prestigious Solheim Cup, which is the biggest event in women’s sport, when it’s Europe vs USA on the golf course, will finally come to Spain! It’s a massive achievement for the country, for Andalusia and the Costa del Sol, but also for professional women golfers on the tour. To be staged at the luxury hotel Finca Cortesín, with a fabulous golf course to match, this time it’ll be the Ladies Tour making its way to the Southern Spain.
In 1997, it was the Ryder Cup, held at Real Club Valderrama in Sotogrande, when the golfing world descended on to the Costa for an epic tournament that is still remembered for it’s awesome win over the United States, but, of course, also for the legendary captaincy of Severiano Ballesteros. Now is the chance for the ladies to get even, taking the female version of this prestigious tournament to Finca Cortesín, located in Casares, half an hour south of Marbella.
The press conference, staged by the Marbellan town hall, to present the great news to local and national media properly, took place on the helipad in Puerto Banus, where luxury yachts line up one after another and designer shops nestle neck at neck along the frontline of the port. With safety distance in mind, the cup and tournament was presented by local officials of the town hall and the water board, to name but a few, but also those of the Spanish Golf Federation, who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes. All of them passionate about golf (which isn’t difficult with over 70 courses on the Costa del Sol), but also keen to push women’s sport into the limelight, with many Spanish professional golfers on the tour, eager to see this greatest of tournaments played ‘at home’.

Costa de Sol Announced as the Host for the Solheim Cup 2023!

The LET (Ladies European Tour) has recently announced that Spain will host the prestigious Solheim Cup in 2023, with the world-famous course of Finca Cortesín on the Costa del Sol playing host to the event. Although Spain has been home to plenty of high-profile events in the world of sports before, with a rich history of supporting both men’s and women’s tournaments at elite levels of the game, this will be the first time that is plays host to the Solheim Cup.

Spain will follow in the footsteps of countries such as Scotland and America, with the former hosting the ladies’ tournament in 2019 and the latter set to be the location for the 2021 event. As the newly announced hosts of the 2023 Solheim Cup, Spain will become the sixth European nation to stage this world-famous sporting event.

Popularity of Women’s Sport

The continued growth of the Ladies European Tour should come as no surprises as women’s sport in general has been steadily growing in popularity in recent years, gaining widespread recognition across all of the most popular areas. Take women’s football for example, the 2018 Women’s World Cup broke records in 2019 when its viewership surpassed 1.12bn. Tennis too has received plenty of recognition in no small part thanks to the work on the Williams sisters with the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open drawing 2.07m viewers. Beach ball, freestyle skiing (fronted by the awesome racer Fanny Smith) and kite surfing/kite-foiling (with Gisela Pulido as a great ambassador) have also seen a surge in popularity when it comes to women’s sport as has, of course, golf.

Golf on the Costa del Sol

Located on the southern coastline of Spain, the scenic Costa del Sol covers nearly 160 kilometres of breath-taking landscape and aside from being a popular holiday destination, it is considered of the top golfing destinations in Europe with over 70 courses on the Costa for both casual players and golfing pros to enjoy. Amongst these courses, the Costa can lay claim to a World Matchplay course, a Ryder Cup course, and several courses which host the Spanish Open.

The best of these world-class courses, alongside the 2023 Solheim Cup location Finca Cortesin, includes Real Club Valderrama, La Reserva, Real Sotogrande, El Chaparral, and the Aloha Golf Club, amongst many others. All of these golf hotspots stand against the backdrop of some of Spain’s most popular lifestyle destination like Marbella, Malaga which attract glamourous sun seekers and gold enthusiasts each year.