Experience Transfer with Val d’Isère 2009

It has been seven weeks since the memorable FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 concluded in Val d’Isère (FRA).

At the end of last week, key representatives of the Val d’Isère 2009 team and the host broadcaster TVRS (France Television) travelled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), the host of the 2011 event, to share their experiences and lessons learned with the local team of the next hosts, the German Ski Association (DSV), representatives of the FIS, its TV and marketing partner EBU and the organizing committee of the 2013 championships in Schladming (AUT). This so-called Debrief is part of the FIS Knowledge Transfer project designed to make sure that the lessons learned, both good and bad, can be implemented and to ensure a continuous development in event organization.

Learning Process

A large group of members of the GAP 2011 organizing team and the 2011 host broadcaster ARD-ZDF listened intently as Val d’Isère 2009 shared many important facts, figures and some suggestions from the experience that began with the election of the French resort in 2004 in Miami. For GAP 2011, the past season, acclaimed by mayor Thomas Schmidt as the best year ever for tourism in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, was already an important test season with the so-called “Big Event” consisting of mens and ladies FIS World Cup races the weekend immediately before the 2009 Worlds followed by the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in early March. The ultimate series of test events will continue in 2010 when the team in GAP will stage the FIS Alpine World Cup Finals.

Important Experience

Peter Fischer, co-managing director of the GAP 2011 organizing committee commented: “The experiences from Val d’Isère are enormously important for us even if we will have to adjust to our local circumstances. Having attended Val d’Isère as part of the Study Group we are in a good position to integrate this information into our own planning.”

Walter Vogel, co-managing director, added: “We greatly appreciated the openness of the 2009 organizers to share their lessons learned with us. For us it was also important to experience first hand the multi-faceted nature and dimensions of such a big event and to realize the importance of items to new visitors such as signage, spectator flows, ceremonies and many others.”

Coordination Group

The second day focused on reviewing the progress the GAP 2011 team and host broadcaster German television ARD-ZDF has made since the autumn. As the accommodation concept has already been defined down to great detail, focus has shifted to developing detailed plans in the other areas of the organization such as temporary infrastructure, TV production and transport. One area of focus that will be studied in the coming weeks with the organizing committee, host broadcaster ARD-ZDF and EBU on behalf of the television broadcasters is the race schedule which will be reviewed by the FIS Council at its next meeting in June.

Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General summarized: “The Debrief from Val d'Isère provided a real stimulus to the GAP 2011 project and served as a reminder that the opening ceremony is only 21 months away. There is a real drive in the organizing committee to advance to the next level of preparations, with much gained from the past season's packed program of events.”