Team combination in skiing: The first premiere inspires fans and athletes!

Team combination in skiing: The first premiere inspires fans and athletes!

At the premiere of the new team combination in the alpine ski, which took place today, the tension was great. Fans and athletes were skeptical whether this innovative format could convince. But the enthusiasm was obvious! In both women and men, there was a gripping race that offered the thrill until the last second, such as Laola1 . The slalom drivers in particular had to prove their entire skills on demanding slopes. This new format, which brings together the best descendants and the best slalom runners, turned out to be much more appealing than the traditional combinations in which the technicians were often overwhelmed.

Despite the lack of the best skier Marco Odermatt, the organizers were able to count on an almost complete star contingent of the international elite. This shows that the athletes support the idea of the team combination. The competition in the duo brings a fresh spirit to sport and underlines the sense of community, which is often lost in a normally individualistic competition. The number of spectators, with 9,800 among women and 12,900 among men, also show good interest, although they can still be expanded due to the weekly date.

criticism of the World Cup integration

While the premiere of the team combination met with a positive response, there were concerns at the World Cup level. Slalom vice world champion Alexander John "AJ" Ginnis had a veto against the participation of athletes from smaller nations, which was supported by around 130 top athletes. The critics, as well as Ginnis, expressed that the new discipline was unfair and the awarding of points for individual nations was problematic, such as br24 reported.

The core problem lies in the awarding of points, which would have been incorporated into the individual evaluation of the disciplines. This would have disadvantaged athletes from smaller ski nations such as Greece or Great Britain because they could not provide a combination of speed and slalom drivers. However, the makers of the FIS seem to be convinced of the attractiveness of this format and see a future place for the team combination at big events such as World Championships and Olympic Games. However, the question is how the opinions of the athletes will develop in the future.