After the last snow has melted away and the last rebuilding measures have started at Gudiberg, it is time to look ahead at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (7 to 20 February 2011).
Chairlift, floodlights, water & electricity cables, finish area hut
The modifications apply to different areas. The old poma on Gudiberg is already dismantled, and instead a two-chair lift running alongside the old track will be installed. The bottom station will be built above the club house of the SC Partenkirchen, whilst the top station remains where it is.
The power lines above the Gudiberg do not exist anymore. They are being placed underground because of the chair-lift. "There have always been problems with the grooming," says Heinz Mohr, head of the race organization of the World Cup organizing committee (OK GAP2011), "when the safety ropes of the snowcats, which are being supplied by voltage, shot up and touched the power supply lines." This security issue has now been resolved.
"The placement of new electricity and water supply lines also provides for improvements to snowmaking," says Heinz Mohr. Now artificial snowmaking allows to cover the Gudiberg with snow from both sides of the pistes.
In addition, the floodlights for practice are designed as such that they can easily be upgraded temporarily for night races.
Old finish area
The OK GAP2011 decided to relocate the finish area to outside of the OIympia-ski stadium. "Unlike it was done for the last two World Cups, the tribune will be at the foot of the Gudiberg as in 2007 for the World Championships," said Mohr.
Since the slalom races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen are among the longer ones in the World Cup circuit, the reduced length of the run will not create a problem. "This finish design promises even more charm and atmosphere for the audience on-site."
The total budget for the remaining building activities on Gudiberg amounts to four million euros; € 3.2 million are coming from grants. This also includes the construction of a factory building to be built underneath the referee tower of the jumping hill. The building houses a garage for the snow cat, office space and storage and work surfaces.
Departmental head is content
Since 2008, there has been reconstruction taking place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen relative to the Alpine Ski World Cup 2011. All these projects are scheduled to be completed in the coming months.
"The expansion and conversion of Gudiberg and Kandahar, including the Horn downhill, Trögl slope tunnel and Kandahar-Express, all greatly improved the ski infrastructure for performance and mass sport in Garmisch-Partenkirchen," says Heinz Mohr. Without the support of competitive sports this would have been unthinkable.
Tourism, in particular, will benefit from the accomplished enhancements in the next few years. The level of acceptance of the improved training facilities could already be seen last winter, from December 2009 to April 2010, when practice sessions were held almost daily at the Kandahar or at Gudiberg. "Sometimes it was the student-teams, then Maria Riesch, Felix Neureuther, or the World Cup teams from Austria and Switzerland," says Mohr. "This is how it shall also be in the future".
Anniversary: 50th German ten-euro silver commemorative coin
On 28 April, the German Federal Cabinet decided positively: starting 25 November 2010, the official ten-euro commemorative coin "Alpine Ski Championships 2011" will be issued by the German National Bank.
Such commemorative coins exist in Germany since 2002. In 2010, a total of six units will appear on the market. The "World Cup Silberling" is the 50th commemorative coin in this series. On the image side, it shows the silhouette of a slalom skier before the Alpspitze. In the lower part the sanctuaries of St. Anton and St. Martin are shown representative of the districts of Garmisch and Partenkirchen.
The silver coin weighs 18 grams, has a diameter of 32.5 and a thickness of 2.62 millimeters. Inscribed on the edge of the coin is the motto of the Alpine Ski World Cup 2011 - "Festival in the Snow". The coin was designed by the Berlin artist Bodo Broschat.
For a sports event in Germany for the 5th time
After the Summer Olympics in Munich (1972), the World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin (1973), the World Cup (2006) and the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin (2009), the Alpine Ski World Championships commemorative coin is the fifth one designed for sporting events in Germany. 2011 another one will appear for the ladies World Cup.
