Nordic skiing : Oberstdorf/Planica duel
The German Ski Association is to apply to host the 2031 Nordic World Ski Championships, with Oberstdorf (Germany) as the official candidate. Initially, Germany wanted to nominate Saxony, Klingenthal and Oberwiesenthal, but for the 2033 World Championships. But the withdrawal of Austria and the sole presence of Planica (Slovenia) for 2031 prompted the German Ski Association to submit a bid.
Two years have changed a lot, however, and as Saxony did not feel ready to bid ahead of schedule, Heiko Krause, President of theSaxon Ski Association, has backedOberstdorf’ s bid alone for 2031.
“The fact that the German Association is bidding for the 2031 World Championships for understandable strategic reasons is a decision we respect and actively support,” he said in a statement. ” Our aim was to stage a top-class world championship in Saxony in 2033. After jointly evaluating the German bid options and carefully examining the infrastructure requirements, we have approved the German bid with Oberstdorf as the venue. However, our aim remains to stage the Nordic World Ski Championships in Saxony in the near future.
For his part, the President of the German Association, Jörg Flechtner, welcomed the gesture of the Saxon Ski Association and is ready to support future initiatives.
“We have great respect for Saxony’s decision. It is important to us that this decision does not change our shared long-term goal of strengthening the Klingenthal and Oberwiesenthal sites in all Nordic disciplines. “
So now it’s a duel between Oberstdorf (Germany) and Planica (Slovenia), the cities that hosted the 2021 and 2023 World Championships respectively. Confidence is high in the German camp.
“Oberstdorf has proved in recent years, sometimes under the most difficult conditions, that it can organise world-class events,” said Jörg Flechtner. ” The existing infrastructure, the experienced organising team and the enthusiasm of the region provide a solid basis for a convincing bid.”
The 2031 Nordic World Ski Championships are of great importance for Oberstdorf (Germany), which last had a special experience with a closed-door World Championships in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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