News Release
Alaska Athletes Compete in U.S. Alpine Championships FIS Downhill Race:
FIS Points System Identifies Very Competitive and Olympic Caliber Racers
Girdwood, Alaska – March 28, 2007 – Four Alaskans are competing against several big name skiers in the U.S. Alpine Championships FIS (International Federation of Skiers) Downhill race tomorrow. Local ski athletes John Love, Rory Casey and Dan McKay are slated to compete in the FIS Men’s Downhill race tomorrow, March 29, 2007, at 11:30 a.m. at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. A Canadian woman and student at University of Alaska Anchorage, Allison Empey, is one of the course setter forerunners. The FIS Women’s Downhill starts at 1:30 p.m.
John Love races for the Alyeska Ski Club (ASC) in Girdwood, Alaska. He began ski racing at Hillberg on Elmendorf AFB when he was five years old. Love continued with the Alyeska Mighty Mites and the Alyeska Ski Club. In 1998, Love began race training full time. At the age of 15, he began racing at events across the country. Currently, the 19-year old is concentrating on downhill, his best event in alpine racing. Love is the third-ranked junior downhill skier in the nation.
Rory Casey of Anchorage, an Alyeska Ski Club race team member, works for a fencing company to pay for his ski racing habit. The 20-year-old hopes to get a college scholarship next year. However, he’s considering racing one more season for the Alyeska Ski Club.
Kyle Kung of Girdwood is an alumnus of the Alyeska Ski Club. The 21-year old is the number one skier for the University of Utah. Kung works at the summer camps for the Alyeska Ski Club.
The Men’s and Women’s FIS downhill races are FIS points-sanctioned alpine events. Upon entry to FIS, racers are assigned 999 beginning points. As racing activity progresses, each racer earns points that are subtracted from the beginning points. Racers with 200 to 100 points are considered very competitive. Racers with 100 points and below are considered Olympic competitor quality.
FIS Points FIS points are used as the seeding system and are calculated from each international FIS race. The calculation system is based on a number of factors, including the standard of the race based on the FIS points, ranking of the participants who start and finish the race, the race running time, the different race categories and penalty provisions.
FIS Background The International Ski Federation – Federation Internationale, Internationaler Ski Verband – is abbreviated in all languages as FIS. The organization was founded in February 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France, with 14 member nations. Today 107 national ski associations comprise the FIS membership.
Competition The alpine competitions that are contested in the FIS World Cup Series, FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and at the Olympic Winter Games consist of ten events: five for women and five for men. Additional formats, such as the Parallel Slalom and Slalom and Giant Slalom are variations of the alpine events. The rules are the same for men and women, but the courses differ. In all cases, time is measured to .01 seconds and ties are permitted.
The FIS Alpine events are:
Downhill
The downhill features the longest course and the highest speeds in alpine skiing. It includes steep pitches, challenging turns, jumps and gliding phases. Each skier makes a single run down a single course and the fastest time determines the winner.
Super G
Super G stands for super giant slalom, an event that combines the speed of downhill with the more precise turns of giant slalom. The course is shorter than downhill but longer than a giant slalom course, and also includes high-speed turns, jumps and gliding phases. Each skier makes one run down a single course and the fastest time determines the winner.
Giant slalom
Also known as the GS, this event is similar to the slalom, with fewer turns and wider, smoother turns. Each skier makes the two runs down two different courses on the same slope. Both runs take place on the same day, usually with the first run held in the morning and the second run in the afternoon. The times are added and the fastest total time determines the winner.
Slalom
The slalom features the shortest course and the quickest turns. As in the giant slalom, each skier makes two runs down two different courses on the same slope. Both runs take place on the same day. The times are added and the fastest total time determines the winner.
Combined
The combined event consists of one downhill and two slalom runs. The times are added together and the fastest total time determines the winner. The combined downhill and the combined slalom are contested independently of the regular downhill and slalom events, and the combined courses are shorter than the regular versions. Usually the entire combined event is held on a single day at the same venue.
This is the second time the Anchorage area has hosted the US Alpine Championships in the past three years. The area's community spirit and spring snow conditions helped bring the race back to the area. Extensive financial support for the races comes from Nature Valley, United Airlines, DWS Scudder, the US Ski Team, Alaska Communications System and the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau. Chevrolet of South Anchorage, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Reliable Racing, Lynden Transport, Alyeska Ski and Snowboard Club, Providence Imaging Center, and the Alyeska Resort are offering support that's critical to the event's success, while Coast Magazine and Sobe are providing social function support. For more information and the latest updates, explore www.skianchorage.net.
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Media Contacts:
Jason Lott
Chief of Press for 2007 U.S. Alpine Championships at Alyeska Resort
Direct: (907) 754-2211
Cell: (907) 223-1823 cell
email: jlott@alyeskaresort.com
Jeanette Anderson Moores
Media Room Director for 2007 U.S. Alpine Championships at Alyeska Resort
Direct: (907) 754-2153
Cell: (907) 229-6925
email: mooreswj@gci.net
Juliann Fritz
Public Relations Director for U.S.S.A
Main: (435) 647-2061
Cell: (435) 640-8379
email:jfritz@ussa.org
