The 47th Alpine Ski World Championships takes place this year from Feb. 6 to Feb. 19. The cherished event will be held in two consecutive locations in the French Alps. Male skiers compete in Courchevel, a ski resort located in France. Female competitors will be competing in Maribel, another popular ski resort in France. Despite the cancellation of many Alpine events in the last year due to climate change and lack of snow in the Alps, the ski season continues to move forward, giving prominent skiers from across the globe a chance to showcase their hard work. 

“I have never watched the Alpine Skiing world championships, nor have I tried skiing, but from what I’ve seen it looks fun and is definitely something I would like to try,” Arcadia High school freshman Kisanet Zerai shared her experience with skiing. 

For those of you who don’t know a lot about skiing, there is an explicit distinction between Alpine skiing and other forms of skiing. Alpine skiing, which developed in central Europe during the late 19th and early 20th century, requires athletes with fixed heel bindings, to ski downhill. As the latter name implies, athletes are expected to ski down the mountain and are judged solely on their time, for which they are awarded points. The International Ski Federation (ISF) is the establishment responsible for organizing the Alpine Ski World Cup and all other Alpine-related competitions.   

The leading women’s competitor for this year is two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, who is the most decorated female Alpine skier in the world. Born and raised in Vail, Colorado, Schiffrin showed an early  passion for skiing and later went on to attend Burke Mountain Academy– a private coeducational school that offers world class Alpine training. The 27 year old recently won her 84th World Cup race title, cutting close to the men’s world record of 86 wins. Great things are expected from Schiffrin in this month’s competition. 

Swiss Alpine skier Marco Odermat will be one of the leading figures in the male competition. Similar to Shiffrin, Odermat showed an early interest for skiing and by the age of 10, he was recruited by the Nidwalden Ski Association (NSV) where he was taught by NVS trainer Russo Lussi. As his devotion to skiing grew, so did his trophy cabinet. Besides winning 5 gold medals in his last junior competition, Odermat was awarded the Giant Slalom gold medal in Beijing, China, in 2022. 

On Feb. 6 the Women’s combined event took place, with Frederica Brigone (Italy) in 1st, Wendy Holdener (Switzerland) in 2nd, and Ricarda Hasser (Austria) in 3rd. Moving forward, the Men’s combined took place the following day, Feb. 7, Alexis Pinturalt (France) taking the lead, Marco Shwartz (Austria) in 2nd and Rafael Haaser (Austria) in 3rd.  The first Super G (speed event) event took place on Feb. 8 with four women champions on the pedestal, Marto Bassino (Italy), Mikaela Schiffrin, Cornelia Hutter (Australia) and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (Norway). Nine  more events are expected to take place this month and each can be watched digitally from www.skiandsnowboard.live or NBC-Peacock.  

“I really enjoy watching the Winter Olympics with my family. Especially Alpine skiing. I don’t really watch skiing competitions, but I might try to watch the World championships this year,” Arcadia High School sophomore Jocelyn Lee explained. 

The Alpine Ski world championships is a widely anticipated event, with thousands of views world wide. As this event continues, new records are set and athletes from across the world are given the opportunity to shine. 

Photo Courtesy of WIKIMEDIA COMMONS