Goodbye, Dresden!

Es ist vorbei.

The FIS World Cup just said goodbye to the great city of Dresden after five seasons.

It was a valiant and in many ways interesting try.

A brainchild of local television personalities, from the start it was set up to be a high quality visual product.

It was actively supported by local authorities – first and foremost by Saxony’s prime minister Michael Kretschmer – we remember how he used to come to expect the readiness of the snow tracks and thank the volunteers personally at the beginning.

It had a budget to envy, being supported through tourism promotion funds and by local businesses. It had a dedicated crew of people working to make it happen all year around ( most organising committees work part time)

Weltcup Dresden 2019

The first editions of the Weltcup Dresden featured thousands of cheering spectators ( remember, Saxony is a home to such famed winter sport centers as Oberwiesenthal, Altenberg and Klingenthal) and the VIP tent looked like latest edition in Who-is-who in local high society.

When fans waited for a long time to get selfies

None of that was present yesterday – and the reason is Covid-19, Saxony is particularly heavily hit by it.

The athletes themselves had mixed feelings about Dresden – as you would imagine among hundreds of women and men with distinctly different tastes. Some were unhappy with artificial snow, often raining conditions – others enjoyed fast tracks that demand the most honed technique and the muscular fitness possible (winners of Dresden always, always were among the best technical skiers in the world!)

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All, however, enjoyed walking proximity of the tracks to the swanky hotel housing World Cup skiers. More importantly,perhaps, all enjoyed staying in the middle of one of the cultural capitals of Europe – as opposed to usual remote villages where skiers tend to spend most of their life and career.

As a television product, city sprints are far surpassing traditional ski races – lesser costs, more action, better rhythm for advertising slots. And since television carries the bulk of the associated costs for competitions ( and athlete prizes) through rights’ purchases, it has to be listened to, old-school purists notwithstanding.

The FIS World Cup schedule for 2022/23 is full of gaping holes still ( compare that to the biathlon where the schedule is set & published at least four seasons ahead!)

We sincerely hope there will be more city sprints – Dresden had proven it could work, it should work. If only not for Corona…as to Dresden – many thanks and goodbye, hope to see you again at some point!

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