Lake Louise removed from 2023-24 World Cup calendar

On July 14, Alpine Canada announced that FIS had removed the two Lake Louise men’s World Cup races from the 2023-24 schedule. The Canadian resort has been a favorite race venue for many athletes and staff on the World Cup tour for over 40 years. However, Canadian fans can still look forward to experiencing the thrill of World Cup ski racing in their own country.

Men’s downhill and super-G races were scheduled in Lake Louise for November 25-26. However, when FIS announced the upcoming season’s World Cup race schedule this May, the Lake Louise races included the “TBC” (to be confirmed) notification. Financial difficulties have now led to the removal of the planned three days of downhill training and two days of racing.

Alpine Canada shares disappointment

“Unfortunately, the economic model for the Lake Louise World Cup has been challenging the past few years,” said Therese Brisson, President & CEO for Alpine Canada, according to an Alpine Canada statement on July 14. “We’ve been working with various stakeholders since last season to try to find solutions, and despite some progress, we have run out of time to confirm the funding early enough to execute the event for the upcoming 2023-24 season.”

“We share in the disappointment of the race stakeholders, our fans, and specifically our athletes, sponsors, and volunteers. We want to thank all our sport and funding partners, including the governments of Alberta and Canada, as well as the incredible volunteers who have supported this event for so many years,” added Brisson, according to the Alpine Canada statement. “We remain committed to a men’s speed event in Western Canada and will turn our attention to identifying solutions for the 2024-25 season and beyond.” 

FIS: “No replacement planned.”

On July 17, FIS confirmed the removal of the planned Lake Louise races due to “logistical challenges.”

“There is currently no replacement planned,” FIS states.

Last year, it was believed that Lake Louise would be out of the World Cup calendar after the 2022-23 season, as covered by media outlets in many countries, including Ski Racing Media: Lake Louise hosts its last World Cups.

Even then, there were financial difficulties and issues regarding closing off the ski area for the event, according to various international media. The Lake Louise Ski Area is located in Canada’s Banff National Park in Alberta.

Still, the two men’s Lake Louise World Cup races reappeared when FIS announced the 2023-24 World Cup schedule this spring. Approximately four months before the planned event, the financial situation eventually led to the removal of Lake Louise from the upcoming season’s schedule.

Organizing World Cup speed events involves major considerations and preparations, as SRM’s articles on the World Cup downhill have highlighted, including interviews with FIS Race Director Hannes Trinkl in the article The current and future state of World Cup downhill – Part I and former FIS Technical Expert Atle Skårdal in The current and future state of World Cup downhill – Part II.

Women’s Canadian World Cup races

Canadian ski enthusiasts can eagerly anticipate witnessing world-class alpine skiers competing on the Canadian slopes during the upcoming season. The women’s World Cup tour is scheduled to visit Tremblant, Québec, for two GS competitions on December 2-3.

To secure the opportunity to host World Cup races this upcoming season, various FIS requirements had to be met. This included upgrading Tremblant’s Flying Mile trail to meet World Cup safety standards, plus the venue successfully organized a Nor-Am Cup race in February 2023. Notably, according to a news release by Alpine Canada on May 18, 2023, Tremblant had the honor of hosting Canada’s inaugural FIS Ski World Cup in 1983.

At home

The Canadian women’s alpine ski team delivered impressive results during the 2022-23 season, including Laurence St-Germain winning the 2023 World Champion title in slalom and Valérie Grenier’s first World Cup victory. Grenier currently ranks fourth in the world in giant slalom and looks forward to the two World Cup giant slalom races at home:

“To race on Canadian snow, on my home hill, is going to be amazing,” said Grenier, according to the Alpine Canada May 18 news release. “We did some training here in April and the team had the opportunity to get used to the terrain and the venue. It’s going to be a great event and I’m excited to race against the best in the world in front of family, friends and all the Canadian fans.” 

Difficult times

Sadly, the Lake Louise and Tremblant areas experienced two tragic incidences this July.

A fire destroyed the Charleston Residence in Lake Louise on July 3. The log building housed 170 Lake Louise Ski Resort employees. Everyone got out safely, according to the Calgary CityNews on June 5.

“We know this has been a difficult time for our friends at Lake Louise. Alpine Canada was shocked and saddened to learn of the fire that destroyed the Charleston Residence. We are relieved that all the staff are safe, and our thoughts and best wishes are with all of those impacted,” Alpine Canada expresses in its July 14 statement.

Furthermore, on July 16, an accident occurred at Tremblant, resulting in the death of one person and another person being hospitalized, according to Tremblant.ca (click on the red banner titled Message to our community} and the Sûreté du Québec. The accident involved the panoramic gondola and construction machinery operated by a third party, Tremblant.ca states.

“We are saddened by this situation and Station Mont Tremblant offers its most sincere condolences to all those involved,” according to the statement on Tremblant.ca.

Ski Racing Media also offers condolences and sympathy to all those affected by these unfortunate events.

Sources: Alpine Canada, FIS, Calgary.CityNews.ca, Tremblant.ca