Disability Sports Paralympics

IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Korea

Around 160 athletes from 25 different countries are making their way to the High 1 Ski Resort in Gangwon-Do, Korea, for the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships. The event, taking place from 19 February to 1 March, is organized by the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled (KOSAD), the Korea Adaptive Ski Association (KASA) and the High 1 Ski Resort.

Around 160 athletes from 25 different countries are making their way to the High 1 Ski Resort in Gangwon-Do, Korea, for the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships.

The event, taking place from 19 February to 1 March, is organized by the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled (KOSAD), the Korea Adaptive Skiing Association (KASA) and the High 1 Ski Resort. The first competition will be the Slalom on 20 February, followed by the Giant Slalom, Super Combined, Super-G and Downhill races on the subsequent days. The Team Event in the Giant Slalom race as well as the Closing Ceremony will take place on the final day.

Athletes sure to impress at High 1 Resort in Korea are Lauren Woolstencroft and Christopher Williamson from Canada, Jakub Krako from Slovakia, Tyler Walker and Stephani Victor from USA, and Gerd Schoenfelder from Germany. These athletes raced to victories at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cups this season in Sestriere, Italy, and La Molina, Spain, and are all aiming to repeat their winning performances at the World Championships.

Athletes competing in Alpine Skiing events combine speed, strength and power pushing their limits to speed down mountain tops and through slalom courses. They compete in three categories (Sitting, Standing and Visually Impaired), and a results calculation system allows athletes with different profiles to compete against each other. Sighted guides assist skiers with a visual impairment through the course. Athletes with a physical disability use equipment that is adapted to their needs, including mono-skis, sit-skis or outriggers. Speeding down the slopes with sometimes more than 100km/h, the athletes prove that this is an elite level event.

Highlights from the competition will be broadcasted on IPC’s Internet TV channel on www.ParalympicSport.TV

For more information and results from the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, please visit the official website at http://09wchkorea.com/

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by over 160 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

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