The 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Officially Gets Underway

United States’ Lindsey Vonn (pictured), who just achieved her record 63^rd FIS World Cup win, is training for the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. This biennial race — which happens every odd year to avoid being the same year as the Winter Olympics — takes place from Feb.  2 – 15 in Beaver Creek, Colo. This would be the third time this site was used for the Championship, with the last two occurring in 1989 and 1999, with the latter being the last time it was held in North America.

At the opening ceremony press conference, FIS President Gian Franco Kasper stated, “We are thrilled to be coming back to North America for the World Championships. Each edition that the Vail Valley has hosted has been bigger and better, and there is not a doubt in my mind that the next two weeks will be a fantastic celebration of Alpine ski racing both on the slopes and around the towns of Vail and Beaver Creek.”

There are roughly 600 athletes who will compete in eleven medal events: ten of which take place at Beaver Creek and the other Nations Team Event happens at Vail.  Vonn is one of the athletes looking to secure another gold medal, with her last two coming in 2009 at Val-d’Isère for Downhill and Super-G. And in 2015, she will compete in her first World Championship Super-G since her horrific accident in 2013, which halted her career for two years with a severe knee injury.

As for ways to watch the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, FIS is proud to unveil that all broadcast operations will be done through the European Production Coordination (EPC): being broadcast in 27 countries, each race comes in HD with “more than 201 camera angles.” But what they are most excited about is that “for the first time at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships live online programming will be available free-of-charge for all races through the EBU video player, which can be also found on the FIS website.”

This is certainly the FIS’ most popular event next to the Winter Olympics and it seems that its new online availability will give any person, fan or not, the ability to watch and be a part of the festivities.