May 28, 2009 (Cavtat-Dubrovnik, Croatia) – FIS Cross-Country Race Director Jurg Capol just returned from the FIS Calendar Conference that took place in Cavtat-Dubrovnik, Croatia and provided us with quick impressions from the meetings the were held from his perspective.

FIS CC News: Jurg Capol, are you satisfied with the meetings during last week?
Jurg Capol: Oh yes, we had fruitful meetings with the different Committees and last weekend with the World Cup Organizers. The discussions were great and I feel that everybody shares the same spirit and motivation for developing and promoting the Cross-Country sport.

What was for you the most important signal during the past week?
JC: Well, on one side the support by the FIS Cross-Country Committee for the idea of the multi-stage World Championship in the 2011/2012 season where so far no FIS Championships and Olympic Winter Games take place. I think it would be a great possibility to show the highest level of Cross-Country on TV and deliver some additional promotional value. On the other side, very positive from my perspective was the interest from the different Organizers to support a common promotional project for the upcoming season.

Last year, you introduced the semi-professional Technical Delegates – will you continue with this project?
JC: Yes, everybody agreed after the experiences from last season that we should continue this way. For the upcoming season we will mainly work with two semi-professional TD’s over the season.

Can you briefly comment on the World Cup Calendar 2009/2010?
JC: The FIS Cross-Country Committee is proposing an interesting and compact World Cup Calendar. 18 different venues are on the schedule in 11 countries. With Rogla, we have a new host which is ready to organize a high level competition in Slovenia for the first time after 1993. The Tour de Ski will again take place in three different countries. Eight stages are included in ten days – that should guarantee an exciting event.

Just before the Olympic Games, Canmore is back after a one year break. And right after the Olympics we move to Scandinavia with the traditional races, the pre-World Championships in Oslo and the World Cup Final in Sweden. All in all, I am sure we will have exciting competitions and tight fights for the globes!