June 10, 2005 (Vernon, BC.) – Representatives of FIS, the International Ski Federation in Switzerland, and governing body of World Cup Ski events, visited the site of the 2005 FIS World Cup on June 7th and 8th. The visit is traditional and serves as a site inspection intended to assess the preparedness and progress of the Event Organizing Committee’s plans. It also ensures that all necessary details for the upcoming event have been considered and standards are met from a primarily technical perspective. This is one of several visits by FIS representatives to meet with the World Cup’s senior management team in Vernon and discuss the event to be held at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre December 3rd – 11th.

The meeting with FIS liaison, Jurg Capol, will cover a number of key areas at this stage in the development of the World Cup, including venues, infrastructure, sport, marketing and transport of athletes, as well as a more general overview of the committee’s current plans.

“The meeting for the 2005 FIS World Cup Organizing Committee has been extremely successful”, said Mr. Capol. “It is amazing to see the amount of detail and planning that has already been put into the event”, he continued. “The committee has spent countless hours ensuring that no detail has been overlooked and the plans will ensure that the event will not only be technically proficient but will be exciting for everyone involved. We are proud to have found all the partners in this venture to be committed to achieving a World Cup of a truly world class standard.”

Also visiting the site were Daniella Calandra representing Media Partners, the Italian advertising and marketing firm representing European broadcasters who will carry the international signal to countries such as Norway, Germany and Italy. Also present was John Aalberg, the event Technical Delegate from Salt Lake City who was the Chief of Competition for the cross country events at the Salt Lake Olympics and who will play a key role in Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010. The inspection team also included Chris Robinson, President of Double Black Diamond Productions out of Toronto, who will be producing the TV signal to be broadcast world wide during the World Cup.

“We are more than pleased with the extremely positive response we received from the FIS inspection group”, said Rob Bernhardt, Chief of Competition for the 2005 FIS World
Cup in Vernon and President of Sovereign Lake Nordic Club. “It is a testament to the hard work of so many volunteers and confirms our belief that the event will truly deliver what we set out to – a World Cup that will be the standard by which others are measured.”

For information, contact:
Donna Phillips
Marketing & Communications Chair
2005 FIS World Cup hosted by
Sovereign Lake Nordic Club
Phone: (250) 558-0830
Email: donna@sovereignlake.com