Titisee-Neustadt: Preparations
for the World Cup comeback
berkutschi.com
About two months from now, Titisee-Neustadt (GER)
will host its first ski jumping World Cup competitions
in five years, and that very early in the winter,
on December 14th and 15th. Actually that would be
too early to guarantee enough snow for a World Cup
at a venue that is located about 800 m above sea
level.
So the snow is one of the main issues also this
year, just like it was from 2001 to 2007, when five
World Cup events were held in Neustadt. But this
time it's different than in the years before. During
the past winter, about 10 000 cubic meters of snow
were stored right next to the hill. The snow was
covered with styrofoam and tarpaulin and so it was
preserved during the warm summer in the Black Forest.
"The media interest in our "Black Forest-Glacier",
that's what we call our 6 meter high pile here,
is huge", explains Joachim Haefker, general
secretary of the organizing committee. "Countless
TV- and radio teams were here already to take a
closer look and report about it. Now, that the warmest
days of the summer are over, we can also evaluate
the success of the first "Black Forest-Glacier"
mission. I think that there are still about 70 %
of the snow left, this means about 7 000 cubic meters.
This should be enough to prepare the HS 142 hill
in order to guarantee the World Cup can be carried
out.
But this stored snow will only be used if necessary.
Of course we hope that the temperatures will be
low enough to produce artificial snow, and maybe
it evens snows enough already until mid December.
Either way, we would not need the snow we stored.
But we would have to move the pile anyway because
in December the broadcast truck of the German TV
station ZDF will stand right where the snow is now.
As ususal for HD broadcasts, a few trucks will be
needed and they have to stand right next to the
hill.
So it will depend on the weather when we will make
the decision if we use the stored snow or not. I
think that we will get precise forecasts 10 days,
or a week before the World Cup weekend." Of
course this is only concerning the snow, the general
preparations for the World Cup already started about
two months ago. "The preparations are in full
swind, the effort is huge", Haefker concluded.
Ticket sales have already started. Here is the contact:
Mrs. Birgit Ackermann, Hochschwarzwald Tourismus
GmbH, Strandbadstr. 4, D-79822 Titisee-Neustadt;
Phone: 07652-1206 80 80; Fax: 07652-1206 8188; Email:
ackermann@hochschwarzwald.de.
The news letter for media representatives will be
sent out regularly. Media representatives can sign
up by sending a message to this email: info@weltcupskispringen.de
The first time a hill for a ski jumping World Cup
was prepared with stored snow was in Sochi (RUS)
last winter. Under temperatures of up to + 17°C,
experts of Slovenia ensured that the competitions
could be carried out despite the summerlike conditions.
The same measures were taken in Klingenthal (GER),
where the World Cup opening will take place on November
23 and 24. 14 000 cubic meters of snow were stored
there last winter so they will have enough to prepare
the hill.
