The giant slalom race of the Alpine Skiing European Cup, which will be held on behalf of the Slovak Ski Federation (SLA), is the 13th event of this kind organised on Mt. Chopok. The organisers are expecting about 80 athletes. Both runs on both days are scheduled for the same time – 9:00am and 12:00am, the start is placed at the altitude of 1,650 metres and the 1,200 metre-long course surmounts a vertical drop of 400 metres to finish in the locality of Koliesko. 3 km of safety netting will be used to guarantee safety along the course. The slopes for the giant slalom are homologised and meet all parameters and safety measures required for European cups, world cups and world championships. Slopes no. 1 and 2 were hosting various significant events such as World Cups, Junior World Championships and Winter Universiade. And it is this trail that witnessed the still valid world record of Ingemar Stenmark, who won a giant slalom race here with the biggest winning margin in history – more than 3 seconds.
“The European Cup will be a kind of test for the ski trail that is about to host the women´s giant slalom and slalom World Cup in March 2016. A test mainly for the technical staff, arrangement and preparation of the course, camera towers and placing of the finish area. The whole course will be water-injected to create a hard and compact surface. There are about 80 people helping to organise the race. In the past, European Cups were supported financially by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. This year, however, and that should be pointed out, the Organising Committee of the European Cup in Jasná has not received any financial support from the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. It was very difficult for the Organising Committee and partners of the event to put together the whole budget and keep the quality and level high at the same time. Especially because we are preparing the upcoming World Cup that is to be hosted in Jasná next year as well,“ said Martin Kupčo Jr., the Race Secretary.
Slovakia will be represented by the Žampa brothers at the European Cup. “Both I and Andreas, we plan to participate in the race in Jasná. I have a World Cup race in Garmisch, Germany on 1st March and plan to travel home right afterwards at night so that I can manage to get to Jasná. I hope I will do as good as I can on the course. It should be freezing so hopefully the track will be pretty icy and tested well before the World Cup. This is my ´domestic´ slope and I wish to show the best performance possible,“ commented Adam Žampa, the most successful Slovak skier, on his participation in the European Cup in Jasná.
The ski resort of Jasná will be organising a prestigious Alpine Skiing World Cup event. “After the success with the Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in 2014, Jasná was put back on the map of world-class skiing. It was after a long period of 30 years that the International Ski Federation (FIS) assigned the resort of Jasná Low Tatras to organise an Alpine Skiing World Cup race. It will be held on 5th and 6th March 2016. The Slovak Ski Association has authorised the Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. company (TMR), which operates the ski resort of Jasná Low Tatras, to organise the race. The slopes of Mt. Chopok will be hosting a women´s giant slalom and slalom. The competition in Jasná will be the last event before the World Cup finals of St. Moritz, Switzerland. It was in 1984 that a women´s World Cup race was held in Jasná for the last time, as part of the so called Grand Prix of Demänovské Caves. Organising a World Cup event is regarded one of very important milestones for the ski resort of Jasná, the TMR company and the whole skiing community in Slovakia on the way to the New Era of the Tatras. And at the same time, it can be perceived as a reward for a seven-year long work and investments that have been made in this resort,“ added Bohuš Hlavatý, TMR CEO.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. (TMR) is a top subject in the field of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe, which owns and operates attractive ski resorts and hotels. These include the resort Jasná Low Tatras and the following hotels in the Low Tatras: Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri studničky, Chalets Jasná De Luxe, Mountain Hotel Srdiečko and Rotunda Hotel. TMR also owns Aquapark Tatralandia, the largest Slovak water park with all-year operation, which offers a lot of water and other entertainment, a Tropical Paradise – a special tropical hall with sea water, a Fun Park and accommodation in bungalows and suites of Holiday Village Tatralandia. In the High Tatras, TMR owns and operates resorts of Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec and cooperates the resort of Štrbské Pleso. It also owns the following hotels: Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec and Hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso. TMR owns 19% of the Melida, a.s. company, which leases and operates the mountain resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. In Poland, TMR owns the resort of Szczyrk. The company also owns and rents hotels Slovakia, Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky and Bungalows. Almost 200 million Euros were invested by the end of 2014 in the above mentioned resorts, to support development and modernisation. The TMR shares are traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw.