The countdown to the Alpine Skiing World Cup is in progress

Time has stepped into 2020 in the intensive preparation of the Beijing Winter Olympics. On Xiaohaituo Mountain, a hundred kilometers away from the central area of Beijing, in order to prepare for the Yanqing station of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, many people have unconsciously ushered in the New Year at work. Alpine Skiing World Cup Yanqing is the first test event of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Yesterday, the countdown clock on the official website of the organizing committee showed that there were still 44 days left before the start of the tournament on February 15.

■ Face challenges and race against the clock

"The first test match was stressful and challenging for us because everything was brand new." Zhang Suzhi, executive deputy director of the Yanqing Operation Center of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said. According to her, as one of the three major competition areas of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Yanqing has built a total of three venues and supporting facilities in the Yanqing Competition Area: the National Alpine Ski Center, the National Bobsleigh Center and the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village. The work of Yanqing Station, the first test match of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Alpine Skiing World Cup, has become a top priority in recent times.

As far as the venues are concerned, at the end of last year, the track for the test race was completed, the snowmaking work was basically completed, and the track was paved with an average thickness of 1.2 meters of snow, and the scenery was spectacular. Later this month, the production of ice-like snow noodles will begin to meet the competition requirements.

In terms of venue operation, the venue team has been formed, and the entire operation plan has completed the third edition and is being further deepened. Most of the works have been completed with the construction of temporary facilities supporting the operation, such as the athletes' medical station, the media center, and the grandstand.

It is difficult to build the site. The three new venues and mountain news centers are concentrated in the 16 square kilometers of Yanqing Area, and the construction period is much shorter than that of other regions due to the steep mountains, high altitude, cold climate, and hosting the first test match. Alpine skiing tracks, downhill tracks and slopes have brought great challenges to construction. "The real construction began in January 2018, and it took two years, from scratch, until we got the CERTIFICATION of the International Snow Federation in November last year." Zhang Suzhi said.

■ The hardware facilities are basically ready

Blue sky mountains and forests on the snow, ice pavilions high hanging over the Haituo Mountain. Walking into the alpine skiing track located on Mt. Kohaito, the first thing that catches your eye is the aerial tramway that shuttles back and forth. According to reports, the National Alpine Ski Center has set up a total of 9 ropeways with a total length of 9.5 kilometers, of which the B1, C and F ropeways that need to be used in the test race have obtained the relevant safety inspection pass marks on December 17 last year. The three ropeways currently in service mainly serve athletes, and test racers can take the ropeway system to reach the departure area of the race slopes and training slopes. From the distribution square, take the B1 and C ropeways to the top of the mountain, and the ropeway takes about 9 minutes.

Managers told reporters that during the Beijing Winter Olympics Yanqing Competition Area Guarantee Test Match, in addition to the above 3 ropeways, 4 roads will be put into use. There are 7 roads in Yanqing, including 6 park roads and 1 connecting line in the competition area, with a total length of 14 kilometers. The test will use the Zone Link, Route 1, Route 2 and Route 4.

As of December 29 last year, the snowmaking work of the track, training track, technical road and dragging road was basically completed, and the snowmaking work was in the final stage, and the snowmaking work in the snow-deficient area of the technical road was currently underway.

The reporter saw at the scene of the National Alpine Ski Center Distribution Square that at present, the audience stand area is under construction. The distribution square and the end of the race are the hub and center of the entire alpine race area, which will be equipped with functions such as venue operation, media broadcasting, parking turnover, fire rescue, medical rescue, and doping detection during the race.

The intermediate platform is an important ropeway traffic transfer station of the National Alpine Ski Center, which undertakes the functions of staying, resting and transiting evacuation of athletes, staff and other related groups.

The tallest building in the entire division is the summit departure area at the National Alpine Ski Centre grounds, where the men's downhill track starts. During the summit departure area, athletes and event-related personnel will be provided with simple catering, rest rooms and necessary ancillary facilities.

■ Team formation in line with international standards

Zhang Suzhi told reporters that the pre-registration for the Alpine Skiing World Cup has been completed, and 345 people from 19 countries have submitted visa applications, including 112 athletes. The work of the organizing committee of the event is to take the athletes as the center, in order to do a good job in the organization of the competition, the staff on the one hand to compile and complete the operation manual of each business field, complete the "one map, one table and one book", and conduct field exercises.

The organizing committee focused on speeding up the formation of the competition team, and the current list of 286 domestic technical officials has been determined, and the contract negotiations for 97 foreign technical officials have been completed. 148 kinds of sports equipment and 11217 sports equipment were all purchased. The schedule of the competition was compiled and completed, and the nodal time such as the operation of the cable car, the arrival and induction of domestic technical officials, the arrival of the participating teams, the opening of the competition and training venues, and the start of the competition were clarified.

In terms of mountain operation, the organizing committee hired Nikolai, director of the alpine skiing project of the Sochi Winter Olympics and deputy director of the alpine skiing competition of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, as the mountain operation manager of the venue team. At the same time, the venue owner Beijing Enterprises Group is responsible for setting up an international mountain operation team, and employing 86 international snow groomer drivers, snowmaking experts, safety net installation experts, snow patrol personnel and other staff to ensure international standards.

In order to do a good job in ensuring the service of the games, the organizing committee hired 11 international ski doctors to train domestic ski doctors, set up a total of 18 medical stations, 2 medical rescue teams have been stationed in the competition area on the day of snowmaking, and medical helicopters have also conducted field drills.

In addition, the organizing committee actively does a good job in media operation, market development and atmosphere creation. Zhang Suzhi said: "As of now, nearly 200 Chinese and foreign journalists have registered, and audiences from more than 20 countries and regions have browsed the official website of the competition, and the attention is very high, which is another pressure we feel. But we're confident of doing everything we can to make the first test game a hit. "Our reporter Wu Dong

Photo by Rao Qiang, a reporter of this newspaper

Winter Olympic Pulpit

Alpine skiing

The crown jewel of winter sports

On February 15, the 2019/2020 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Yanqing Station will officially start, which is the first test match of the Beijing Winter Olympics and will start the "head cannon" of the Winter Olympic test. The competition was contested in only two events, men's downhill and super big slalom, which were just two of the minor events in the alpine skiing category.

Alpine skiing, also known as Alpine skiing, is a snow racing sport that is mainly used for skis, snowshoes, fixers and ski poles, from the mountain to the mountain, along the line set by the flag gate, which is called the crown jewel of the winter project, and the status in the winter project is equivalent to the "football" in the summer project.

Alpine skiing originated in the Alpine region and was developed on the basis of cross-country skiing. Its technological progress, equipment improvements, and project development at the Winter Olympics have gone through a long process: in 1868, the founder of Norwegian skiing, Son Nordheim, performed the "S" shape rapid slalom descent technique at the ski convention in Oslo, Norway; in 1890, the Austrians invented short skis, sliding techniques and fixtures (droppers) suitable for the characteristics of the Alps; in 1936, at the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch, Germany, alpine skiing (slalom, downhill) became a winter Olympic event The 6th Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway in 1952 added a giant slalom competition to the slalom and downhill, and the face of modern alpine skiing was first revealed. The 15th Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, in 1988, incorporated super slalom and all-around into the alpine skiing event. The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics has added a new team event, which forms the 11 sub-events of the current Winter Olympic Alpine Skiing Competition, which are men's and women's slalom, big slalom, super big slalom, downhill, all-around, in addition to mixed team competitions.

For each athlete participating in an alpine skiing competition, the snowboards are individually customized. Among them, the skid is 30% longer than the slewing snowboard, which is to maintain accuracy in high-speed sliding. The poles of the downhill and super large slalom events are curved, which reduces air resistance during descent.

At present, the world pattern of alpine skiing is that Austria, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, and France are in the first camp, and Norway, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Slovenia and other countries are in the second camp. China's project started late, and in 2017, the national alpine ski team set up a downhill and super giant slalom project team. Reporter Li Yuanfei