Polar bear

Big plans for the World Ski Championships in Saalbach

Stephanie Venier, Daniel Hemetsberger, Conny Hütter.(Bild: Jürgen Feichter)

In ten weeks' time, Saalbach will host the red-white-red sporting event of the year 2025. For the first time since Schladming 2013, Austria will once again host an Alpine World Ski Championships. Right in the middle of it all: the traditional company Eisbär, which has a lot planned for the World Championships!

Now that the snow has reached Austria's valleys, the winter season can officially be called open. Austria's ski aces, on the other hand, have already been in winter mode for a month, as the 2024/2025 Ski World Cup is already in full swing.

After the races in Sölden, Levi and Gurgl, the ÖSV stars will head overseas at the end of November. There, the red-white-red polar bear aces around Vincent Kriechmayr, Daniel Hemetsberger, Cornelia Hütter and Stephanie Venier will be able to test their speed form for the first time before they race towards the highlight of the season. Because in exactly 70 days, the event of the year will take place - the 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach (February 4 to 16, 2025).

"As an athlete, you usually only experience a home World Championships once, so the anticipation is already very high," explains Kriechmayr, who became double world champion in downhill and super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2021. Conny Hütter, bronze medal winner at the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel, can hardly wait for the start in Saalbach. "I'm starting to feel the tingling sensation when I think about the World Championships. Riding in front of all my family and friends gives me an extra boost."

But the World Championships on the doorstep are not just THE winter highlight for the alpine aces - Eisbär is also eagerly awaiting the mega event on the Zwölferkogel. "The home World Championships will be a very important point for us, especially because we are also a partner of the "Home of Snow". We will be inviting European customers to Saalbach to present our strong connection to the sport and the ÖSV," explains Eisbär Managing Director Jürgen Nairz. But that's not all: Eisbär has even more planned for Saalbach. "We will be exhibiting a special collection to mark the 50th anniversary of our collaboration with Ski Austria, which will be on display in Saalbach exclusively for our partners. We have also designed a special cap for the medal winners," says Nairz.

As the official supplier for the volunteers, Eisbär is also outfitting the many volunteers and once again offering the red-white-red fans an extensive range of fan merchandise. "We are particularly proud that we still produce almost everything in Austria. Our production site in Feldkirchen has been at the heart of Eisbär for almost 70 years and will continue to be so in the future - bucking the international trend," promises Nairz.