Alpine World Cup season begins with giant slalom events in Austria
RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT
VIDEO SHOWS: GENERAL VIEWS OF THE VILLAGE OF SOELDEN AHEAD OF THE OPENING SKI WORLD CUP EVENT OF THE WEEKEND / SKIERS ON SLOPES AND WALKING AROUND AFTER SKIING
SHOWS: SOELDEN, AUSTRIA (OCTOBER 16, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
1. SIGN FOR SOELDEN
2. CLOSE UP OF SOELDEN SIGN
3. SKIWELTCUP SIGN
4. RIVER AND VILLAGE OF SOELDEN
5. SIGN TELLING PEOPLE TO WEAR FACE MASKS
6. SNOW IN RESTAURANT GARDEN
7. CARS DRIVING IN SOELDEN
8. WOMEN WALKS UNDER SCHIWELTCUP SIGN
9. SKI BOOTS / MAN ENTERS SPORT SHOP
10. SKI POLES
11. HAT WITH SOELDEN SIGN
12. SKIS
13. RENTAL SKIS
14. POSTER FOR SKI WORLD CUP
15. STREET IN SOELDEN
16. PERSON WALKS PAST ACCREDITATION SIGN
17. COVID TEST STATION IN SOELDEN
18. MAN PERFORMS TEST IN TEST STATION
19. RETTENBAHC GLACIER AND RACE SLOPE
20. PARKING SIGNS ON GLACIER
21. SKIERS WALK TO GONDOLA ON GLACIER
22. GONDOLAS
23. SKIERS ON RACE SLOPE
24. FINISH OF RACE COURSE
25. SKIERS PACKING BAGS NEXT TO FINISH OF RACE SLOPE
26. VARIOUS OF SKIERS WITH MASKS WALK AROUND
27. SKIERS SKI DOWN NEXT TO RACE SLOPE
28. SKIERS WALK NEXT TO SLOPE
STORY: The Alpine World Cup skiing season will begin in familiar style this weekend with a meeting in the Austrian resort of Soelden, but the coronavirus pandemic threatens disruption throughout the winter.
Giant Slalom races will take place on Soelden's Rettenbach glacier just as COVID-19 cases increase across Europe. Only 200 spectators will be able to watch the races, where defending World Cup champions Federica Brignone and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will be in action.
Events in Canada and America before Christmas have already been cancelled, but the International Ski Federation (FIS) are planning 38 men's races across the season and 34 for women.
The World Championships are still scheduled to take place in Italy in early February, while a test event is planned in China that month, where athletes will get the chance to see one of the venues that will be used in the winter Olympics in 2022.
In Soelden, competitors will be place in a bubble and undergo tests for coronavirus upon arrival, and a similar system will be in place at other venues on the calendar.
(Production: Leo Foeger and Iain Axon)