Continuing warm weather again severely disrupted the plans for the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships and U-23 Cross-Country Championships 2008. Originally scheduled in Szczyrk (POL) in early February and rescheduled there from 21st-28th February, 2008, they finally had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
As of Monday, the Championships have now been moved to Malles Venosta (Mals) at the Cross-Country stadium of
Schlinig , in the province of Bolzano, South-Tyrol, Italy, close to the Austrian and Swiss borders. Fortunately, good conditions await the Cross-Country athletes.
“The decision to take over the event was only made on Monday so it is a great challenge for us to get ready in just 10 days. For example, we are still working on confirming the financing. But the good news is that we can offer excellent snow conditions and all team accommodation will be within a 15 km radius. The entire organizing committee is very motivated and looking forward to welcoming the young racers,” commented Alfred Lingg, chief of the Malles Venosta team.
No newcomers to organizing sports events, Malles Venosta has previous hosted the Italian national championships on several occasions, and other major competitions such as the world championships and European championships in winter triathlon along with various summer events.