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Alpine Skiing
History
Alpine
skiing, so named for the Alps of central Europe, was introduced in the
late 19th century by the British elite who traveled to Switzerland and popularized
skiing in central Europe. The sport quickly spread to North America, Asia and
Australia. In 1860, the King of Norway awarded a trophy to the winner of an
Alpine skiing contest held near Oslo and subsequently named a committee to draft
rules for annual tournaments.
Arnold Lunn, a British travel agent, invented the slalom
and in 1924 organized the first combined event, a downhill and a slalom. Then
he fought with FIS to endorse Alpine ski races, a battle he did not win until
1930. Lunn helped organize the first of the great ski races — the Arlberg-Kandahar.
The so-called A-K race eventually turned into a circuit, with events at resorts
in the Alps. The first United States ski club was founded in New Hampshire in
1872, but it wasn't until after World War II that the sport really caught on.
Servicemen who had the opportunity to ski in Europe helped invigorate the American
ski industry.
By 1948, the Olympic program included men's and women's downhill and slalom
events, and by 1952, the men's and women's giant slalom
was added. Super giant slalom and combined events did
not emerge on the Olympic scene until 1988. The Alpine
World Cup has been in effect since the 1966-67 season and is a scoring
system put forth by the FIS that
links a number of designated ski races into a winter-long competition.
Athlete
Viewer ( USSA)
Alpine Athlete
Viewer (FIS)
Ski Museums / Ski Museen / Musee de Ski
New England Ski Museum
Norvegian Olympic Museum
Schwarzwälder
Skimuseum
U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and Museum