Topic - Races: Worldloppet
expands
Date first posted on eCommunity - 14
July 2008
Worldloppet, the international federation of cross-country skiing
marathons, has expanded. At the federation's recent Annual General
Meeting, the Polish race Bieg Piastow was accepted as a new member
on the unanimous decision of the existing 14 member countries.
Bieg Piastow is based in Jakuszyce, which is in south-western Poland
near the Czech border. A map on the race's own website shows that
Jakuszyce is 130 km southwest of Wroclaw, 330 km southeast of Berlin
and 147 km northeast of Prague.
The nearest large town is Szklarska
Poreba. Jakuszyce is in the Sudety Mountains, more specifically in
the Izera Massif, an upland area blessed with a cold microclimate
that generally ensures long, snowy winters.
Before a race can be admitted to Worldloppet it has to convince the
federation that it is the best race in its country and that it
has "its own history, traditions and programme". So it needs to have
a good record of successful operation, robust organisational
arrangements and sufficient local infrastructure to handle the
expected boost in participation that entry to Worldloppet will bring.
In making their case for admission the Bieg Piastow organisers will
have stressed that their race has a history going back more than 30
years. The event was first run in 1976, when 531 competitors took
part. According to the race website the event was initially a rough
and ready sort of affair. ". . . at the beginning there was nothing
out there. Only old train and all competitors were changing in
carriages." However from the start the organisers were ambitious,
and as early as 1977 they had preliminary discussions about
admission to Euroloppet, a federation of important European races.
In fact it took twenty years of trying before Bieg Piastow became a
member of Euroloppet, in 1997.
Over the years Bieg Piastow has grown steadily and it now attracts
about 4,000 entrants. Like many other Worldloppet races it is
actually a collection of events, not just one. There is a choice
between 50 km and 23 km classic races on the Saturday. Then on the
Sunday a 25 km freestyle race is held. (The 50 km classic race is
now valid for Worldloppet's Gold Master while the two other races
are now valid for the Silver Master.)
In 2009 the events will be held on Saturday 8 March and Sunday 9
March. In future years it seems that things may change, with the
event being brought forward one week to the first weekend in March.
It is also likely that a longer freestyle race will be added to the
Sunday programme: this would be valid for Worldloppet's Gold Master.
Details of this, and of travel and accommodation for participants,
will soon appear at www.worldloppetskier.com.
The admission of Bieg Piastow brings to 15 the total number of
Worldloppet races. Any skier who has already achieved the
title "Global Worldloppet Skier", which recognises those who have
skied all the Worldloppet events, will be able to retain the award
without completing the Polish race. But those who are still working
toward GWLS now have to steel themselves for one more race.
While they are training for it, perhaps they should spare a thought
for the organisers, who are now faced with a great deal of work to
get up to the required international standard. "Future races" they
admit "have to be better than previous, and this will require better
cooperation of all cooperators." A lot of liaison with the relevant
local and national authorities is envisaged, as well as more
immediately practical projects like modernisation of the skiing
trails and enlargement of the parking area.
In general the new status is expected to act as a catalyst for cross
country skiing in the area and visitor numbers are expected to rise
considerably.
The race website is at www.bieg-piastow.pl. It has an English
version.
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