FIS and Bardonecchia have begun laying the foundations for the 2029 World Championships for Para Snow Sports, an event that aims to bring the three Paralympic snow disciplines together for the first time at the same international venue: Para Snowboard, Para Alpine Skiing and Para Cross-Country Skiing. The first inspection of the Italian site marks the start of a three-year planning cycle in which organizers will have to turn an ambitious idea into a competition capable of integrating sport, logistics and community in a compact setting. The goal is not only to organize races, but also to create a shared experience for athletes, coaches, officials and teams from different disciplines.
Located in the mountains near Turin, Bardonecchia has a long-standing connection with winter sports. The town hosted the snowboard events at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and will also be part of the 2026/27 Para Snowboard World Cup calendar. In 2029, however, the challenge will be on a different scale: participants from all three disciplines will stay in the same village and compete at venues located in Bardonecchia or its surrounding areas. For Boštjan Anderlič, FIS Para Snow Sports Coordinator, this setup will allow athletes and team members to share knowledge, experiences and moments away from competition, strengthening ties within a community that traditionally holds its championships separately.
Bardonecchia prepares a compact venue for three Paralympic disciplines
The organization of the World Championships has already begun to take shape with the establishment of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), which is working alongside regional and municipal authorities. This coordination will be particularly important over the next three seasons, as the venue will need to define the exact competition locations, courses and race formats, as well as prepare the services required by the teams. Concentrating activities in Bardonecchia and its surrounding areas will reduce travel requirements and make it easier for athletes to support teammates competing in other disciplines, while the shared stay in the Olympic Village aims to turn physical proximity into a tool for strengthening interaction among participants.
The preparation schedule includes a specific organizational structure for each sport, two official site visits per year involving FIS representatives, technical experts, local authorities and organizers, as well as test events throughout 2027 and 2028. These events will be used to assess operations, timing systems, venue readiness, volunteer programs and safety protocols ahead of the World Championships. The project also opens the possibility of using the event to promote other adaptive winter sports, such as Para Ice Hockey, Para Skating and Wheelchair Curling, although the organizational priority will be to ensure the successful delivery of Para Snowboard, Para Alpine Skiing and Para Cross-Country Skiing.
Technical challenges shape the road to 2029
Bringing three disciplines together within the same framework presents challenges that go beyond coordinating schedules. One of the biggest difficulties will be the alpine skiing downhill events, which require specific safety infrastructure, including nets, barriers, technical course preparation and emergency response systems. Added to this is a factor that can completely alter planning in winter sports: weather conditions. Snow, temperatures and changing weather patterns can affect training, slope preparation and the running of competitions, requiring organizers to maintain a constant capacity to adapt.
Logistics will be another major area of work. Integrating athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and support staff from different disciplines will require coordinated management of venues, transportation, human resources and communication systems. Before reaching 2029, the international calendar will also provide several opportunities to build experience. In 2027, the FIS Para Cross-Country World Championships will be held in Finsterau, Germany, from January 27 to 31; the FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Championships will take place in Tignes, France, from March 8 to 16; and the FIS Para Snowboard World Championships will be held in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, from March 15 to 21. These competitions will form part of the new Paralympic cycle and allow teams to assess needs, refine procedures and transfer lessons learned to the preparation of Bardonecchia.
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