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Inspection for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec (CZE) took place on Monday, 13th October 2008. The organizing committee presided by Katerina Neumannova, former top Cross-Country skier and Olympic champion, delivered a six-hour presentation on the status of its preparations for the event 128 days prior to the opening ceremony. The Final Inspection was attended by FIS President Gian Franco Kasper and Secretary General Sarah Lewis as well as FIS Council Member Milan Jirasek, the Technical Delegates and FIS professional staff along with representatives of the TV and marketing rights holder European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and its marketing partner APF. The significance of these championships, the first ones to be held in the Czech Republic since it became an independent nation, was underlined by the personal participation in the Final Inspection of the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek.

Detailed reports presented on the various aspects of event preparations included sports organization, TV broadcasting, ticketing, accommodation, accreditation and promotional plans, just to mention a few, and showed the hard work by many members of the organizing team. The updates provided specifically demonstrated the lessons learned from the test events held last season and the changes and improvements that have been implemented as a result. As an example, the organizing committee has put paramount importance on exploiting the latest snow production technologies and prepared back-up plans for snow depots in the mountains. In addition, the technical infrastructure has been thoroughly tested on several occasions, most recently during the FIS summer series competitions at the Jested Ski Jumping venue. The team is working hand in hand with the Czech government whose unequivocal support was underscored by Prime Minister Topolánek himself.

FIS President Gian Franco Kasper summarized his view of the preparations by the Liberec 2009 team: “The organizing committee continues the preparations with great enthusiasm and presented us with various good initiatives. Significant work still remains in the upcoming four months, which is usual for all organizing committees, but provided the same motivation we have seen until now, we can optimistically look forward to very good FIS World Championships here in Liberec.”

He added: “In our experience, all organizers of major events - from our championships up to the Olympic Summer Games – undergo difficulties in the course of their preparations. Liberec has been no exception. However, we have full confidence that the organizing committee will meet our expectations and deliver a true Nordic ski festival in February 2009.”

(Source: FIS)