The World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup (previously called the IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup) is an annual circuit of elite disabled alpine skiing competitions, regulated by the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

(IPC) and the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

(FIS). Held at ski areas across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, the World Cup consists of timed races in five disciplines: slalom,

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

super G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cros ...

, downhill, and

super combined Combined is an event in alpine ski racing. The event format has changed within the last 30 years. A traditional combined competition is a two-day event consisting of one run of downhill and two runs of slalom; each discipline takes place on a s ...

. Medals are awarded to the top three men's and women's finishers in each of the three disability categories: standing, sitting, and visually impaired. After each race, points are awarded to the top 30 skiers in each disability category who finish within a certain percentage of the winning time. 100 points are awarded to the winner, 80 for second place, 60 for third, and so on, down to one point for 30th place. In each disability category, the male and female athlete with the most points at the end of the season wins the overall World Cup title and a large glass trophy, the ''crystal globe''. Smaller globes are also awarded for athletes with the highest point totals in each of the five disciplines. Additionally, a ''Nations Cup'' trophy is awarded to the country that accumulates the highest point total. The World Cup is held every year, and is considered one of the premier competitions in disabled ski racing, along with the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The ...

(held every four years, concurrently with the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

) and the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

(held every two years since 2009, but irregularly before that). Disabled ski racers who aspire one day to compete on the World Cup attempt to qualify on one of the ''Continental Cup'' circuits: the ''Europa Cup'' (or "European Cup") in

and the ''Nor-Am Cup'' in

History

Although disabled ski competitions date to the mid-20th century and the first

were held in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, the Disabled Alpine World Cup is relatively new. An unofficial circuit began in the late 1990s, and the first

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a S ...

-sanctioned World Cup race was held in Breckenridge,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, United States in December 1999, with the first World Cup titles awarded in the spring of 2000. In 2004, the administration of the World Cup circuit, and disabled ski racing in general, passed from the

to the

IPC IPC may refer to: Businesses and organizations Arts and media * Intellectual Property Committee, a coalition of US corporations with intellectual property interests * International Panorama Council, an international network of specialists in ...

, although the FIS is still involved in some aspects of the tour. For example, a FIS technical delegate still oversees each race.

Winners

Men

Women

Nations Cup

References

{{reflist

External links

World Para Alpine Skiing
- Schedule, results, rules and more Skiing world competitions Para-alpine skiing competitions