The FIS Grass Skiing World Championships 2009 began on Wednesday in Rettenbach (AUT). After the official opening ceremony scheduled for Wednesday evening, the competitions will get underway Thursday with the giant slalom events for ladies and men.

With just 2 months to the first Alpine World Cup races in Solden, Austria and less than 6 months to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver /Whistler. National Alpine Teams from around the world are stepping up their training sessions in preparation for the upcoming season.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has announced the establishment of a new company called FIS Marketing AG, together with its marketing partners Tridem Sports and Infront Sports & Media.

An Olympic snowboarding silver medallist appeared in Christchurch District Court yesterday, charged with carelessly driving a van on Cardrona’s ski slopes at Wanaka. American Danny Kass, 26, who won silver medals at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, four United States Open Championships and seven Winter X Games medals, was fined $400 and $130 court costs after entering a guilty plea.

Toni Sailer, the athlete who helped shape Austria’s image as a skiing nation, died at the age of 73, his skiing club in Kitzbuehel announced Tuesday. The Tyrolean skiing icon passed away Monday after a long illness, Austrian press agency APA quoted the club as saying.

Austria’s downhill skier Renate Goetschl has announced her retirement and revealed she is pregnant. The 34-year-old, a member of the Austrian ski team since 1991, won two medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The 96th edition of the Tour de France, that ended last week, cast its spell over many a ski star. During the first two and half weeks, several well-known FIS athletes have visited the Tour, the world’s largest sporting event in terms of the number of spectators on site.

A U.S. alpine skier who received serious head injuries after falling from an escalator in Park City is still in critical condition. 26-year-old Cody Marshall was out with teammates when he fell between twenty to thirty feet from an escalator at Main Street Mall. His family has started a blog updating his condition.