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 "Even in the cold countries like Switzerland and Austria the
number of kids being involved in skiing goes down," Kasper told
Reuters during a piste-side interview. "The main thing is the youth,
young people, we need to bring them back into snow.
"I am not speaking about competitive skiing. We measure our success
in the number of tourist skiers, that is the most important thing.
"We have had a few bad years in regards to snow so the kids they
couldn't train, so they look for another sport because they like
sport but there was no skiing possibilities.
"Those generations we have lost."
The alpine world championships at the posh Colorado resorts of
Vail/Beaver Creek were projected to provide a $130 million two-week
jolt to the local economy.
As advertised, the event delivered plenty of thrills and spills on
the slopes and an adequate apres-ski buzz in Vail but for a large
part was greeted with a shrug.
Vacancy signs flashed at hotels and resorts around the Vail valley
while restaurant and bar staff expressed surprise at the lack of
business.
 The television images from 200 camera positions were spectacular and
organisers estimate that close to 130,000 took in the action on the
hill. FIS declared the event a success and said the bar had been
raised for the next worlds, to be hosted by St. Moritz in 2017.
Certainly Austria were impressed having combined for nine medals,
including five golds, on the Birds of Prey and Raptor tracks
ensuring a hero's welcome from their ski-mad nation.
But the numbers Kasper and other industry leaders are fixated on are
the participation figures that will ultimately impact the FIS
portfolio of world championships: alpine, nordic, freestyle,
snowboard and ski jumping.
LOSING TRACTION
A federation that relies on snow as its lifeblood, FIS has been
feeling the heat created from a perfect storm of global warming,
vanishing pistes and waning interest.
The problem of rising temperatures is compounded by the soaring cost
of a ski vacation that has resulted in many families finding other
ways to spend their leisure time.
A recent report by the Denver Business Journal said 57.1 million
people hit the slopes across the United States last season, a figure
that could drop to 45.3 million by 2030 if skiers are lost at the
current rate.
It is trend right across Europe's alpine arc with the sport gaining
ground in some areas and losing traction in others.
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"What is most interesting is the number of new nations that are
now becoming active within skiing, as an example we now have
Kazakhstan who are now bidding for the Olympic Games," said FIS
general secretary Sarah Lewis. "Where there are concerns are in
terms in numbers who are actually taking up the sport.
"We've really tried to engage not just through the national
associations but with the resorts, tourist organisations, with ski
schools, with everyone who has a stake in the sport to try and
create activities to make skiing fun so they develop a love and
passion for the sport."
Alpine skiing rarely grabs American interest outside of the Olympics
but with a U.S. team packed with potential champions the worlds were
viewed as a chance to put skiing in the American sporting spotlight.
Gold medal performances from Ted Ligety in the giant slalom and
19-year-old ski darling Mikaela Shiffrin were dramatic.
But with the championships sandwiched between the Super Bowl and the
NBA All-Star weekend and qualifying for the Daytona 500, Kasper
worried that exploits of U.S. skiers were appreciated more in Europe
than at home.
"We had some bad experiences in the past (in the U.S.). I'm still
not very happy with how the American people treat their champions,
the interest (in ski racing) is very low," said Kasper. "But the
only thing that counts is the number of skiers on the slopes and I
think these championships will help out in the USA.
 "They don't care much in the U.S. the name of the skiers but they
see it and think it is fun and maybe will try it."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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