The police operation at the Ski-Flying World Championships on Kulm has so far gone without any notable incidents. The Interior Minister thanks the emergency services.
Vienna (OTS) – From January 25th to 28th, 2024, immediately after the giant slalom and the night race, the next major sporting event in the Liezen district was on the program: the 2024 Ski-Flying World Championships at Kulm. The police were prepared for this major operation and draw a positive (preliminary) balance. Some smaller – mostly alcohol-related – official acts had to be carried out by the more than 100 police forces. Numerous special police functions, such as criminal investigators, service dog handlers, SRK officers and drone pilots from all over Styria, were on duty. Police operations manager Tanja Zefferer said: “The collaboration with all emergency services organizations and the organizer worked smoothly and perfectly. Therefore, my thanks to all the forces deployed.”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also thanked the police officers deployed: “The professionalism of the emergency services and the close cooperation with the Austrian Ski Association ensured that the Ski Flying World Championships in Styria ran smoothly. I would like to thank all the organizations involved for this demanding effort and express my respect.”
Task Force “Kulm” in action
In the course of the FIS Ski Flying World Championships 2024, the task force “Winter Sports World Championships 2024 – 2027” was set up by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and Sports Media Austria. The aim of the task force is to ensure the safety of the athletes, delegations and fans as well as to support the organizing committee in all security measures.
The multidisciplinary task force is led by Dr. Günther Marek (Police Elite Sports) and General Michael Takacs (Federal Police Director). Marek: “The Kulm showed how professional and collegial the organization and cooperation between the various players is, be it on the sports media side, on the ÖSV side or on the side of the emergency services organizations. I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this event an unforgettable and, above all, safe sporting event.”
Transport concept
Safe and smooth traffic is a key point in traffic police preparations for such an event. On the first two days of the event, the weather posed a major challenge for the state transport department’s traffic crews. The arrival and departure of over a thousand cars and around 50 buses took place without any significant disruption to traffic, although the parking situation was difficult. Several thousand visitors also took advantage of the opportunity to travel to and from the event using ÖBB trains. A separate stop near the ski flying hill was built and activated for the event.
From Tyrol, the operations management received prominent support from inspector and top police athlete Philipp Aschenwald. Since he was unable to take part in the competitions as an active ski flyer due to injury, Aschenwald supported the operations management with his expertise on such events from the athlete’s perspective.
You can find more information about police sports here: Police sports (bmi.gv.at)
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federal Ministry of Internal Affairs
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