The Grass Ski World Championships are just a week away and will be held a world away for many of the competitors as the event will be held in Shichikashuku (JPN) from September 3rd-8th. It marks a return of the event to Japan after a 26 year hiatus, when Nagano last hosted the competition in 1987.

Athletes from Germany, Italy, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic are confirmed while further entries are still expected. Around 80-100 athletes will participate in these World Championships.

The event will begin on Thursday, September 5th with the men’s and ladies’ super G. Also on the schedule are a super combined event, giant slalom and slalom. The super G course is by far the most challenging, with an average slope of nearly 14 percent and the maximum gradient weighing in a nearly 20 percent.

The Japanese Organisers are particularly grateful for the chance to host the event in Shichikashuku as they have hopes it will further help restore the northeast region of the country that was devastated by the earthquake on March 11th 2011

The last edition of the Grass Skiing World Championship in 2011 was held in conjunction with the Junior World Championship in 2011, but this year it will feature only the senior skiers as the Junior World Championships was already successfully held separately at the start of the month in Rettenbach (AUT).