Media Meeting 

When the competitions of the Alpine Ski World Championships 2025 start in Saalbach, athletes will be more than ever in focus. More than 50 journalists, reporters and photographers took part in the event on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2024 with the Swiss ski stars in front of the microphone. How such a media meeting is planned and implemented, media advisor Zoé Chastan from Swiss Ski told us.

Organisation of media appointments

 

As soon as the official line-up for the races is made public, Swiss Ski will notify all accredited media representatives. From this point on, journalists can register for interviews and make inquiries for athletes.

 

The organization of media appointments is a balancing act. Athletes with a particularly high number of requests appear at specially scheduled media appointments. Those who are less in demand are interviewed in the finish room after training or races. A traditional media appointment usually lasts between 30 and 45 minutes - as short as possible so as not to put additional strain on the athletes' already tight schedules.

Multilingualism and international media

 

Swiss Ski press conferences focus on multilingualism. Swiss Ski's media representatives organise press conferences in the three national languages: German, French and Italian. As not all athletes have German as their mother tongue, it is essential that communication takes place in multiple languages. This allows for the best possible media coverage and takes into account the interests of all parties involved.

Even if individual athletes are one or two minutes late, everyone has always shown up on time.

says Zoé Chastan with a smile, Media Manager Swiss Ski

Swiss Ski media manager Zoé Chastan stresses that media appointments always run smoothly. One particularly memorable moment for her was the 2023 World Ski Championships in Courchevel/Méribel: Back then, Swiss Ski tried to keep the media meeting as short as possible with only two athletes - Marco Odermatt and Loïc Meillard. But the plan didn't quite go to plan: the meeting lasted over an hour, as the two ski stars spoke extensively to journalists.

Media work as part of everyday skiing

 

Despite the high organizational costs, media events are an essential part of the ski circus. They allow the media to generate content for their coverage and put skiing in the spotlight. All the major nations organize similar events - so for the athletes, the exchange with the media is part of everyday life.

 

While Chastan says it is usually easier to organise media appointments at foreign races - as there are fewer journalists on site than at home races - the World Cup 2025 in Saalbach will again be a big challenge with more than 50 media present. But one thing is certain: with good planning and proven procedures, Swiss Ski ensured that the media appointment went smoothly this time.