Opening Ceremony 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships La Molina

The 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships were opened in the Sports Centre of Alp, a small village near La Molina, Spain on Tuesday (19 February). From 20-27 February, 118 skiers from 29 countries will battle it out for gold in six events, just over a year before the next Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. "Since the 2011 World Championships in Sestriere a number of great rivalries have developed on the alpine skiing circuit and I expect these to take centre stage here this week," said IPC President, Sir Philip Craven in his Opening Ceremony speech. "I'm also delighted at some of the new young talent emerging and believe some of them will be surprise packages here in La Molina by coming out of nowhere to win a medal or even a world title. "Such competition for medals and rankings is great news for the sport and I expect the performance levels of athletes to reach new heights at these Championships." The Opening Ceremony of the sixth World Championships was attended by Her Royal Highness, Princess Elena, Mayor Ramon Moliner, Miguel Cardenal, President of the Spanish Sports Council, Ivan Tibau, Secretary General of Sport, Miguel Carballeda, President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee and Miguel Sagarra, IPC Governing Board Member. It featured a performance from the local band For more information please visit the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships La Molina homepage. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to develop sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.