Goodbye traditional red, white and blue suits. Hello race suits with a climate message. It’s a whole new concept in race suits.
The blue and white pattern is based on satellite photos of icebergs breaking up and floating in the ocean. The design is intended to draw attention to climate change.
The new suits were showcased by the U.S. Team skiers at the recent FIS Alpine World Championships in Meribel, France, where the Mixed Team Parallel won its first ever gold medal, besting Norway, the frequent winner of the event.
Mixed Team Parallel includes both men and women, with two racers in head-to-head competition on parallel courses.
Also wearing the iceberg race suit, it was gold for Mikaela Shiffrin in the Giant Slalom and then a silver in the Slalom. The world saw the new race suit on the iconic ski champion.
Three organizations teamed up for this unique race wear design –
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard;
- Kappa, a high end Italian manufacturer of technical sportswear and speed suits; and
- Protect Our Winters (POW), a non-profit that promotes non-partisan climate policies and urges outdoor enthusiasts to help protect the winter sports they love.
“A warming winter is one of the biggest threats to the future of snowsports,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “In the 2022-23 winter, teams around the world have had to cancel races due to lack of snow. Some courses are made entirely of machine-made snow, and athletes are racing in 50-degree temperatures in the middle of winter.”
This year, it’s iceberg design race suits. Will there be a new message on race suits in the future?
Kappa will outfit all teams with outerwear, speed, and race suits for events at home and the FIS World Cup events through the 2032 season. In addition, the company will outfit all U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes who compete in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy and in the 2030 Olympic Games.
Will their race suits have an iceberg theme, or another climate message?
This is a great move. There are bigger issues at play than “nationalism” and showing your colors, climate change for example. This is the way to go. We need to take every opportunity to help save our planet and skiing. I was lucky this winter and skied Utah where they got more than than 11 meter of snow and still counting. That’s what we want.
Interesting information! I like the new designs–very attractive, and I applaud the messaging! Good article, Harriet!
Boy, people don’t want to hear what I have to say about “man-made climate change”. At 75 I’m getting old and cranky and need to be quiet. Only skiied about 70 years now from MN, CO, WY, MT, OR, CA, WA, BC and now ID. My common sense for research has not fled….yet. Only electric cars should go to ski areas only powered by their own windmills and only ski on runs groomed by electric groomers and only fly to ski areas in electric jets.