Neveplast Startpark Reiteralm in the heart of Schladming.

   

The brand new Neveplast Startpark Reiteralm in the heart of Schladming.

Nestled in the wild Styrian landscape, Schladming gained over the years a special place in the heart of skiing enthusiasts.  The Austrian resort hosted the Alpine skiing Wolrd twice and, since 1981, is home to the iconic slalom on the Planai, the most awaited event of the World Cup.

The Schladming resort, and more specifically the Reiteralm area, is a favorite destination among ski and snowboard cross specialists who come from every corner of the world to train in the Cross Park.

Right here a new startpark will be inaugurated the upcoming spring, and Neveplast will be its title sponsor. Therefore, it will be named “Neveplast Startpark Reiteralm”.

A refreshing news for 2021 which greatly enhances Reiteralm’s touristic offer: a summer park realized in Neveplast artificial material becomes a valuable opportunity for ski and snowboard cross experts to train even in the hottest season, without the need of real snow.

The Startpark has been designed to train athletes’ skills all year long, in sight of the Olympics and World Cup races.

Neveplast is involved as technical and title sponsor.

The layout of the Neveplast Startpark Reiteralm includes six different training lines with whoops, jumps and parabolic turns especially designed to replicate racetracks on which athletes will compete during the winter season. The lines perfectly suit the characteristics and the needs of ski and snowboard cross specialists. They are entirely covered of Neveplast, eco-friendly and totally regenerable material which replicates the feeling of skiing and snowboarding on a layer of compact snow. The Neveplast material, once laid on the ground, will stay even during the winter season, so to help in case of snow scarcity and hotter weather. In that case, just a few centimeters of snow will be enough to train efficiently and in total safety.

Willibald Zechner, commonly known as Willi.

Head Coach of the Chinese Alpine skiing National Team, he covered the role of Head Coach of the Austrian Ski Cross National Team for many years in the past and was the main supporter of the realization of the Cross Park.

 When I used to train the Austrian ski cross National Team I was looking for an efficient solution which would allow my athletes to train all year long. It was indeed one of my top athletes, Katrin Ofner (recent winner of a World Cup race in Val Thorens) to introduce me to Neveplast.

Katrin has been training for a few years now on a pump track and a start section that were especially created for her, and she is very enthusiastic about this solution. Right after a talk with Katrin I immediately reached out to Neveplast and in a very short time we closed a deal for the supply and the sponsorship of the Startpark.

The finalization of the contract was possible thanks to the Unterkofler family and the Reiteralm ski area, always by my side in the realization of interesting projects aimed at tourists and athletes visiting the resort.

The winter Crosspark in Reiteralm is the true flagship of our ski area and the training slope entirely dedicated to ski and snowboard cross athletes is used by national teams coming from all the corners of the world. Above all our Austrian athletes, but also the whole World Cup entourage and the several ski clubs using it are all enthusiastic and thrilled about the new Neveplast Startpark Reiteralm.

From May 2021, I expect to see a lot of reservations from athletes of several different nationalities who will come to Reiteralm specially to train in our Neveplast summer park.

Every athlete who practices the cross discipline, whether on skis or snowboard, knows how important it is the starting phase. The one that begins in the starting gate and ends at the first few whoops. In other words, the phase recreated in the start section.

In the ski and the snowboard cross, athletes start together, and the athlete who gets out of the whoops first has a great advantage over others, since they will find themselves battling with each other to reach the front of the race. 

It is way better to be in the front from the beginning because following and overtaking others is becoming more and more difficult.

I honestly believe that having the possibility to train in a summer park on such a high-performant material as Neveplast is, will raise the bar for all the athletes. Only a continuous repetition of the movements, in different circumstances, all year long enables to improve the performance in the starting gate.

We are very proud that Neveplast accepted our offer.

I must say I have not tried Neveplast yet, but I will do it as soon as the Startpark will be open in spring.

Looking forward to inaugurating the Neveplast Startpark, I would like to invite you all to follow the adventures of the winter Crosspark Reiteralm on our official social media channels”

Niccolò Bertocchi, Neveplast’s AD

“We are extremely happy and proud to have been chosen by the Reiteralm company for the realization of its summer Crosspark. We deeply believe in the potential of our product to train the Start Section. The ski and snowboard cross athletes using Neveplast all year long to improve their skills are very satisfied, and for us this is worth more than any other marketing operation. Knowing that our name for the partnership with the Crosspark in Reiteralm has been suggested by Katrin Ofner, who already trains on a Neveplast pump track, is a great payback for us, for all the sacrifices we have made to constantly improve ourselves. We are an Italian company exporting worldwide, but every time we find a way into the Austrian hearts, it is a bit sweeter for us. In a country where winter sports are a true religion, being appreciated for our hard work, well, it is even more satisfying.

I would like to thank Willi Zechner for thinking of us, and naturally Sunkid colleagues which served as an intermediary for this contractual operation.

I am very looking forward to seeing and testing personally the Neveplast Starpark Reiteralm when this will be finalized. I really hope that it will become a favorite destination for international athletes coming from all the continents and that it could be a forge of champions, who, thanks to this training ground open all year long, could grow and take the international scene”