Alpine World Ski Championships 1982, Schladming, Austria 5.2.1982

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982 were held in Schladming, Austria, between January 28 and February 7, 1982. These were the 27th World Championships; the men's races were held at Planai and the women's at Haus im Ennstal. The combined event returned as a separate event, with its own downhill and two slalom run.  From 1954 through 1980, it was a "paper race" which used the results from the three races (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom). The combined was last run at the world championships in 1948, the last without the giant slalom event. The combined was absent from the program in 1950 and 1952.

Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden won gold in the slalom and silver in the giant slalom, upset by Steve Mahre of the United States. Two women were triple medalists: Erika  Hess of Switzerland won three golds, with titles in the slalom, giant slalom, and combined, and Christin Cooper of the U.S. won two silvers and a bronze. Switzerland and the U.S. led in total medals with five each; Switzerland had three golds (Hess') and five other nations each had a single gold medal.

These were the last World Championships scheduled for an even-numbered year (1996 was a postponement of 1995, due to lack of snow). The world championships returned to Schladming in 2013, with all 11 events held at Planai.

Thank you Merja.

Skiing 6.6.1984

European and World Ice Hockey Championships 5.3.1974

The 1974 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 41st Ice Hockey World Championships and the 52nd European Championships in ice hockey. The tournament took place in Finland from 5 April to 20 April and the games were played in the capital, Helsinki. Six teams took part in the main tournament, all playing each other twice. The Soviet Union won the world championships for the 13th time, and also won their 16th European title. For the first time in ice hockey World Championship history, two players were suspended for doping. They were the Swede Ulf Nilsson and the Finn Stig Wetzell who tested positive for the forbidden substance ephedrine. Both players were suspended for the rest of the tournament. Nilsson tested positive after Sweden's game against Poland, which Sweden won 4-1. The game was awarded to Poland as a 5-0 walkover. The Finn, Wetzell, tested positive after Finland's match against Czechoslovakia, which Finland won 5-2, which was also awarded to Czechoslovakia as a 5-0 walkover. Thank you Pia for this nice FDC and the impressive stamp on it.

HockeyBird skates into the ice hockey world championship tournament's official stamp 21.3.2012

A stamp in honour of the Ice Hockey World Cup that will be held in Helsinki and Stockholm in May 2012 was issued on 21^st March. The official stamp of the ice hockey world will portray the widely noted mascot HockeyBird. The stamp and additional products are designed by the man behind the look of the mascot itself. He is, of course, Lead Artist Toni Kysenius of Rovio Entertainment, who has now fulfilled his long-time dream of designing a stamp. HockeyBird's job is to bring high-voltage bird energy to the great sporting event and to barge into anything and everything, so it is only natural that he will also take over the stamp, Toni Kysenius says.
Finland and Sweden share the hosting of the ice hockey world championship tournament in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, the main arena for the tournament is the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, and Stockholm's Ericsson Globe Arena will have a supporting role. The 2012 tournament will be played from 4 to 20 May. My friend Ella sent this wonderful maxi card and the First Day Cover to me.

XV th Calgary Olympics 6.4.1988

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Most events took place in Calgary, although Alpine skiing took place in Kananaskis and Nordic skking and biathlon taking place in Canmore. Fifty-seven nations and 1,423 athletes participated in the games, with five countries making their debut in the Winter Olympics. Super-G made its Olympic debut, while curling, freestyle skiing, short track speed skating and disabled skiing were demonstration sports. Speed skating was held in an indoor rink for the first time and the games were extended to 16 days.

On the stamp is shown Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykanen who won five Olympic medals. Three of them were gold medals won at the Calgary Winter Olympics in Canada in 1988. This FDC is courtesy of Ella.

Winter Sports Card in 3D

This is a superb minisheet showing 4 stamps of Finnish Winter Sportspersons. The stamps are in 3D and hence, one cannot really appreciate the beauty of these stamps. This wonderful specimen was given to me by My friend Ella.