 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | Anton Arnsteiner |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Skis, backpacks, ski bags |
| Parent | Tecnica Group |
| Website | blizzard-tecnica.com |
Blizzard is an Austrian sports equipment company, based in Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria. Blizzard is currently a division of the italian Tecnica Group S.p.A. and is specialized in the manufacturing of alpine skiing equipment, more specifically skis and accessories (backpacks, ski bags).
Blizzard was established in 1945 by Anton Arnsteiner ("der Toni"), as he returned home from the second world war, in the family joinery workshop, [1] and started producing skis besides wooden furniture.
The "Blizzard" brand was registered in 1953. In 1954, Blizzard became the first manufacturer to mass-produce polyethylene ski bases. Blizzard's first expansion occurred in 1957 as well as the introduction of metal and fiberglass as new materials. 1963 saw a great part of the factory burned down. In 1970, as production reached 500,000 skis per year, company name was changed from "Blizzard Skifabrik Anton Arnsteiner" to "Blizzard GmbH". In 1976 a second production site was opened near Munich.
In 1980 Blizzard introduced the "Thermoski", after 6 years of development. In 1996 Blizzard introduced its first Carving ski, but it also applied for insolvency and was bought up by US company SCOTT Sports.
It was sold to Karl Hofstätter (33.3%) and Anton Stöckl (66.6%) in 2005, who sold it to the Tecnica Group in 2006 [2] [3] [4] [5] and 2007, respectively. Sales of Blizzard skis are now completely integrated in the sale organization of Tecnica Group.
Blizzard's presence on the FIS Alpine World Cup circuit is represented by several racers, including Austrian Reinfried Herbst and Japanese racer Akira Sasaki.
Throughout the years, Blizzard won many awards with its skiers team:
As of February 25, 2007, Blizzard placed 10th in the overall World Cup points standings. [6]
In March 2007, Blizzard announced that former World Cup racer and US Pro Tour champion Bernhard Knauss would be taking over as Blizzard's race manager. [7]
In 2010, Reinfried Herbst wins on the new Blizzard Ski the Slalom World Cup and gets the small crystal globe.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Blizzard won the first Olympic gold medal in the men's slalom won by Mario Matt and a victory in the Freeride World Tour by Loic Collomb-Patton.
The 36th World Cup began in October 2001 and ended in March 2002 at the World Cup finals held in Altenmarkt, Austria. The overall winners were Stephan Eberharter and Michaela Dorfmeister, both from Austria.
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Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event during the 1983 season and was added to the official schedule of the World Championships in 1987 and the Winter Olympics in 1988.
Hermann Maier is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, and three World Championship titles. His 54 World Cup race victories – 24 super-G, 15 downhills, 14 giant slaloms, and 1 combined – rank third on the men's all-time list behind Ingemar Stenmark's 86 victories and Marcel Hirscher's 67 victories. As of 2013, he holds the record for the most points in one season by a male alpine skier, with 2000 points from the 2000 season. From 2000–2013 he also held the title of most points in one season by any alpine skier, until Tina Maze scored 2414 points in the 2013 season.
Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975–78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel by a margin of 0.33 seconds with a time of 1:45.73. He won 25 World Cup downhills, including four on the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel. He also holds the record for the most victories (four) on the full course at Kitzbühel.
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Marlies Raich is a retired Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. She specializes in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom. Schild won four Olympic medals, with silvers in the combined (2006) and slalom and a bronze in slalom (2006). She has seven World Championship medals and has won five World Cup season titles.
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