Vail, CO – The traditional alpine skiing powers are coming, but so are countries such as the Cayman Islands, India, the Netherlands and Timor-Leste as preliminary team entries for Vail and Beaver Creek’s 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships have yielded 69 confirmed national team entries to date.

Two additional nations are currently unconfirmed, bringing the total entries to 71.  The preliminary entry deadline for the Championships was October 30.

“The list of countries coming to the 2015 World Championships is a real lesson in geography,” offered Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley Foundation and head of the 2015 Organizing Committee.  “These truly are ‘World’ Championships and it will be exciting for our community to have the chance to interact with participants from all of these nations.”

The 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria featured a total of 70 nations represented and, with confirmations and possible additional entries, Vail and Beaver Creek could surpass that number.  The final opportunity for a nation to enter a team will come in mid-January of 2015.

The Vail Valley’s first World Championships in 1989 featured athletes from 42 nations, while the 1999 World Championships showcased competitors from 55 different countries.

Other non-traditional alpine skiing nations currently entered include Azerbaijan, Brazil, Greece, Haiti, Israel, Jamaica, South Africa and Chinese-Taipei.  Former U.S. Ski Team member and Vail resident Sarah Schleper will be attempting to qualify and compete for Mexico.

Scheduled from February 2-15 of 2015, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek are expected to showcase athletes from over 70 nations, with an estimated 750 million worldwide television viewers and an onsite media and broadcast entourage of approximately 1,500 members. All 2015 Championships race events will be free to the public to attend, with Vail and Beaver Creek stadiums filled on a first come, first served basis.