The first ski jump test events ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics have been postponed because the jumping facilities are not ready, officials told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
The Russian Cup, a national ski jumping competition, had been slated for February 12 to 17, but has now been moved to a another city, while a different event will be used to test the Sochi facilities at a later date, Alexander Uvarov, president of the Russian Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Federation, told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
An official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject told RIA Novosti that the reason for the schedule change was that the ski jumping facilities were not ready.
“There will be no test competitions in Sochi from the 12th to the 17th,” Uvarov said. He stressed that the test event would go ahead, just in a different form. "The test events in Sochi remain in our plans."
‘The question is about when they will be held, and this will be decided by an interdepartmental commission. And the options for that are being looked at.”
Uvarov said that the federation was considering staging a test event later in February, or between March 23 and 25.
Sochi officials admitted this year that some 70 facilities for the Games were behind schedule, though insisted the delays were minor and wouldn't impact the quality of the event.
Biathlon officials said last week a major test event has been closed to the public due to construction delays at the course.
Vadim Melikhov, the vice-president of the Russian Biathlon Union, said "the facility isn't finished," but that the bare minimum of infrastructure at the Krasnaya Polyana course was ready for the February 6-10 Cup of Russia to go ahead.
