1.  One of the things we talk about is having the parties agree to early openers.

2.  Organizers are hoping the early opener is more successful than last year, when rain and high winds nearly wiped out the opening weekend in Solden, Austria.

3.  Organizers are hoping the early opener is more successful than last year, when storms and high winds wiped out the opening races in Saas Fee, Switzerland.

4.  The hosts rushed ahead immediately, winning the starting face-off and pinning their rivals back in an attempt to score an early opener.