Britta Mast: “To be able to organize a large scale event with as many spectators and spark their enthusiasm is always the most rewarding and fun part of my job.”

When this year's 83th edition of the Spengler Cup will end in a little over six weeks, Britta Mast will be among those breathing a sigh of relief. This year she will go through her baptism by fire in her first year as the central point person for the accommodation of all the teams, the guests of honour and the complete staff of the Davos Hockey Club.

Despite being only 32 old, Britta Mast boasts an impressive record and extensive experience when it comes to event management. A native of Swiss capital Bern, Britta, after finishing high school, successfully completed a course at the College for Tourism Management in Samedan in the Swiss county of Engadin. Since then she has continued to live and work in the Bündnerland region. After an initial engagement for the Alpenarena in Laax she worked for a short spell for the Davos Tourist Board before taking over the organization of the Ski World Cup Final at Lenzerheide in 2005 and 2007. Meanwhile Britta has returned to Davos, taking over as General Manager the Davos Services GmbH, a subsidiary of parent company Davos Destinations-Organization.

Planning begins in the spring

It was her previous contact with Fred Pargätzi, President of the Organization Commitee that brought Britta to her current job at the Spengler Cup. After taking over from her predecessor in the spring, Britta found herself confronted with a lot of paperwork that needed to be completed. All the different hotels needed to be approached, conditions negotiated and early reservations finalized. Britta Mast's main focus is to look after the teams and guest of honour. It goes without saying that she also looks after the media partners and sponsors who are never shy to approach the tourism manager with various requests.

In charge of 500 beds

The similarities to the Ski World Cup Final are many-fold: "Both the Spengler Cup and the World Cup Final are spectator focused events. The tasks from an organizational standpoint are very similar" explains Britta who lives in Davos Clavadel.
Whether skiing or hockey, one thing always remains the same for Britta Mast: "To be able to organize a large scale event with as many spectators and spark their enthusiasm is always the most rewarding and fun part of my job." The Spengler Cup and Davos will become home to four international teams during its duration. This equates to 40 people per team, not counting relatives of team members, media people, guests of honour and the HC Davos staff members. "I have to provide approximately 500 beds in total", explains the event manager.

"I am keeping my fingers crossed for the Davos Hockey Club"

After a slightly quieter phase during the summer months, the anxiety and pressure levels are slowly creeping back up. Britta constantly wonders whether she has booked enough rooms for everyone given that she does not always have the complete travel details from all the teams. The situation is particularly challenging since there are almost no additional vacancies available during the height of the season in the Landwasser valley.

During the tournament the work load and dynamics become even less predictable and a large degree of hectic coordination at short notice is to be expected. But despite all this, Britta is greatly looking forward to the event. Already during the current season is she routing for the HC Davos in the great hope that "the HC Davos may win the Spengler Cup this year!"