9th International Congress On Skiing And Science In Saalbach Hinterglemm Winds Up

The International Congress on Science and Skiing (ICSS) has been organized since 1996 and took place for the first time this year from March 18th to 22nd in Saalbach Hinterglemm. Around 150 presentations by scientific experts and young researchers from 20 nations worldwide provided the 200 congress participants with the latest scientific findings from various interdisciplinary areas of winter sports.

After being held six times in St. Christoph am Arlberg, once in Aspen (USA) and most recently in Vuokatti (Finland), the ICSS took place for the first time this year in Salzburger Land. The congress was organized by the Department of Sport and Movement Science at the University of Salzburg with Congress President Thomas Stöggl. "It was my idea to hold the congress in my Pinzgau homeland," explains Stöggl, "The sensational opportunities in the area of ​​alpine and Nordic skiing in the area around Saalbach Hinterglemm and the hosting of the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 2025 are a magnet for that worldwide audience of scientists, students and sports practitioners from the various areas of winter sports.”

Spread over five instructive days, a wide variety of winter sports topics were dealt with. Renowned keynote speakers such as Univ. Prof. Hans-Christer Holmberg (Member of the Swedish Olympic Committee, physiologist and biomechanist), Prof. John Seifert (Montana State University) and Univ. Prof. Vesa Linnamo (Finland) gave insights into topics from the field of skiing and from various disciplines such as sports physiology, training science and sports technology of the future.

A highlight of the congress was the FIS session of the newly founded "Athlete Health Unit" in the 12er KOGEL gallery in Hinterglemm with the topic "Recent efforts towards injury prevention in snow sports" on Monday, March 20th. Various approaches were presented and discussed here to avoid the risk of injury in alpine skiing.

The keynotes and presentations were framed by winter sports activities such as skiing, a gala dinner, various workshops and a closing ceremony. "Thanks to the sensational support of the Saalbach Hinterglemm Tourism Association, the congress was a scientific as well as a sporting and social highlight," says Thomas Stöggl happily.