Decisions From FIS Council Gathering February 2020 Released

The FIS Council Gathering took place on Thursday 6th February 2020 in Zurich (SUI).

The main purpose of the gathering was for the FIS leadership to focus on the preparations for the International Ski Congress in May 2020 and review the proposals for the agenda of the General Assembly that will take place on Friday 22nd May 2020.

President Gian Franco Kasper gave a status report on the season to date with the respective Council Members from the organising nations providing updates on the FIS World Championships and Junior Championships that are taking place in the upcoming weeks.

In view of the cancellation of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Yanqing (CHN) scheduled for the 15th-16th February, which was the first official Beijing 2022 test event, the Council expressed its appreciation to the Chinese Ski Association for the professional way in which it expeditiously managed the cancellation. The first competitions on the Olympic downhill course in Yanqing were carried out successfully as part of the 14th Chinese National Winter Games in January. The present FIS Technical Experts and Medical Supervisor were very pleased with the new course and snow conditions, as well as the organisation of the event and mountain operations.

In addition, the following key decisions were made by the Council during the meeting:

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Calendar

The Audi FIS Alpine World Cup calendars for 2020/21 were approved with the inclusion of the 1st January individual parallel slalom for women and men in Davos (SUI). Adaptations were made the women’s races in Courchevel (FRA) and Flachau (AUT), both of which will now feature a slalom. The updated calendar will be published on the FIS website.

Alpine Skiing Injuries

A working group of sport and medical experts will be established through the FIS Injury Surveillance and Prevention Project with the goal of reducing the number of serious injuries. The group will identify the most important injury hot-spots through methodical injury analysis and evaluation, in order to propose effective solutions and projects for implementation.

Fluorinated Ski Wax Prohibition

An update was provided by the Council Working Group following the decision of FIS to ban use of fluorinated ski waxes in all FIS disciplines from the 2020/21 competition season, which have been shown scientifically to have a negative environmental and health impact. The following steps were approved:

• Confirmation of the collaboration with the company to develop the hand-held detector for fluorinated waxes, which will be ready for testing prior to the 2020/2021 season.
• Establish the agreement for certification of the detectors with the Frauenhof Institute.
• Delegate the Legal Committee to propose harmonised regulations for all disciplines.
• Task the FIS Discipline Committees to prepare the specific competition and equipment regulations and to establish the procedures for testing at the competitions.

Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined - Training Days

The proposal of the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Committees to reduce the number of training days from three to one at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and Olympic Winter Games was approved in view of the new proposal for the FIS Congress 2020 from Norway to introduce the women’s large hill individual competition at the FIS World Championships. The Council expressed its support for the proposal and it will be submitted to the FIS Congress 2020.

FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships 2025 candidacy

The WADA sanctions against RUSADA and Russia mean that the candidacy for the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in 2025, Krasnoyarsk, Russia would not be permitted.

In view of the fact that RUSADA has appealed the decision to CAS, the Council decided to postpone the candidacy process for the time being and review the situation at the FIS Congress in May 2020. If the verdict of CAS has been made by this time, a decision on the process and timing for the Council to elect an Organiser of the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in 2025 will then be made.

FIS Congress 2020, Royal Cliff (THA)

The Council confirmed that the plans and arrangements for the FIS Congress 2020 in Royal Cliff (THA) are on track and there are presently no specific concerns about the Corona Virus in the country. In any case, FIS is monitoring the situation for all upcoming events and will advise the National Ski Associations and participants if there are any changes.

Sustainability / Environment Activities

Following the Mainau Forum on the Environment under the theme “Care of the Mountain Population” from 20th to 22nd November, a Council Working Group was appointed to update the existing Mainau Manifesto.

The new version is presently being drafted together with the input of the scientific experts for submission to the Congress in May 2020. The revised Mainau Environment Manifesto will follow the five principles of the United Nations Sport for Climate Action Framework and consist of recommendations that are focused on caring for the mountain population in view of today’s situation.