International Ski and Snowboard Federation

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (French: Fédération Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation (Fédération Internationale de Ski) until 26 May 2022 when the name was changed to include snowboard.[9][2][10][11]

International Ski and Snowboard Federation
Fédération Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard
SportSkiing[1] and Snowboarding[2]
JurisdictionInternational
Membership132 members[1]
AbbreviationFIS
Founded2 February 1924; 100 years ago (1924-02-02)[1]
in Chamonix, France
AffiliationIOC[3]
HeadquartersMarc Hodler House
Blochstrasse 2
Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland
PresidentUnited Kingdom Johan Eliasch
Vice president(s)
SecretaryFrance Michel Vion
Operating incomeDecrease CHF 14.6 million (2018)[8]
Official website
www.fis-ski.com
  • Official languages: English, French,
    German and Russian[3]

Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the inaugural Winter Olympic Games, FIS is responsible for the Olympic skiing disciplines, namely Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding. The FIS is also responsible for setting the international competition rules. The organization has a membership of 132 national ski associations, and is based in Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland.[9]

Most World Cup wins

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At least 50 World Cup wins in all disciplines run by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation for men and women:

Rank Wins Discipline Code
1   Amélie Wenger-Reymond 164 Telemark skiing TM
2   Marit Bjørgen 114 Cross-country skiing CC
3   Conny Kissling 106 Freestyle skiing FS
4   Mikaela Shiffrin 98 Alpine skiing AL
5   Mikaël Kingsbury 87 Freestyle skiing FS
6   Ingemar Stenmark 86 Alpine skiing AL
7   Lindsey Vonn 82 Alpine skiing AL
  Therese Johaug 82 Cross-country skiing CC
9   Johannes Høsflot Klæbo 74 Cross-country skiing CC
10   Karine Ruby 67 Snowboarding SB
  Marcel Hirscher 67 Alpine skiing AL
  Jarl Magnus Riiber 67 Nordic combined NK
13   Sara Takanashi 63 Ski jumping JP
14   Annemarie Moser-Pröll 62 Alpine skiing AL
15   Phillipe Lau 58 Telemark skiing TM
  Simone Origone 58 Speed skiing SS
17   Jan Bucher 57 Freestyle skiing FS
  Jan Němec 57 Grass skiing GS
19   Vreni Schneider 55 Alpine skiing AL
20   Hermann Maier 54 Alpine skiing AL
21   Gregor Schlierenzauer 53 Ski jumping JP
  Edoardo Frau 53 Grass skiing GS
23   Alberto Tomba 50 Alpine skiing AL
  Justyna Kowalczyk 50 Cross-country skiing CC

Updated as of 3 February 2024

Ski disciplines

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The federation organises the following ski sport disciplines, for which it oversees the FIS Games as well as World Cup competitions and World Championships:

Alpine skiing
Disciplines World Championships
Alpine combined FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
Downhill
Super-G
Giant slalom
Slalom
Parallel
Nordic skiing
Disciplines World Championships
Cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Ski jumping
Nordic combined
Ski flying FIS Ski Flying World Championships
Freestyle skiing
Disciplines World Championships
Moguls FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
Aerials
Skicross
Half-pipe
Big air
Ski Ballet/Acro Ski (defunct with FIS)
Snowboarding
Disciplines World Championships
Parallel giant slalom FIS Snowboarding World Championships
Parallel slalom
Big air
Slopestyle
Snowboard cross
Half-pipe
Para
Disciplines World Championships
Para alpine skiing FIS Para Alpine World Championships
Para cross-country skiing FIS Para Cross-Country World Championships
Para snowboard FIS Para Snowboard World Championships
Others
Disciplines World Championships
Freeride skiing Freeride World Tour
Grass skiing FIS sprint slalom, giant slalom, super combined, super-G, parallel slalom – World Cup (s)
Speed skiing FIS speed skiing championships
Telemark skiing Sprint, classic, parallel sprint, team parallel sprint – World Cup (s)
Masters FIS World Criterium Masters (amateur, senior)
Roller skiing (amateur, senior)

FIS Congress history

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Founding and the first years

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After ski club federations and national associations were created in Norway (1883 and 1908), Russia (1896), Bohemia and Great Britain (1903), Switzerland (1904), United States, Austria and Germany (all in 1905) and Sweden, Finland and Italy (all in 1908), and competitions had begun such as the Nordic Games,[12] early international cross-country races (Adelboden, 1903), international participation at Holmenkollen (1903)[13] and Club Alpin Français (CAF) International Winter Sports Weeks, an international Ski Congress was convened to develop standard rules for international competitive skiing.

The founding of a predecessor association, the International Ski Commission (CIS), was decided on February 18, 1910, in Christiania, Norway by delegates from ten countries to the first International Ski Congress.[14] This Congress then met every year or so to hear from the CIS and refine and adopt rule changes. The commission was to consist of two members - a representative of Scandinavia and Central Europe. Ultimately, two Scandinavians sat on the commission. A year later, in March 1911, the first internationally valid set of rules was approved. At that time, the commission was enlarged to five members, and Oslo was elected as headquarters.

In 1913, the number of members of the commission was increased to seven: two Norwegians, two Swedes, a Swiss, a German and an Austrian.

On February 2, 1924, in Chamonix as part of the "International Winter Sports Week", which was later to be recognized as the first Olympic Winter Games, 36 delegates from 14 countries (Great Britain, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Yugoslavia, Norway, Poland, Romania, US, Switzerland, Sweden, Hungary and Italy) decided to found the FIS, which replaced the CIS.

Initially, the FIS was only responsible for Nordic skiing. FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1925 in Janské Lázně, Czechoslovakia, were given status as the first official World Championships. After the Scandinavian countries had relented, it was decided at the 11th FIS Congress (February 24–26, 1930 in Oslo) to also include alpine skiing (downhill, slalom and alpine combined) in the rules. This was upon a proposal by Great Britain, in which the British ski pioneer Arnold Lunn played a major role as co-founder of the Arlberg-Kandahar races. The simple sentence "Downhill and slalom races may be organized" was written into the rules - a sentence that was to change skiing in the long term.[15] The first FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were held 19–23 February 1931 in Mürren, Switzerland.

Ski flying, a variation of ski jumping, was recognized as a discipline in 1938, but rules were not finalized until after World War II.

List of Ski Congresses

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Presidents

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The Crystal Globe trophy awarded by the FIS to the winner of the Alpine Ski World Cup. Similar trophies are awarded in all FIS world cups.
# Name Nationality Term
1. Ivar Holmquist   Sweden 1924–1934
2. Nicolai Ramm Østgaard   Norway 1934–1951
3. Marc Hodler    Switzerland 1951–1998
4. Gian-Franco Kasper    Switzerland 1998–2021[17][18]
5. Johan Eliasch   Great Britain
  Sweden
2021–present

Members

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Official FIS ski museums

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Exhibit at the FIS Skimuseum Damüls in Vorarlberg (Austria)

As of 2017, there are 31 official FIS Ski Museums worldwide in 13 countries which are devoted to the history of skiing, taking into account the region's own history of skiing and tourism.[19]

List of FIS ski museums

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Facts & Figures". FIS-ski.com. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Decisions of the 53rd International Ski Congress". FIS-ski.com. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023. The new name of the organisation is the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. The acronym of the organisation will remain FIS.
  3. ^ a b "General Regulations". FIS-ski.com. June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Roman Kumpost". FIS-ski.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Dexter Paine". FIS-ski.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Aki Murasato". FIS-ski.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Peter Schroecksnadel". FIS-ski.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Accounts. Comptes. Rechnung 01.01.2018 – 31.12.2018" (PDF). FIS-ski.com. 25 February 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  9. ^ a b "History of FIS". FIS-ski.com. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2023. The International Ski Federation - Fédération Internationale de Ski, Internationaler Ski Verband - is abbreviated in all languages as FIS.
  10. ^ "Behind the decision: It's all in a name". FIS-ski.com. 1 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023. the General Assembly voted to formally change the name of the International Ski Federation to be the International Ski and Snowboard Federation ... Since the acronym FIS is widely recognised in the world of international sports, the Organization will remain FIS, but now with "Snowboard" as an official part of the long-form name.
  11. ^ Roepke, Michele (8 June 2022). "FIS gets a new name, hint: snowboard starts with "S" too". TownLift.com. Park City News. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  12. ^ Edgeworth, Ron (1994) “The Nordic Games and the Origins of the Olympic Winter Games” Archived 18 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine Citius, Altius, Fortius
  13. ^ Vaage, Jakob (1968) The Holmenkollen Ski Jumping Hill and the Ski Museum Archived 16 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine Oslo: Tanum OCLC 492547534 Page 19
  14. ^ FIS Congress History Archived 4 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine at FIS
  15. ^ Ski-ing and Olympism Archived 3 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine Olympic Review
  16. ^ List of past Congress summaries at fis-ski.com Archived 14 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "FIS President". FIS-ski.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Ski: FIS-Präsident Gian Franco Kasper tritt zurück". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  19. ^ "FIS Official Ski Museums". FIS-ski.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Kulisse Pfarrhof Ski Museum | Culture | REGION". damuels.travel. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Home- Winter!Sport!Museum!". WinterSportMuseum.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Skimuseum Werfenweng" (in German). Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Skimuseum ist Geschichte". Vaterland online. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
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