169 2020
OFFICIAL OFFIZIELLES
BULLETIN OFFICIEL
HIGHLIGHTS
President‘s Report
FIS Development Programme
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All you need to know about the 2019/20 FIS World Cup tours
FIS Junior World Championship Medallists 2019/20
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112
56 –86
Bringing Children to the Snow
FIS Anti-Doping Activities
Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020
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100
Crystal Globe Winners
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Contents INSIDE FIS 6 14 20 22 24 28 42
PRESIDENT‘S REPORT Report of the Secretary General FIS STAFF FIS Finances FIS Development Programme Marketing Update Communications Update
TITLE EVENTS 36 42 46
FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2020 FIS Junior World Ski Championships 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020
SEASON REVIEW
58 62 68 72 78 82
FIS World CUP 2019/20 Coop Cross-Country VIESSMANN FIS Ski Jumping VIESSMANN FIS Nordic Combined AUDI FIS ALPINE SKIING Freestyle and Freeski Snowboard
perspectives 90 94 96 100 104
FIS Marketing AG Update FIS Travel Service AG Bring Children to the Snow FIS Anti-Doping Activities 24th Matteo Baumgarten Award
facts & figures 108 112 117
CRYSTAL GLOBE WINNERS 2019/20 FIS Junior World Championship Medallists 2019/20 Important Dates
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president´s report By Gian Franco Kasper
I am pleased to present to you the report of the previous year of activities of the International Ski Federation (FIS). In preparing for this report, I looked back at what I had written at the end of last season, and my closing line proved to be a glimpse into the future: While we will face challenges, I know that when we work together we can tackle them head on and continue to make FIS the leader in winter sports. Little did I know when I wrote those words in the summer of 2019 that the entire world would be facing one of its greatest challenges in decades. The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated our lives since it hit the global stage in late February 2020. The focus of our activities at FIS since that time has been firmly entrenched in addressing the implications of the pandemic. The serious consequences on the health of the global population are unprecedented and we must be extremely grateful to everyone on the front line risking their own lives to treat and support patients and enabling society at large to function. However, we should also be conscious of the important role that sport is playing in helping people deal with the restrictions, and doing exercise has become a central part of Government recommendations for the welfare of the population, which is a positive reinforcement of our role. This also provides us with an optimistic outlook to look ahead with planning and the upcoming season’s competitions and activities. Countries started to lift and adapt restrictions some months ago and many nations were able to return to the snow during the summer and/or carry out extensive sport activities. I am realistic that society will not return to the status quo before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the coming months or even years. The financial aspects are a 6
inside fis major concern for everyone to deal with, even though FIS, compared to other sports, was fortunately largely spared a major loss from the 2019/20 season. Until the Covid-19 pandemic struck, FIS was enjoying a strong season with all of the World Cup series in the spotlight and performing well. We have expanded our presence in all six Olympic disciplines to be a mainstay on three continents, thanks largely in part to the current skiing boom in China ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. When this season started, many headlines were about the retirements of our brightest stars – specifically in Alpine Skiing, which included some of our biggest names. By the end of the season it was clear that the next generation of athletes is ready to take the helm as we enjoyed some of the closest globe fights that we have seen in years. Naturally, the pity was we could not see some of those battles through to the last race, but nevertheless it is a strong signal for seasons to come. Away from the action on the snow, there were two overriding themes that had a direct impact on our sport. The impact of climate change on the winter environment has made our daily business in the ski industry a challenge. We know that we can no longer count on the traditional winters of years past and must be flexible and prepared to deal with the reality of the new climate. With the Mainau Forum, held last November, we worked with the top scientists in the field to address this very serious issue. Out of that Forum we drafted a new Mainau Manifesto, which was unanimously approved by the Council and has been forwarded onto the Congress for its adoption. I cannot stress enough how important the topic of sustainability is within the FIS Family and how important it should be to any person who enjoys snow sports. We are in a race against time to ensure that generations to come can enjoy snow sports the same way we did growing up. I am frustrated to say that the second theme that continues to dominate elite sports in a negative manner is doping. There is no easy solution to putting an end to doping in sport. FIS will continue to play its part in keeping sport clean through testing and education, and we will work together with our stakeholders to ensure we keep our sport clean. Much like with sustainability, the main hope in the fight against doping lies with the next generation of athletes. I sincerely hope that they will learn from the mistakes of the athletes who have cheated and learn that competing clean is the only way. On a positive note, it is with great satisfaction that I look back at the last 10 years and can see that our partners have been with FIS since the last turn of the decade. Names like Audi, Viessmann, Longines and Halti are well-known in the ski world thanks to their long-term dedication to supporting FIS and snow sports. Thank you to all of our sponsors. We have many other stakeholders who work tirelessly to make FIS a success alongside the National Ski Associations: organisers, athletes, media representatives, volunteers, fans and followers, to name a few. Much like a car engine, every one of these stakeholders plays a critical role and, without them all functioning, FIS would not be able to move forward.
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Moving ahead into the foreseeable future, all of us will be put to the test. The only way we can all weather the storm in the coming months is if we work together. There are, of course, major concerns, but we feel that the spirit within the FIS Family is strong and there is a “can do” approach to address the challenges ahead.
Gian Franco Kasper FIS President
Bericht des Präsidenten Ich freue mich sehr, Ihnen hiermit den Bericht zum vergangenen Tätigkeitsjahr des Internationalen Skiverbands (FIS) präsentieren zu dürfen. Bei der Vorbereitung dieses Berichts habe ich zurückgeschaut auf das, was ich am Ende der letzten Saison geschrieben hatte, und meine abschließende Zeile erwies sich als ein Blick in die Zukunft: Auch wenn es Herausforderungen gibt, weiß ich, dass wir sie meistern können, wenn wir zusammenarbeiten und die FIS weiterhin zum Wortführer des Wintersports machen. Als ich diese Worte im Sommer 2019 schrieb, hatte ich noch keine Ahnung, dass die Welt schon bald einer der größten Herausforderungen seit Jahrzehnten gegenüberstehen würde. Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat seit ihrem weltweiten Ausbruch Ende Februar 2020 unser Leben beherrscht. Schwerpunkt unserer Aktivitäten bei der FIS ist seitdem die Auseinandersetzung mit den Auswirkungen dieser Pandemie. Die ernsthaften Konsequenzen für die Gesundheit der Weltbevölkerung sind ohnegleichen, und wir müssen den Menschen in vorderster Front außerordentlich dankbar sein, die ihr eigenes Leben riskieren, um Patienten zu behandeln und zu unterstützen und so der übrigen Bevölkerung erlauben, ihr Leben weitgehend normal weiterzuführen. Wir sollten uns jedoch auch bewusst werden, welch große Rolle der Sport spielt, wenn es darum geht, den Menschen im Umgang mit den Beschränkungen beizustehen. Sport und Bewegung gehören zu den wichtigsten von den Regierungen ausgegebenen Empfehlungen für das Wohlbefinden der Bevölkerung – und das ist eine positive Bestätigung unserer Rolle. Diese Entwicklung bietet uns auch eine optimistische Perspektive hinsichtlich der Planung der Wettbewerbe und Aktivitäten für die kommende Saison. Viele Länder haben vor einigen Monaten begonnen, Beschränkungen aufzuheben und anzupassen, und viele Nationen konnten im Sommer in den Schnee zurückkehren und/oder sportlichen Aktivitäten nachgehen. Realistisch gesehen wird die Gesellschaft in den nächsten Monaten oder sogar Jahren nicht zu dem Status quo vor dem Ausbruch von Covid-19 zurückkehren. Die finanziellen Aspekte bereiten allen Beteiligten große Sorge, auch wenn die FIS verglichen mit 8
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inside fis anderen Sportarten Glück hatte, dass sie in der Saison 2019/20 keinen allzu großen Verlust zu beklagen hatte. Vor der Covid-19-Pandemie verzeichnete die FIS eine starke Saison, in der alle Weltcupserien als Erfolge verbucht werden konnten. Wir haben unsere Präsenz in allen sechs olympischen Disziplinen auf drei Kontinenten erweitert, was größtenteils dem derzeitigen Skiboom in China im Vorfeld der Olympischen Winterspiele in Beijing 2022 zu verdanken ist. Zu Beginn dieser Saison ging es in vielen Schlagzeilen um den Rücktritt einiger unserer größten Stars – vor allem im Ski Alpin, in dem eine Reihe unserer bekanntesten Namen zu finden sind. Gegen Ende der Saison war klar, dass die nächste Generation von Athleten bereit war, das Ruder zu übernehmen. Wir haben einige der weltweit engsten Wettkämpfe seit Jahren gesehen. Natürlich war es schade, dass wir manche dieser spannenden Wettkämpfe nicht bis in das letzte Rennen verfolgen konnten, dennoch war es ein deutliches Zeichen für die kommenden Saisonen. Abseits unserer Tätigkeiten im Schnee gab es zwei Hauptthemen, die eine unmittelbare Auswirkung auf unseren Sport hatten. Die Auswirkung des Klimawandels auf die Wintersportumgebung hat unsere tägliche Arbeit in der Skibranche zu einer Herausforderung werden lassen. Wir wissen, dass wir uns nicht mehr auf die herkömmlichen Winter der vergangenen Jahre verlassen können; wir müssen flexibel sein und uns auf den Umgang mit dem Klimawandel vorbereiten. Beim Mainau-Forum im letzten November haben wir dieses äußerst heikle Thema mit Spitzenwissenschaftlern auf diesem Gebiet erläutert. Im Nachgang haben wir ein neues Mainau-Manifest erarbeitet, das vom Vorstand einstimmig genehmigt und zur Einführung an den Kongress weitergeleitet wurde. Ich kann nicht genug betonen, wie wichtig das Thema Nachhaltigkeit innerhalb der FIS Familie ist und wie wichtig es für jeden sein sollte, der sich am Wintersport erfreut. Wir befinden uns in einem Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, wenn wir dafür sorgen wollen, dass die kommenden Generationen genauso viel Spaß am Schneesport haben sollen, wie wir als Kinder es hatten. Es ärgert mich, dass der zweite Punkt, der den Spitzensport weiterhin in negativer Weise betrifft, das Thema Doping ist. Es gibt keine einfache Lösung, dem Doping im Sport ein Ende zu setzen. Die FIS wird sich weiterhin dafür einsetzen, dass Tests und Schulungen durchgeführt werden, und wir werden mit unseren Partnern zusammenarbeiten, um sicherzustellen, dass unser Sport sauber bleibt. So wie beim Thema Nachhaltigkeit hoffen wir sehr, dass die nächste Generation von Athleten den Kampf gegen Doping gewinnen wird. Ich wünsche mir, dass sie aus den Fehlern der Athleten, die betrogen haben, lernen wird und ihr bewusst wird, dass saubere Wettkämpfe der einzige Weg in die Zukunft sind. Positiv ist noch zu vermerken, dass wir mit Freude auf die letzten zehn Jahre zurückschauen und vermerken können, dass unsere Partner seit einem Jahrzehnt mit der FIS zusammenarbeiten. Namen wie Audi, Viessmann, Longines und Halti sind dank ihres langjährigen Engagements zur Unterstützung der FIS und des Schneesports in der Skiwelt sehr bekannt. Vielen Dank an alle unsere Sponsoren! Wir haben auch viele andere Beteiligte, die unermüdlich daran arbeiten, der FIS und den nationalen Skiverbänden zum Erfolg zu verhelfen: Organisatoren, Athleten, Medi9
envertreter, Freiwillige, Fans und Anhänger, um nur einige zu nennen. Wie bei einem Automotor spielt jeder dieser Beteiligten eine entscheidende Rolle, und ohne sie alle wäre die FIS nicht in der Lage, weiter voranzukommen. Die absehbare Zukunft wird eine Prüfung für uns alle sein. Die einzige Möglichkeit, die Krise in den kommenden Monaten zu überstehen, besteht in einer engen Zusammenarbeit. Doch trotz einiger Hindernisse glauben wir daran, dass der Geist innerhalb der FIS Familie stark ist und wir die bevorstehenden Herausforderungen gemeinsam meistern werden.
Gian Franco Kasper FIS Präsident
Rapport du Président Je suis ravi de vous présenter le rapport d’activité de la Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) pour la saison écoulée. En préparant ce rapport, j’ai consulté ce que j’avais écrit à la fin de la saison dernière et j’ai vu que ma conclusion s’est avérée quelque peu prophétique. « Des défis nous attendent, mais je suis convaincu qu’en travaillant ensemble, nous pourrons les attaquer de front et continuer à placer la FIS à la pointe des sports d’hiver. » Quand j’ai rédigé ces lignes au cours de l’été 2019, j’étais loin de me douter que le monde entier allait être confronté à l’un de ses défis les plus importants depuis des décennies. La pandémie de Covid-19 a pris le dessus sur notre quotidien depuis son irruption sur la scène mondiale, à la fin février 2020. Depuis, toutes les activités de la FIS ont été résolument tournées vers l’examen des implications de la pandémie. Ses graves conséquences sur la santé de la population mondiale sont inédites. Nous devons témoigner toute notre reconnaissance à ceux qui sont en première ligne et qui risquent leur propre vie en soignant et en aidant les malades, et qui permettent à l’ensemble de la société de fonctionner. Nous devons cependant être également conscients du rôle important joué par le sport en aidant les gens à faire face aux restrictions. La pratique de l’exercice est devenue une composante essentielle des recommandations gouvernementales pour le bien-être de la population, ce qui renforce notre rôle. Cela nous permet également d’envisager avec optimisme la planification, et les compétitions et activités de la saison à venir. Des pays ont commencé à lever et à adapter les restrictions il y a quelques mois, et certaines nations ont pu reprendre contact avec la neige au cours de l’été et/ou mener à bien beaucoup d’activités sportives. Je reste cependant réaliste : la société ne retrouvera pas l’état dans lequel elle était avant l’apparition de la pandémie de Covid-19 dans les mois, voire les années, qui vien-
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nent. Les aspects financiers constituent une préoccupation majeure que nous devons gérer, même si la FIS, par rapport à d’autres sports, a heureusement été largement épargnée par une perte importante lors de la saison 2019-2020. Jusqu’à l’irruption brutale de la pandémie de Covid-19, la FIS a connu une saison solide, au cours de laquelle les six séries de Coupe du Monde ont bien marché et ont été sous les feux de la rampe. Nous avons accru notre présence dans les six disciplines olympiques afin de nous ancrer sur trois continents, notamment grâce à l’explosion actuelle du ski en Chine, à l’approche des Jeux Olympiques d’hiver de Beijing 2022. Lorsque cette saison a commencé, il était beaucoup question dans les journaux de la retraite de nos stars les plus brillantes, notamment en Ski Alpin, d’où venaient certains de nos athlètes les plus prestigieux. À la fin de la saison, il était clair que la prochaine génération d’athlètes est prête à reprendre le flambeau. Nous avons en effet assisté à quelques bagarres pour le globe parmi les plus serrées qu’il nous ait été donné de voir depuis plusieurs années. Naturellement, il est dommage de ne pas avoir pu suivre certains de ces affrontements jusqu’à la dernière course, mais quoi qu’il en soit, il s’agit d’un signal fort pour les prochaines saisons. En dehors de l’action sur la neige, deux thèmes majeurs ont eu une influence directe sur notre sport. L’impact du changement climatique sur l’environnement hivernal a transformé notre activité quotidienne dans l’industrie du ski en défi. Nous savons que nous ne pouvons
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plus tabler sur les hivers traditionnels des années passées. Nous devons être flexibles et être prêts à faire face à la réalité du nouveau climat. Lors du Forum de Mainau, qui a eu lieu en novembre dernier, nous avons travaillé avec les meilleurs scientifiques du secteur afin de trouver des solutions à ce problème très important. Dans la foulée de ce Forum, nous avons rédigé un nouveau Manifeste de Mainau, qui a été approuvé à l’unanimité par le Conseil et transmis au Congrès pour adoption. Je ne saurais trop insister sur l’importance du thème de la durabilité au sein de la famille de la FIS et de l’importance qu’il doit revêtir pour toute personne aimant les sports de neige. Nous sommes engagés dans une course contre la montre afin que les prochaines générations puissent profiter des sports de neige, comme nous avons pu le faire dans notre jeunesse. Je suis navré de dire que le second thème qui continue à dominer les sports d’élite de manière négative est le dopage. Il n’y a pas de solution facile pour éradiquer le dopage du sport. La FIS continuera à jouer son rôle pour que le sport reste propre par l’intermédiaire des contrôles et de la sensibilisation. Nous allons travailler avec nos parties prenantes pour faire en sorte que notre sport reste propre. Tout comme pour la durabilité, le principal espoir de la lutte contre le dopage est entre les mains de la prochaine génération d’athlètes. J’espère sincèrement qu’ils tireront les leçons des erreurs commises par les athlètes qui ont triché, et qu’ils retiendront que la seule alternative est de concourir en étant propre. Sur une note plus positive, j’ai eu beaucoup de satisfaction en faisant le bilan des dix dernières années et en constatant que nos partenaires sont au côté de la FIS depuis le début de la dernière décennie. Des noms comme Audi, Viessmann, Longines et Halti sont bien connus dans le monde du ski grâce à leur engagement de longue date en faveur de la FIS et des sports de neige. Merci à tous nos sponsors. De nombreuses autres parties prenantes travaillent sans relâche pour que la réussite de la FIS se traduise dans les Associations Nationales de Ski : organisateurs, athlètes, représentants des médias, bénévoles, fans et suiveurs, entre autres. Tout comme dans un moteur de voiture, chacune de ces parties prenantes joue un rôle essentiel, et sans leur fonctionnement collectif, la FIS ne serait pas capable d’aller de l’avant. Pour ce qui est de l’avenir proche, nous allons tous être mis à l’épreuve. La seule manière de résister à la tempête lors des prochains mois est de travailler tous ensemble. Il y a certes des préoccupations majeures, mais nous sentons que la famille de la FIS est habitée par un esprit fort et qu’il y a une approche volontariste pour relever les défis à venir. Gian Franco Kasper Président de la FIS
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Report of the Secretary General By Sarah Lewis
The new competition season brings unprecedented challenges to confront as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected the global landscape throughout society. But since the outset during a truncated 2019/20 competition season, the “can-do willdo spirit� of the National Associations, the Organisers and the Athletes has been a key feature of the focus on preparing and managing activities. Tragic loss of life is the dark side of Covid-19, but there have been increasingly positive elements emerging out of the crisis which are contributing to new and improved opportunities for how we are shaping the future. A strong solution-focused resolve is part of the DNA of our sports through permanently handling the challenges in dealing with unpredictable weather and snow conditions. The same anticipation planning, preparation measures and reactive execution give ski and snow sports notable advantages in managing Covid-19 pandemic measures, compared to many other sports.
Digital Activities A positive aspect resulting from the enforced restrictive measures is the enhanced use of technology throughout work and personal life. There have consequently been key developments for FIS digital activities after the conclusion to last season on snow transferred to screens, which led to huge increases in the number of followers logging in for the #ClassicsLive video series and revisiting iconic sporting highlights in the FIS disciplines.
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inside fis World Cup Ski Racing, the official e-sports alpine racing game of FIS, went live in January 2020 and the first three months welcomed over 105,000 users from 179 countries, leading to more than 2.8 million race starts generating 144 million impressions. The FIS Alpine World Cup e-Finals took place in March with players from 87 countries, despite the cancellation of the “on-snow” competitions to conclude the FIS Alpine World Cup season. Qualification events are underway for the first FIS e-sports World Championships that will take place onsite at the Cortina 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February.
Upscaling Online Operations As a result of the global regulations, FIS operations with staff based in 16 countries across four continents have been carried out through online engagement and meetings to manage technical and administrative tasks, thus upscaling holistic competence across the organisation and at minimum cost. Coordinated actions between all the FIS disciplines through the C-19 Support Group facilitate consistent policies and the sharing of information to manage preparations for, and execution of, the competition season. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the FIS Team for their commitment and hard work managing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The period for the technical team to recharge their batteries in the spring and summer was this year replaced by intensive work to plan and prepare for the upcoming competition season and the different set-ups that will be required to conform to the regulations. The spring and autumn FIS Committee Meetings and wide range of evaluation and preparation activities with Organisers and National Associations could expand the range of participants, as a consequence of not having any limits from the size of meeting rooms or logistics, nor travelling expenses. For the future, online FIS meetings, and a hybrid model with onsite and online attendance, will strongly feature. The only issue we have not yet resolved is handling the multiple time zones in order to be accommodating to everyone, which has become the online version of jetlag!
Tribute to retired staff At the conclusion of the 2019-2020 season, three key FIS employees – Walter Hofer, Annemarie Friedrich and Joe Fitzgerald – retired having served the sport with dedication throughout their tenures. They were appropriately recognised during the online Committee Meetings by the FIS Family, and we look forward to recognising their contributions in person at the next FIS Congress.
Election of the Organisers for the FIS World Championships 2025 in the Nordic Disciplines and Alpine Events On Saturday 3rd October 2020, the election of the Organisers for the FIS World Championships in 2025 features four Candidates: Trondheim (NOR), bidding for the third time to host the Nordic disciplines, with Saalbach (AUT), Garmisch (GER) and CransMontana (SUI) contesting the Alpine events.
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The official presentations by the Candidates through their video presentations of the projects will conclude the 18-month candidacy period during which each Candidate has completed an extensive questionnaire and collaborated with the FIS Inspection Group. The main objective is to implement optimal, sustainable solutions for organising and showcasing the most important FIS event of the two-year period.
International Sports Federation Governance Evaluation The third edition of the assessment of all Winter and Summer Olympic Federations has been carried out with the International Sports Federations Sports Governance Review for 2019-2020. The independent audit positions FIS in the leading A1 Group with FIS governance scoring 170 out of a potential maximum 200 points, alongside six Summer IFs that also achieved this grade. The first IF Governance Review was conducted in 2016-2017, where FIS was classified with 113 points ranked in the third-tier group, which improved in the second edition to 150 points, reaching the second tier in 2017-2018.
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Official Analysis Summary of FIS Governance 2019-2020: Positive • A very good range of information is published by FIS • FIS performs well on the new indicators for 2019-20: action is being taken on safeguarding; data protection/IT security appears to be up to date; and there are rules in place regarding the sanctioning of events and athlete eligibility (to guard against competition law risks) • New Integrity Manager role • Continuing commitment to sustainability work Areas for improvement • The postponement of the Congress has inevitably resulted in a delay to some further governance initiatives that are planned or due to be submitted to a vote Overall • The difference between the FIS self-assessed and Assessment moderated scores of 8 is lower than the average markdown for 2019-20 of 15 across all AIOWF members and demonstrates that considerable effort has been put into responding to the questionnaire • The improvement in the moderated score of 20 is slightly higher than the average improvement of 17 for the AIOWF members and compares well to score increases among ASOIF members at a similar level, with FIS having fewer opportunities for “quick wins”
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• Note that the assessment is based on measures which were already in place by May 2020. Credit has not been given for reforms or activity to be implemented or proposed at a later date. This is consistent with the approach adopted for other IFs and previous assessments.
While there has been another notable improvement by FIS in the International Federation Governance Report and our standing in the Olympic Movement, governance throughout the organisation requires sustained actions in order for us to progress and set further standards. The FIS Congress “2020” will provide a landmark opportunity to continue to evolve FIS through a range of proposals to broaden and increase diversity throughout the FIS membership, progress major sustainable environment actions, and build a wider range of activities that will grow opportunities for all the stakeholders to engage in and benefit from. ***
The measures and restrictions for the winter season in different countries and regions remain a work in progress in the dynamically changing environment. At today’s deadline to contribute to this report for the FIS Bulletin 2020 at the start of August, more and more sports events are being staged and experience is being gathered for the winter season. FIS, the Organisers, National Ski Associations and all stakeholders are ready with strengthened solution-oriented resolve to jointly and successfully deal with the challenges that lie ahead.
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inside fis In concluding the report of the Secretary General, I would like to thank everyone who dedicates so much energy and expertise to contribute to improving our organisation and sport. I stand at your permanent service.
Sarah Lewis FIS Secretary General, OBE
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FIS STAFF By Andreas Wenger
The FIS personnel consists of 22 administrative staff positions at the FIS Office in Oberhofen (SUI) and 40 competition management, including technical experts and media coordinators. Seventeen nationalities from four continents are represented and approximately 30 per cent of the employees are women. There has been a number of staff changes during the period. Notably, two long-serving competition management employees retired at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season. Dr. Walter Hofer (AUT), Ski Jumping Race Director, retired from the position after 28 years at the end of the 2019/20 season and is succeeded by Sandro Pertile (ITA), a highly experienced Ski Jumping official and organiser. In addition, Horst Thielmann (NED) retired as Ski Jumping Coordinator in 2020 with Bernie Schoedler (SUI) taking over from the 2020/21 season. Joe Fitzgerald (CAN), Freestyle Coordinator, retired after 21 years in the role at the end of the 2019/20 season and Andrea Rinaldi (SUI) has taken on the position of Freestyle Moguls and Aerials Race Director. There was also the retirement of long-serving administrative staff reaching the statutory pension. After almost 25 years with FIS, Annemarie Friedrich (SUI) retired at the end of January 2020, to be succeeded by Josephine Aschhoff (GER) who had already been working at FIS for two years with the non-Olympic disciplines and the CrossCountry FIS points. Maria Martin Civiac (ESP) moved from the FIS IT department to the International Olympic Committee’s ORIS Team in January 2020, with Uldis Brize (LAT) from the Latvian Ski Association taking over responsibility for FIS IT Freestyle Ski and Snowboard. Last but not least, FIS had one intern in the past year: Robin Braun (GER) undertook a one-year internship in the FIS IT department until July 2020.
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Joe Fitzgerald started his retirement after 21 years with FIS Dr. Walter Hofer retired after 28 years with FIS
Annemarie Friedrich took care of the Nordic Office at FIS for 25 years
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FIS Finances By Sibylle Gafner
The reporting period covers the period from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2019. The 2019 financial statement has been externally and internally audited and the financial and commercial situation checked. The auditors recommended the FIS 2019 financial statement for approval. At its online meeting, the FIS Council approved the financial statement and presented it to the FIS Congress, where it was unanimously accepted in an online vote.
Financial statement The 2018/19 financial year concluded with a gain of CHF 11.67 million. Turnover of CHF 50.05 million was offset by operating costs of CHF 42.77 million, with management of assets contributing CHF 4.25 million to the result.
Financial dividends Due to the difficult situation worldwide, the National Ski Associations (NSAs) accepted the FIS Council proposal regarding the financial dividends in an online vote. Accordingly, financial disbursements for the years 2020 and 2021 will be calculated in line with the following principles: 1. Basic share for all FIS member associations (12.5% of the total) 2. Additional share (87.5%) based on: i. Active registered athletes in each FIS discipline in the Olympic programme – one point allocated per discipline and gender ii. The organisation of FIS competitions in the above-named disciplines – points allocated for the total number of competitions per discipline iii. Participation in FIS Alpine and Nordic World Ski Championships, as disciplines that generate revenue towards financial backing – the current number of participants should be used based on the existing system
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inside fis In 2019, CHF 5 million was paid to the NSAs in funding, with 74 full members and 56 part-members benefitting. The profit-sharing (“special distribution”) amount for the period 2019 was also calculated according to the new principles, and it was possible to pay CHF 7.5 million to the 130 NSAs. The following overview shows details of the accounting period from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2019. For comparability, the amounts for both years of the previous period from 2016–2017 are shown as well:
Accounts 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2019 [000s CHF / TCHF] Income and Expenditures
2019
2018
2017
2016
Olympic Winter Games
11.455
6.626
10.464
10.528
World Ski Championships
17.018
1.083
12.845
769
World Cups
4.115
3.889
2.082
4.271
National Association Fees (NSA)
2.298
2.219
2.072
2.269
557
794
1.033
1.246
INCOME
Other income TOTAL INCOME
35.443
14.611
28.496
19.083
Personnel Costs
-12.174
-12.370
-12.121
-11.547
Operation Costs
-3.860
-4.287
-3.775
-3.907
Financial Support for NSA OPERATING RESULT FINANCIAL RESULT ORDINARY RESULT EXCEPTIONAL RESULT
-5.060
-5.020
-5.010
-5.020
14.349
-7.066
7.590
-1.391
4.145
106
5.345
2.887
18.494
-6.960
12.935
1.496
218
-79
-824
-360
18.712
-7.039
12.111
1.136
2019
2018
2017
2016
Financial Support
5.060
5.020
5.010
5.020
Special Distribution (from result of previous period)
7.500
7.500
7.500
7.500
283
335
153
289
12.843
12.855
12.663
12.809
OVERALL RESULT
TOTAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO NSAs [000s CHF / TCHF]
FIS Solidarity and FD General Financial Support TOTAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO NSAs
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FIS Development Programme By Stefanie Gerber
The FIS Development Programme distributed financial aid to a total of 41 National Ski Associations for the development of Skiing in their regions and countries. The FIS Development Programme’s funds are generated through the registration fees paid by Candidates for the FIS World Championships and the contribution from the FIS Special Distribution. Besides modest direct financial support to the Development Programme Member Associations, the programme offers a wide range of different projects and activities.
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Training Camps Alpine summer training camp 2019 Date: 7th–27th July 2019 Place: El Colorado (CHI) NSAs: ARG, BRA, CHI, DEN, GRE, HKG, IRI, IRL, LAT, SRB Participants: 16 Alpine winter training camp 2019 Date: 1st period: 13th October – 9th November 2019 Place: Stubaital/Hintertux (AUT) NSAs: ALB, ARM, BIH, BLR, BUL, CYP, GEO, HUN, IRI, IRL, KAZ, UKR, UZB, SRB Participants: 21 Date: 2nd period: 17th November – 14th December 2019 Place: Stubaital/Hintertux (AUT) NSAs: ARG, ARM, BIH, CHI, EST, GRE, ISL, KOS, LTU, ROU, TUR, UKR, ESP Participants:21 25
Nordic summer training camp 2019 Date: 1st period: 18th–23rd August 2019 (SJ/NC) Place: Rasvnov (ROU) NSAs: BRL, BUL, GEO, HUN, LAT, ROU, SVK Participants: 45 Date: 2nd period: 3rd–11th September 2019 (CC) Place: Val di Fiemme (ITA) NSAs: BIH, DEN, ESP, GRE, HUN, ISL, LAT, LTU, MKD, MNE, ROU, SRB, UKR Participants: 32 Date: 3rd period: 6th–12th October 2019 (SJ/NC) Place: Predazzo/Val di Fiemme (ITA) NSAs: BLR, BUL, EST, GEO, HUN, LAT, MNE, ROU, SVK, SRB Participants: 53 Nordic winter training camp 2019 Date: 1st period: 8th–18th December 2019 (CC) Place: Val di Fiemme (ITA) NSAs: ARG, ARM, BIH, BRA, CHI, CRO, GRE, HUN, ISL, LAT, LBN, LTU, MKD, ROU, SRB Participants: 52 Date: 2nd period: 12th–18th January 2020 (SJ/CC) Place: Tarvisio (ITA)/Villach (AUT)/Planica (SLO) NSAs: BLR, BUL, GEO, HUN, LAT, ROU, SRB, SVK Participants: 51 Park & Pipe summer training camp 2019 Date: 21st–26th October 2019 Place: Landgraaf (NED) NSAs: BLR, BUL, Est, GRE, LAT, LTU, MKD, SRB, SVK, UKR Participants: 30
Education and Seminars Seminars, courses and workshops, conducted by FIS and other experts for officials from small and developing nations, are being organised within the programme:
FIS Youth & Children’s Seminar 2019 The 17th Youth & Children’s Seminar took place on 2nd October 2019 during the FIS Technical Committee Meetings in Zurich. As usual, a networking evening took place the day before. The topics of the meeting were: “Nutrition for young Athletes and Roller Skiing Development”. Guest speakers Dr. Samuel Mettler, Nutritionist for Swiss Sports School Magglingen and University of Zurich, and Martin Rinderer, Head of Nutrition at Olym26
FIS Development Programme Update
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The 17th Youth & Children‘s Seminar was very much in demand
pic Centre Vorarlberg, Dornbirn/Austria, provided a great insight into what nutrition is, what the benefits of nutrition are, the challenges with implementation and solutions to those challenges. Both experts then joined a panel discussion and responded to questions from the seminar participants. In the afternoon, attention shifted to the development of snow sports through Roller Skiing. For those not familiar with the sport, Roller Skiing Committee member Georg Zipfel provided a quick introduction course. This was followed by presentations from the Brazilian Snow Sport Association and the Timor Leste Ski Association, who both have benefited greatly from successful Roller Skiing programmes in their respective countries. To round out the topic and close the 17th Youth and Children’s Seminar, a live demonstration of Roller Skiing was arranged at the venue.
Free Training Days The Candidates of the FIS World Championships 2024/25 – Crans Montana (SUI), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), Saalbach-Hinterglemm (AUT), Krasnoyarsk (RUS) and Trondheim (NOR) – provided the mandatory 200 free training days for the season 2019/20. A total of 636 free training days by 20 NSAs have been allocated. The following nations took advantage of the free training days: ALB, ARM, BIH, BRA, CYP, EST, GRE, HUN, IRL, KGZ, KOS, LAT, LTU, NEP, POR, ROU, SRB, SVK, UKR, UZB.
FIS Development Programme activities 2020/21 As in the 2019/20 season, the FIS Development Programme will include camps in the Nordic Combined, Alpine Skiing and Freestyle Skiing/Snowboard disciplines as well as the traditional seminars. Moreover, the 2020/21 season’s free training days will be provided by the organisers of the FIS World Championships 2021. Thanks to constructive input from the National Ski Associations, the FIS Development Programme continues to evolve.
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Marketing Update By JĂźrg Capol
The Snow Sport Community The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on every sector of society. Sport is right at the heart of those affected, but the impact on snow sport has been limited, as the pandemic took a grip only towards the end of the winter season. Due to Covid-19, expected sponsorship revenue will decrease, according to several experts. During challenging times, after cutting back on marketing spending, marketing investment would enable brands to project an image of corporate stability, but in the current climate of uncertainty this has not yet happened. The distribution of video content through linear channels is still the key for winter sports, but there is a move towards consumption through digital channels, and the best-performing sports sponsorship packages are a mix of digital assets with longerstanding physical assets. Data and digital interactivity enable sports properties to understand who their audience is, how they behave and in which marketing segment they belong. The sector is taking small steps towards a major shift in the marketing value chain after this Covid-19 period. Broadcasting rights distribution put a value on the eyeballs watching an event through the sale of exclusive rights, but in the future we may expect the monetising impact through the selling of the right to use. In the future, media rights may also be monetised through selling a wider and more specific range of content such as live, highlights, backstage, betting etc. Up until now the National Ski Associations have concentrated their efforts on their share of fans in a local or national community, but the introduction of digital memberships will create a global community. Therefore, the Snow Sport Community is an important project designed to include all our National Ski Associations and attract new members by establishing a digital ap28
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proach. The Snow Sport Community takes a “fan first� perspective and will provide services and products enhancing the snow sport experiences. The offer will be built on five areas: follow, play, participate, watch and attend. Through the 133 member National Ski Associations of FIS, it will be possible to integrate all kinds of snow sport challenges and guarantee the grassroot activities in each association. Broadcast and traditional media rights remain very important, but digital distribution and consumption are increasing and getting more weight with regard to new opportunities to satisfy and integrate winter sport fans. FIS has analysed the DNA of its fans and has fixed the ultimate goal of engaging the fans and building a community that offers services, products and opportunities to all our stakeholders. The additional activities have led to the creation of a game platform for member National Ski Associations in which they can engage and participate. It gives the opportunity for new game partners in-game, and we will be able to analyse data. FIS is creating specific content for social media in the interest of National Ski Associations and their followers. We will launch an E-sports World Championship for next season to reach a wider audience and try to bring physical and digital content together and attract more people to be active in snow sports. 29
The Covid-19-related shake-up will also create new opportunities. The rights owners will need to show creativity and innovation when it comes to offering digital sponsorship packages to sponsor partners, proving we know our audiences and can evaluate the impact of sponsorship. These are all elements and different initiatives that the new FIS system will address and include in its offer to the market. We all also have the obligation of promoting snow sports. If winter sport tourism and business works well, it will be an important indication for support and investments with regard to infrastructure, events and new services. During the lockdown we developed a new model, which gives the members of the Snow Sport Community new advantages and relationships with individual top performers in winter sports. Furthermore, we want to build up an ecosystem, which generates new resources for the National Ski Associations and their events. The heterogenic winter sport market needs a greater simplification of digital accessibility; one initiative is to introduce a snowflake currency with price and service advantages. Crisis makes it possible to build up reforms quickly. We must be the pioneers once again, and it is worth trying to develop new ideas and act like a modern start-up.
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Marketing Update
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FIS Communications Update By Jenny Wiedeke
During the last year, the FIS Communications department activities continued to focus on improving digital offerings to give fans a complete experience – no matter what platform they prefer. The social media provisional results from 1st October 2019 to 16th March 2020 remained positive in comparison to the same period the previous season: 135 million App screen views vs 103 million in 2018/19: +30% 115 million web page views vs 111 million in 2018/19: +4% 142 million social impressions vs 147 million in 2018/19: -3% 7 million engagements vs 6.1 million in 2018/19: +14% 1.1 million followers vs 944,000 in 2018/19: +18% Of particular note is the significant success of the FIS App, which continues to be the top performer in the FIS digital arsenal. In the upcoming season, FIS will work to further enhance the App to continue to give the public what they need, so FIS can continue to capitalise on this popular platform. Naturally, the daily efforts of FIS during the season were focused on the social media channels and keeping the website up to date with informative content. Thanks to a strong partnership with Infront Sports & Media, the social media results were once again record-breaking with an unprecedented amount of material posted. The highlight clips and behind-the-scenes videos continue to be the top-performing posts, which further underlines FIS’ strategy of ‘Athlete First’ content.
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inside fis FIS Digital Figures
2018/19
2019/20
Season Increase
Content Developed
18,200 pieces
26,400 pieces
+45%
Social Engagement
6.8 million
7.5 million
+10%
Total Followers
944,000
1.1 million
+18%
Webpage Views
111 million
115 million
+4%
App Screen Views
103 million
135 million
+30%
FIS Social Media Figures
2018/19
2019/20
Season Increase
377,000
395,000
+5%
404,000
470,000
+16%
145,000
154,000
+6%
You Tube
73,000
91,000
+21%
In March, the FIS Communications department, like the rest of the world, adapted to the challenges as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. The initiatives that the FIS Communications department implemented in view of the outbreak included creating a dedicated Covid-19 Information Hub on the FIS website to inform stakeholders about the decisions made and communicated by FIS. It was also designed to serve as a National Ski Association resource centre, sharing measures and actions to assist other members. The social media platforms proactively shared posts and worthy initiatives from the athletes and other people with actions supporting community efforts, as well as training sessions, tips and some other light-hearted moments.
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34
title events
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FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2020 By Doris Kallen, Horst Nilgen and Silke Tegethof
Oberwiesenthal (GER) hosted the 2020 edition of the FIS Nordic Junior and CrossCountry U23 World Ski Championships in the disciplines of Cross-Country Skiing, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping. The Marc Hodler Trophy for the best nation went to Norway ahead of host nation Germany and Austria.
Cross-Country The well-organised event started off with a sprint F won by Sweden’s Louise Lindstroem ahead of Izabela Marcisz (POL) and Siri Wigger (SUI). Marcisz was especially surprised as she had set her podium goals on the distance formats, and further proved her talents on the following days by taking bronze in the 5 km C as well as silver in the 15 km F Mst. Wigger also claimed some more precious metal and won the bronze medal in the 15 km F Mst. A spectacular relay race by the junior women resulted in the disqualification of the fastest teams, Poland and Germany, and thus Switzerland – including Wigger – won ahead of USA and Sweden. Despite strong efforts, neither Wigger nor Marcisz managed to keep up with 18-year-old Marie Helene Fossesholm (NOR). The young all-rounder took the victory in the 5 km C and 15 km F Mst. She also recorded the fastest time in the sprint qualification but ended in fifth place due to a fall. In a league of his own, Ansgar Evensen (NOR) took the men’s sprint victory ahead of Valerio Grond (SUI) and local hero Maxim Cervinka. Similar to Fossesholm, Gus Schumacher (USA) started the JWSC with the fastest qualification time and ended with the seventh ranking. His eyes were set on the podium during the 10 km C where he took the win ahead of Friedrich Moch (GER) and Davide Graz (ITA). In the close fight during the 30 km F Mst, he reached the top 5 but could not quite touch Iver Tildheim Andersen (NOR), Moch or Martin Kirkeberg Moerk (NOR). In the 4x5 km relay, USA attacked again and defended their title from 2019 ahead of the young team Canada and Italy. 36
Title Events The U23 section started with spectacular sprint F competitions with Emma Ribom (SWE) taking her first international title ahead of teammate Johanna Hagstroem and Julia Kern (USA). Ribom also proved her credentials in the 10 km C and the 15 km F Mst by finishing in third position both times. However, World Cup-proven Ebba Andersson (SWE) outclassed her colleagues and took the win in both remaining individual competitions. Marte Maehlum Johansen (NOR) and Moa Lundgren (SWE) raced between the Swedish power duo of Anderson and Ribom and took the silver medals in the distance events. The men’s U23 athletes started with an exciting sprint F, in which Vebjoern Hegdal from Norway profited from some spectacular falls of his competitors on the finishing stretch to take his first victory. Mattia Armellini (ITA) and Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) took the remaining podium spots. Amundsen also kept setting the pace in the distance competitions but was challenged by Russian Sergey Ardashev, who took the victory in the 15 km C ahead of the Norwegian and Hugo Lapalus from France. In the 30 km F Mst, Amundsen completed an entire set of medals by taking the victory ahead of Ardashev and Haavard Moseby of Norway. The U23 mixed relay competition on the final race day was won by Norway ahead of Russia and Italy in third place.
Junior men´s Relay, team USA defends the title Juniors 15km F Mst podium Fossesholm (1st), Marcisz (2nd) and Wigger (3rd)
U23 women´s Sprint, Emma Ribom races to her first international title
U23 15km C podium with Ardashev (1st), Amundsen (2nd) and Lapalus (3rd)
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The clear winner of the men‘s event - Jens Lurås Oftebro
Jenny Nowak won the only gold medal for the host nation
Golden boys - Team Austria
Norway took the first-ever Mixed Team event title
Tears of Joy for Team Japan
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FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2020
Title Events Nordic Combined The Nordic Combined programme had been adapted before this edition of the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships to include one individual Gundersen event for men and women each, one team event for men and, as a new highlight, a mixed team event. Local hero Jenny Nowak (GER) delighted the fans in the women’s individual event and claimed only the second women’s Junior World Champion title in the history of the sport. Gyda Westvold Hansen (NOR) defended her silver medal from 2019, while Austria’s Lisa Hirner won the bronze medal. On the men’s side, Jens Lurås Oftebro (NOR) fulfilled expectations to win the gold medal ahead of fellow World Cup athlete Johannes Lamparter (AUT). Gael Blondeau (FRA) captured the bronze medal in a finish line sprint against Rok Jelen (SLO). In the men’s team event, Austria (Rettenegger, Rettenegger, Lamparter, Obermeyr) won gold ahead of the breakout team France (Tyrode, Vallet, Baud, Blondeau). Without Oftebro, the Norwegian team (Ottesen, Solvik, Østvold, Skoglund) had to be satisfied with the bronze medal. The mixed team event developed into the true highlight of the championships with 11 nations fighting for the medals. Norway (Østvold, Leinan Lund, Westvold Hansen, Skoglund) took the maiden win in this event ahead of Germany (Frank, Gerboth, Nowak, Mach), while Japan (Takehana, Miyazaki, Nakamura, Kimura) claimed an emotional third place which saw team members succumbing to tears of joy at the finish.
Ski Jumping Two individual competitions, two team competitions and a final mixed team competition were on the programme for the young ski jumpers at the FIS Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal. The first gold medal on the HS-106 m Fichtelbergschanze was won by Marita Kramer (AUT). The 18-year-old’s victory was no surprise. Kramer had started as the favourite and, at the time of her success, was in sixth place in the overall World Cup. Kramer
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Peter Resinger (AUT) took the title in the men‘s individual event
Team Austria claimed four ski jumping golds
Marita Kramer (AUT) was the top favourite of the women‘s field
won the title in Oberwiesenthal, more than 25 points ahead of 16-year-old Norwegian Thea Minyan Bjoerseth and Lara Malsiner from Italy. In the men’s event, the victory in the individual competition also went to Austria, with 19-year-old Peter Resinger securing the title of Junior World Champion 2020 ahead of Sander Vossan Eriksen (NOR) and Mark Hafnar (SLO). In the women’s team competition, Kramer won a second title, together with Lisa Eder, Vanessa Moharitsch and Julia Mühlbacher. The Austrian team won the title with 800.7 points, ahead of the teams from Slovenia (740.5 points) and Germany (708.5 points). In the men’s team competition, the Slovenians took the win. Zak Mogel, Jan Bombek, Jernej Presecnik and Mark Hafnar secured the victory with 900.3 points ahead of the teams from Austria and Germany. In the final mixed team competition, the team from Austria won its fourth gold medal in total. Lisa Eder, Marco Wörgötter, Marita Kramer and Peter Resinger prevailed over the teams from Norway and Slovenia. 40
FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships 2020
41
FIS Junior World Ski Championships 2020 By Giulia Candiago and Gianluca de Cristofaro
The far-northern Norwegian town of Narvik played host to the 2020 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in March, welcoming a total of around 600 athletes from 50 nations. Due to the difficult situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition programme in Narvik was almost halved; only six out of the 11 originally planned races took place. The women were able to fight for four gold medals, while only two were awarded to the men. Austria’s female skiers made a flourishing start to the Alpine Junior World Ski Championships as they took gold and silver in the women’s downhill and super-G. In both races, Magdalena Egger topped the podium in front of her compatriot Lisa Grill. The first day of racing was instrumental in defining Egger as the star of the Junior World Championships, kicking off the trio of gold medals won by the Austrian skier: downhill, super-G and alpine combined. Alexis Monney (SUI) claimed the first men’s gold medal in the downhill, edging Italian Simon Talacci by 17 hundredths of a second. On the following day, Austria’s men took inspiration from their female teammates, securing the first two spots on the podium in the super-G. Stefan Rieser scored the fastest time, 0.51 seconds ahead of compatriot Armin Dornauer. This was Rieser’s second medal of the championships – after finishing third in the downhill. The Austrian domination was interrupted by Sara Rask, the young Swedish athlete who shone in the European Cup circuit during the season. Rask managed to secure the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom, finishing off the season in the best way possible. 42
Title Events Sara Rask (SWE) on her Giant Slalom run that earned her the Gold medal
Isabel Durungs (SUI) in Seiser Alm (ITA)
Alexis Monney (SUI), Simon Talacci (ITA) and Stefan Rieser (AUT) on the downhill podium Lisa Grill (AUT) during her super-G performance which earned her the silver medal
43
Despite the Junior World Championships concluding prematurely, the organisers and the athletes delivered a good week of top-class competitions, giving us a hint of the names to watch for the future.
Stefan Rieser (AUT) and Armin Dornauer (AUT) celebrate the Austrian one-two in the leader corner
The Austrian women‘s team celebrating Gold and Silver medals
44
FIS Junior World Ski Championships 2020
Elegance is an attitude Mikaela Shiffrin
45 Conquest V.H.P.
Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 By Silke Tegethof
The third edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was the season highlight for many of the young participants. From 9th–22nd January, 1,880 athletes from 79 National Olympic Committees competed in 81 events in eight sports and 16 disciplines at eight competition venues in the cantons of Vaud (Lausanne, the Vallée de Joux, Leysin, Les Diablerets and Villars), Valais (Champéry) and Graubünden (St. Moritz), and in neighbouring France (Les Rousses, Stade des Tuffes). For the first time in Winter Olympic history, gender parity was achieved, with equal quotas for men and women. In total, more than 640,000 spectators took advantage of the free events to attend the Games, either the competitions or the “En Jeux!” festivals, including 80,000 schoolchildren across the eight competition venues.
Sporting highlights Across the FIS disciplines, athletes competed in a total of 42 events in the six Olympic disciplines of Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Alpine Skiing, Freestyle/Freeski and Snowboard. True to the YOG spirit, the scheduled formats differed from those in the World Cup and Olympic Games, and served as an important testing ground for new ideas.
Cross-Country While local hero Siri Wigger (SUI) claimed two gold medals in cross-country cross and the freestyle sprint competitions at the stadium in Vallée de Joux, the men’s gold medals went to Nikolai Holmboe (NOR) and Edvin Anger (SWE). Iliya Tregubov (RUS) and Maerta Rosenberg (SWE) claimed the titles in the 10 km and 5 km classic races. 46
Title Events
47
Ski Jumping The ski jumpers competed just across the border from Vallée de Joux in Les Tuffes. Anna Shpyneva (RUS) and Marco Wörgötter (AUT) were crowned Youth Olympic Champions. The Ski Jumping mixed team event featured male and female ski jumpers and, for the first time ever, also male and female Nordic Combined athletes, and was won by Austria ahead of Japan and France.
48
Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020
Title Events
Nordic Combined The Nordic Combined athletes saw their numbers rise significantly as, for the first time, two athletes per nation were allowed to compete, and the male athletes were joined by their female counterparts in an Olympic premiere for women’s Nordic Combined. Lisa Eder (AUT) claimed the inaugural women’s Nordic Combined YOG title, while her teammate Stefan Rettenegger came away with the men’s title. The unique Nordic team event, which features Ski Jumpers, Nordic Combined athletes and Cross-Country skiers competing together in one big event, was a highlight of the Games again and saw Norway take the gold ahead of Austria and Italy. 49
Alpine Skiing In Les Diablerets, local hero Amelie Klopfenstein (SUI) came away with two gold medals in the super-G and giant slalom events, while Amanda Salzgeber (AUT) and Emma Sahlin (SWE) were the most successful athletes in alpine combined and slalom. Noa Szollos (ISR) made history by becoming the first athlete from the country to win a Winter Olympic medal with her bronze in the super-G and silver in the combined event. On the men’s side, Adam Hofstedt (SWE) triumphed in super-g and slalom, while Auguste Aulnette (FRA) took gold in alpine combined. Philip Hoffmann (AUT) took the title in giant slalom. The team from Finland won gold in the mixed team parallel event ahead of Germany and Austria. 50
Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020
Title Events Freestyle and Freeski Events in ski cross, slopestyle and halfpipe took place in Villars and Leysin, with big air joining the line-up for the first time. Some of the sport’s biggest stars came away with the medals: Estonian Kelly Sildaru claimed slopestyle gold, while Eileen Gu (CHN) came out on top in the halfpipe and big air events. Marie Karoline Krista (SUI) won the title in ski cross. On the men’s side, Erik Wahlberg (SWE) claimed gold in ski cross, while Kiernan Fagan (USA) won in slopestyle. Andrew Longino (CAN) was crowned Youth Olympic Champion in the halfpipe and Matej Svancer (CZE) triumphed in big air. The local heroes from Switzerland claimed the victory in the team ski cross event, beating Russia and Germany.
51
Snowboard Leysin and Villars also hosted the snowboard portions of the cross, slopestyle, halfpipe events as well as big air, which debuted on the YOG programme. Belgium’s Evy Poppe won gold in slopestyle, the halfpipe gold went to Mitsuki Ono (JPN), while Ono’s teammate Hinari Asanuma won gold in the inaugural big air event. On the men’s side, Dusty Henricksen (USA), Ruka Hirano (JPN) and Ryoma Kimata (JPN) claimed the gold medals in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air, respectively. Josie Baff (AUS) came out on top of the women’s snowboard cross rankings, as did Valerio Jud (SUI) in the men’s rankings. The snowboard cross mixed team event was won by Switzerland ahead of Russia and Germany.
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Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020
Title Events Athlete Role Models inspire young talents In total, 26 Athlete Role Models (ARMs) supported their young counterparts on location in Switzerland and France. Selected by the International Federations, the list included many legendary names from the world of sport, including Olympic and World Champions. In Lausanne, they played a key role in supporting, mentoring and offering advice to the 1,880 young athletes who were participating in the Games. The ARMs engaged and shared their experiences with the athletes in the Youth Olympic Village, at training and competition venues, and during a series of educational activities and workshops. These activities focussed on a range of areas, including Olympic Solidarity, skills development, career management, injury prevention and integrity. In the FIS events, Maria Ntanou (GRE) and Gianluca Cologna (SUI) cheered on the Cross-Country athletes, Jernej Damjan (SLO) was on location for Ski Jumping, Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA) watched over the Nordic Combined events, including her fellow women’s Olympic premiere, Verena Stuffer (ITA) and Sandro Viletta (SUI) supported the young competitors in Alpine Skiing, and Alex Deibold (USA) and Hannah Kearney (USA) passed on their experiences to the Snowboard and Freestyle athletes.
Record-breaking coverage By the end of the third edition of the Winter YOG, coverage of the event across Lausanne2020.sport and Olympic platforms (the Olympic Channel and olympic.org) had attracted over three million unique users during the 13-day event, a 200 per cent increase on Lillehammer 2016. Content generated 66 million video views across the Olympic platforms and social media, approximately 25 times more views than the previous YOG edition, demonstrating the growth and fan interest in the Winter event. Broadcast also saw a significant increase. From zero live coverage available at the first Winter YOG just two editions ago at Innsbruck 2012, these Winter YOG were aired in 191 territories by 73 Rights-Holding Broadcasters (RHBs), with close to 2,700 hours of linear TV coverage. Lausanne 2020 was watched by an estimated audience of more than 150 million people worldwide. For news outlets both linear and online, the IOCnewsroom.com service supplemented coverage, with 1,270 channels using athletefocussed content and broadcasting 3,740 times. Lausanne 2020 also marked the first time the Olympic Channel operated during the Winter YOG, ensuring global coverage for the YOG as a worldwide digital rights-holder. The Olympic Channel’s “digital first” coverage of Lausanne 2020 comprised 300 hours of live and on-demand event streaming, including a 24/7 Youth Olympic Games Channel that was distributed worldwide.
53
Photo: Etienne Claret
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season review
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Coop Cross-Country World Cup 2019/20 By Doris Kallen
A season full of historic moments The FIS Cross-Country World Cup season 2019/20 was all about celebrating extraordinary athletic moments but also underlined the importance of the development of, and finding sustainable solutions for, World Cup event formats. Therese Johaug (NOR) remained the pacesetter in the distance formats and set the bar high for her fellow competitors. With a total of 63 individual World Cup wins, she surpassed Marit Bjorgen (NOR) with the all-time record. Also in the sprinter field, young talents rose and challenged the sprint experts. The friendly rivalry between Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) and Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) ran through the entire season, with Bolshunov succeeding in taking the overall World Cup, distance World Cup and Tour de Ski victory.
New this season The legendary final climb to Val di Fiemme’s Alpe Cermis was scheduled to be a mass start. The change of format was one of the main topics discussed before the Tour de Ski but was well received amongst athletes, teams, spectators on site and on TV. One month later, the FIS Cross-Country family headed north for the second Tour in the season’s calendar, the Ski Tour 2020. In a collaboration of the Swedish and Norwegian Ski Federations, the tour made four stops in Östersund, Åre, Meråker and Trondheim. The goal of the organisers was for the tour to be a platform to test possible adaptions to existing race formats and ways of organising World Cup events. With the aim of providing the most sustainable solution possible, the transportation of all athletes by train was one of the special highlights along the tour.
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season review Biggest winner Johaug proved once more to be in a league of her own. The 31-year-old Norwegian added another 20 individual World Cup victories to her tally, including winning the Tour de Ski and the Ski Tour 2020 overall ranking. Johaug set the pace throughout the entire season and comfortably took home the overall World Cup title with 811 points – and the distance World Cup title with 531 points ahead of compatriot Heidi Weng. Also in the 2019/20 season, the battle at the top of the men’s rankings was between two young guns – Bolshunov and Klæbo. Side by side they fought spectacularly for the top spots. Additionally, the Norwegian team had a line-up of top athletes who reported back for the season in fantastic shape, including Paal Golberg who delivered a strong performance throughout the winter and won the Ski Tour 2020. Simen Hegstad Krüger and Sjur Roethe were also regularly amongst the podium winners. Alongside the leading nations, Switzerland and the USA showed consistent performances in the World Cup as well as in the junior and U23 categories. The success of both teams was built upon their leaders – Jessica Diggins (USA) and Dario Cologna (SUI) – but supported by a wide range of great athletes and added to many great battles on the racecourse. Frida Karlsson beats Therese Johaug at the legendary 30km in Holmenkollen Paal Goldberg wins the Ski Tour 2020
Alexander Bolshunov wins the Tour de Ski 2020
The first World Cup victory for Linn Svahn, Davos 2019
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Best storyline The impact of the Covid-19 restrictions was first felt in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup when it was decided to hold the legendary competitions at Holmenkollen without spectators. Nevertheless, the athletes proceeded to produce a phenomenal women’s 30 km C competition: local superstar Johaug went into the race as the clear favourite and fulfilled expectations by taking a dominating lead. Amongst the chasing group, Frida Karlsson (SWE) decided to change skis after the third lap and caught up with Johaug. A duel began in the final lap that ended with a spectacular sprint towards the finish line – along the empty stands of the Holmenkollen stadium. Finally, Karlsson won her maiden World Cup victory, finishing 1.2 seconds ahead of Johaug. Throughout the season, many in the FIS Cross-Country family celebrated long-awaited maiden World Cup victories. Sprint expert Lucas Chanavat from France finally took his first World Cup win in Planica where he faced rain, snow and hail that even caused a short interruption to let a storm pass. Chanavat defied the wild conditions and celebrated his well-deserved victory. He topped his performances up with another individual win as well as a team victory in Dresden together with his compatriot Renaud Jay. Anamarija Lampic (SLO) also impressed with a series of consistent performances that peaked at the start of the Tour de Ski. Victories in Lenzerheide and Val di Fiemme were backed up with two second-place finishes in Dresden and Oberstdorf.
Best newcomer As in the previous year, the title of the best newcomer goes to the Swedish team, who introduced Linn Svahn to the World Cup circuit in Davos in December 2019. The 20-year-old sprinter left her competitors behind right away and took her first victory in only her second World Cup appearance. She doubled up her podium strikes in Planica and Dresden with two team sprint wins and one individual victory. With another win in the classic sprint in Falun and a third place in the sprint in Drammen, as well as completing the entire FIS Ski Tour 2020, Svahn had a rocket start to her World Cup career and went on to win the Sprint World Cup title.
Retirements Men Erik Bjornsen (USA) Eirik Brandsdal (NOR) Toni Livers (SUI) Andy Newell (USA) Teodor Peterson (SWE)
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Thomas Wick (GER) Sondre Turvoll Fossli (NOR) Bernhard Tritscher (AUT) Lari Lehtonen (FIN) Fredrik Riseth (NOR)
Coop Cross-Country World Cup 2019/20
Women Elizabeth Guiney (USA) Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (NOR) Emily Nishikawa (CAN) Katja Visnar (SLO)
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Viessmann FIS Ski Jumping World Cup 2019/20 By Horst Nilgen
Winning types: Maren Lundby and the Austrians and Stefan Kraft and the Germans The winter season 2019/20 was rich in highlights and, on the women’s and men’s tour, suspense was high, from the start of the season to its abrupt end in Norway. For women and men, the season ended prematurely in Trondheim due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the women’s tour, this meant the cancellation of the Blue Bird Tour in Russia, while the FIS Ski Flying World Championships in Planica (SLO) had to be postponed to December 2020.
New this season The season 2019/20 was characterised by the impending goodbye of FIS Ski Jumping Race Director Dr. Walter Hofer. The Austrian left his position at the end of the season due to his retirement. After over 20 years in his position, Hofer used the season to slowly hand over the reins in Ski Jumping to his successor Sandro Pertile (ITA).
Biggest winners In their 10th World Cup season, the women once again delivered proof that women’s Ski Jumping has reached an extremely high level of performance. Throughout the season, Maren Lundby (NOR), Chiara Hölzl (AUT), Sara Takanashi (JPN) and their colleagues excited the fans not only at the different events but also in the fight for overall victory. While Lundby won her third consecutive crystal globe with a breathtaking performance in the individual standings and by beating her closest rival Hölzl by 65 points, the Austrian women impressed as a team. 62
season review They won 10 individual World Cup events combined (6x Hölzl, 3x Eva Pinkelnig, 1x Marita Kramer) and both team events of the season in Zao and Ljubno. At the end of the season, Austria’s women won the Nations Cup with over 2,000 points’ advantage on runner-up Norway. The team from Japan was third. The overall victory in the men’s World Cup was a tight affair as well and, for a long time, Stefan Kraft (AUT) and Karl Geiger (GER) were head to head. Geiger always fought back to follow the Austrian and took the lead for a while but, ultimately, the double World Champion from Lahti 2017 prevailed: Kraft won the crystal globe with 1,659 points ahead of Geiger on 1,519 points. Kraft also won the Ski Flying overall standings with 160 points, 20 points ahead of Slovenia’s Timi Zajc.
Best storylines Dawid Kubacki (POL) showed at the 68th Four Hills Tournament what it is all about in a competition series: consistency. Ranking third (Oberstdorf), third (GarmischPartenkirchen), second (Innsbruck) and with a win at the finals in Bischofshofen, the 29-year-old won the season highlight in the style of a great champion. After Adam Malysz and Kamil Stoch, Kubacki became the third ski jumper from Poland to win the prestigious event.
A dream came true for Stefan Leyhe in his hometown of Willingen
Dawid Kubacki (POL) joined the list of Four Hills Tournament winners
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Maren Lundby (NOR) ended the season on top once more
Stefan Kraft (AUT) wins the overall 2019/20
Next to Kraft’s overall World Cup victory and Kubacki’s Four Hills triumph, the most emotional storyline came from Germany’s Stephan Leyhe. The 28-year-old top talent had come close to winning a World Cup multiple times before but always just missed out. On 8th February, Leyhe finally succeeded at his home venue of Willingen of all places. With this win, not only did he take the victory of the day but also the Willingen-5 ranking and the extra prize money of €25,000. The success of the local hero was celebrated in Willingen like a World Cup title in football. At the end of the season, Leyhe was also able to celebrate victory in the Nations Cup together with his teammates. Germany won with 5,194 points ahead of the teams from Austria (5,041) and Norway (4,622).
Best newcomers With her maiden World Cup victory in Sapporo and by winning three Junior World Champion titles (individual, team and mixed team) shortly afterwards, 18-year-old Marita Kramer was the newcomer of the season.
Retirements Men Eduard Torok (ROU) Tomas Vancura (CZE) Gabriel Karlen (SUI)
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Fredrik Bjerkeengen (NOR) Martti Nomme (EST) Kenshiro Ito (JPN) Federico Cecon (ITA)
Viessmann FIS Ski Jumping World Cup 2019/20
Women Elena Runggaldier (ITA)
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FIS Cross-Country World Cup
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup – Men
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup – Women
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup 2019/20 By Silke Tegethof
Record-breaking Riiber continues dominance of the World Cup Nordic Combined has a new superstar: Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) elevated himself into Nordic Combined legend status by breaking all records in the 2019/20 season.
New this season While the venues and formats in the World Cup remained the same this winter, a new and unified ritual cast the sport’s top stars in a new light at the beginning of the crosscountry races: the top three from the jumping part plus the leaders in the “Best Jumper Trophy” and “Best Skier Trophy” entered the stadium to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and, befitting the occasion, the first metres of the cross-country race were staged to the soundtrack of “Run Boy Run” by Woodkid.
Biggest winners After matching Hannu Manninen’s (FIN) record of 12 victories in one season in 2018/19, Riiber smashed this record with 14 wins to claim his second crystal globe. In fact, Vinzenz Geiger (GER) and Akito Watabe (JPN) were the only athletes other than the Norwegian dominator to claim a victory . With 27 victories in a total of 68 individual World Cup starts, Riiber has now also surpassed legend Bjarte Engen Vik as the most successful Norwegian athlete in the sport. Alongside his regular World Cup victories, Riiber also finally claimed the prestigious Nordic Combined TRIPLE trophy. The season highlight event returned to Seefeld (AUT) this year. Previously, the Austrian venue had sat one winter out and passed the baton 68
season review to Chaux-Neuve (FRA) due to the FISNordic World Ski Championships taking place in Seefeld in 2019 Led by Riiber, the Norwegian team advanced to become the most successful team in Nordic Combined for the second year in a row, and with an impressive margin. The team of Riiber, Olympic Champion Jørgen Graabak and newcomer Jens Lurås Oftebro beat runner-up Germany by 1,834 points in the Nations Cup and swept the podium twice this winter. Especially on the jumping side, head coach Peder Sandell’s team set new standards and left their competition behind. While Riiber claimed the “Best Jumper Trophy” in a similarly dominating fashion (428 points ahead of runner-up Oftebro and teammate Espen Bjørnstad), Finland’s Ilkka Herola battled to the win in the “Best Skier Trophy”. He beat fast Italian Alessandro Pittin by 78 points and fellow Nordic Combined superstar Eric Frenzel (GER) by 92 points. In addition to these winners, 2019/20 was a phenomenal season for Graabak and Geiger. Only outshone by Riiber, the two stood on almost every podium of the season. Even though a victory evaded this year’s “eternal second”, Graabak collected eight The best skier and the best jumper of the winter Jens Lurås Oftebro was the shooting star of the winter
Unstoppable everywhere but in Lahti Jarl Magnus Riiber
Akito Watabe surprised with his victory in Lahti
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The best of the rest: Vinzenz Geiger and Joergen Graabak
second positions and three third places, while Geiger had three second places and five third places next to his two wins.
Best storylines Once again, Watabe was involved in delivering one of the best storylines of the winter: while the Japanese claimed his 18th career win in Lahti, the “Lahti-curse” of Jarl Magnus Riiber continued. After crashing with Johannes Rydzek (GER) in 2015, taking the wrong way to the finish and seriously injuring his shoulder in 2016, and not competing there in the following years, Lahti remains one of the very few places where Riiber has not stood on the podium. This year, the wind was not with the serial winner and he collected his worst result of the entire winter: rank 10. Watabe, on the other hand, profited from solid ski jumping in challenging conditions and a perfect race plan to evade capture before the finish line and scored a very unexpected win in a season that was his worst in many years. He only ranked 10th in the overall standings, having finished on the overall podium for eight years in a row.
Best newcomers While Geiger solidified his performances to become the spearhead and new leader of the German team, the position of the absolute shooting star of the season belonged to Oftebro. The 19-year-old collected five individual podium results and ranked in the top 10 in almost every other competition, which rewarded him with fourth place in the overall standings at the end of the winter.
Retirements Paul Gerstgraser (AUT) Nathaniel Mah (CAN) Constantin Schnurr (GER) Lilian Vaxelaire (FRA)
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Lukas Runggaldier (ITA) Sindre Ure Søtvik (NOR) Adam Cieslar (POL) Wojciech Marusarz (POL)
Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup 2019/20
Pawel Twardosz (POL) Alexander Pashaev (RUS)
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Audi FIS Alpine World Cup 2019/20 By Giulia Candiago and Gianluca de Cristofaro
New this season Marcel Hirscher’s retirement opened up a completely new scenario in the men’s World Cup with very tight battles in the technical disciplines and in the overall standings. Additionally, parallel globes were awarded for the first time, with Petra Vlhova (SVK) and Loic Meillard (SUI) beating the competition in this discipline.
Biggest winners Federica Brignone (ITA) and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) were definitely the biggest winners of the season, claiming their first-ever overall titles. Brignone became the first Italian woman to win the overall globe, joining the exclusive club of Piero Gros, Gustav Thöni and Alberto Tomba. The Italian ski star completed her season with 11 podiums and five victories to also secure the giant slalom and the alpine combined titles. Kilde, back on Atomic skis this season, significantly upped his giant slalom game (five top 6 finishes) and proved to be the most consistent man, becoming the third Norwegian after Lasse Kjus and Aksel Lund Svindal to win the overall World Cup. Fellow Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen added two discipline globes to his collection, edging Alexis Pinturault (FRA) in giant slalom by six points and Clement Noel (FRA) in slalom by only two points. Beat Feuz (SUI) confirmed he’s the man to beat in downhill, claiming his third consecutive globe in this discipline, while teammate Mauro Caviezel (SUI) showed incredible consistency and walked away with the super-G globe, while still chasing his first World Cup victory.
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season review Pinturault was the skier who collected the most victories last season (six) and fought until the end for both the giant slalom and overall titles, but eventually settled for his fourth alpine combined globe. On the women’s side, Corinne Suter (SUI) and Vlhova were the two other protagonists, dividing the remaining discipline titles between them. The Swiss ace established herself as the queen of speed, claiming both the super-G and downhill globes. Slovakian ski star Vlhova wrote history for her country in securing the parallel and slalom globes for the first time ever. Vlhova finished on the podium in 13 of the last 15 World Cup slalom events, becoming the most successful Slovakian slalom skier of all time. Finally, despite a difficult period on the personal side that kept her away from competitions for over a month, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) had another outstanding season, enabling her to break Ingemar Stenmark’s record of the most slalom victories ever (43) and rank second all-time among women with 66 World Cup victories.
Best storylines After stunning the world with gold medals in two different sports at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Ester Ledecka (CZE) clinched her first World Cup victory this season. The Czech skier stormed to downhill victory in Lake Louise (CAN) and was able to close the season in second place in the downhill and third in the alpine combined ranking.
Beat Feuz (SUI) claimed his third consecutive downhill title with seven podiums this season, including a second place in KitzbĂźhel
Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), here in action in Adelboden, prevailed in the technical disciplines, securing both the slalom and the giant slalom World Cups Corinne Suter (SUI) won her first ever World Cup downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee
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Petra Vlhova (SVK) celebrating her victory in Flachau‘s slalom in front of 15,000 fans for the second year in a row Federica Brignone (ITA), winner of the overall World Cup, celebrating her super-G victory in Rosa Kuthor
It should have been a comeback season for Thomas Dressen (GER) after a one-year break due to a bad knee injury, but the German speed machine exceeded all expectations. Dressen claimed three downhill victories, including a home success in GarmischPartenkirchen.
Best newcomers Alice Robinson (NZL) established herself as one of the top giant slalom skiers, starting off the season with her maiden World Cup victory in Soelden (AUT). The young Kiwi, born in 2001, won her second World Cup race in February in Kranjska Gora (SLO), becoming the first teenager to win multiple giant slalom races in a single World Cup season since Mateja Svet (SLO) in 1987/88 and the second New Zealander to win multiple World Cup events after Claudia Riegler (four). On the men’s side, Lucas Braathen (NOR) proved he is ready to compete with the best. The Norwegian talent, born in 2000, has not been able to achieve a World Cup podium yet, but was constantly in the top 10 in both slalom and giant slalom. The future looks bright for this youngster. Additionally, Filip Zubcic became the first Croatian man in history to win a giant slalom event. His maiden victory in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba (JPN) also made him the first “nonKostelic” to win a World Cup event. The Croatian had a very strong second half of the season, finishing less than 30 points from the giant slalom title.
Retirements Men Robin Buffet (FRA) Peter Fill (ITA) Andre Myhrer (SWE) Matts Olsson (SWE) Dustin Cook (CAN)
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Wiley Maple (USA) Johannes Kröll (AUT) Fritz Dopfer (GER) Dominik Stehle (GER) Elia Zurbriggen (SUI)
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup 2019/20
Women Johanna Schnarf (ITA) Nadia Fanchini (ITA) Elena Fanchini (ITA) Ylva Stalnacke (SWE) Ana Drev (SLO)
Marie-Therese Sporer (AUT) Christina Ackermann (GER) Veronique Hronek (GER) Nina Loeseth (NOR) Tina Weirather (LIE)
Š Francis Bompard/ Agence Zoom
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FIS Freestyle and Freeski World Cup 2019/20 By Chad Buchholz, Mateusz Kielpinski and Julia Ziemska
From Cardrona (NZL) to Krasnoyarsk (RUS), the 2019/20 FIS Freestyle and Freeski World Cup season saw 43 World Cup competitions take place across the events of moguls, dual moguls, aerials, aerials team, ski cross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. While the early end to the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic concluded things on the most sombre of notes, the World Cup action we witnessed before the shutdown was as epic as ever, and we’ve got some of the top highlights for you here.
New this season With no World Championships or Olympic Winter Games this season, it was all eyes on the World Cup, where we saw some excellent new venues and ventures in 2019/20. There were three new stops added to the moguls and aerials tour – Idre Fjall (SWE), Almaty (KAZ) and Krasnoyarsk (RUS) – while the big air tour got its first taste of the future Olympic big air venue in Beijing (CHN). All four venues proved their worth immediately in their first season. Also of note was the progress made in harmonisation between Freestyle/Freeski and Snowboard across the shared events (cross, halfpipe, big air and slopestyle). With the Rules Committee’s herculean efforts to harmonise the rule book now completed, it’s all systems go for a more cooperative, efficient and sustainable future for these events.
Biggest winners For the second straight season, moguls athletes Perrine Laffont of France and Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury dominated the Freestyle overall rankings. Laffont claimed her third consecutive moguls World Cup title, while celebrating one of the most dominant campaigns in recent history, scoring eight victories and one third-place finish while missing the podium only once. Over on the men’s side, the inimitable Kingsbury recorded his 78
season review ninth consecutive season of earning both the moguls and Freestyle overall trophy, inching him closer to Conny Kissling’s (SUI) record of 10 Freestyle overall titles. Kingsbury won seven out of 10 World Cup competitions in 2019/20, proving yet again that he’s the most dominant men’s skier in FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup history. On the Freeski side of things, the Swiss earned the biggest headlines at the end of the season as Sarah Hoefflin and Andri Ragettli both set new standards with their slopestyle crystal globe wins, with Hoefflin becoming the first woman to win two career slopestyle globes, and Ragettli stepping into top spot in Freeski history with his fourth career globe. Kevin Drury (CAN) winning his first crystal globe at the age of 31 was the big news in ski cross, as he grabbed seven podium spots at 11 races, four of which were wins and the other three second places. Meanwhile, Sandra Naeslund (SWE) prevailed in a tight women’s race to earn her second straight globe, and her third in the last four seasons.
Best storyline The number of exceptional storylines in 2019/20 was almost too many to count. There was Eileen Gu (CHN) achieving a World Cup first by winning halfpipe and slopestyle competitions on consecutive days in Calgary (CAN) and 15-year-old Anri Kawamura (JPN) earning a podium in her first-ever World Cup competition in Ruka (FIN).
Kevin Drury (red bib) in the lead for his first of four season wins at the Cross Alps Tour opener in Val Thorens (FRA)
Yang Longxiao (CHN) competing under the lights in Minsk (BLR)
Sarah Höfflin (SUI) mid-air at the U.S. Grand Prix World Cup event at Mammoth Mountain (USA)
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Perrine Laffont (FRA) and Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) atop the standings after the Almaty dual moguls World Cup (KAZ)
Andri Raggetli (SUI) with a stylish double mute grab to victory in Calgary (CAN)
There was the titanic season-long halfpipe battle between Aaron Blunck (USA) and Noah Bowman (CAN) and Laura Peel (AUS) and Noe Roth (SUI) earning their first career globes with victories at the final event of the season in Krasnoyarsk. There were standout moments like ski cross crystal globe winner Naeslund suffering a massive finish-line crash in her semifinal only to get right back up and into the start gate to win the small final in Sunny Valley (RUS). If we had to pick one, though, it might be the emergence of Birk Ruud (NOR) as the Freeski world’s top triple threat, as he was the only athlete to make the finals in 2019/20 in pipe, slope and big air, earning podiums in slope and big air, and taking the big air crystal globe at season’s end.
Best newcomers Courtney Hoffos (CAN), who began her first full Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season with back-to-back-to-back podiums; Kawamura, whose hot start helped earn her the moguls “Rookie of the Year” honours; Permin Werner (SUI), who finished fourth overall in his first full season of aerials World Cup action; and Kirsty Muir (GBR), who seems poised to join the upper echelon of slopestyle/big air athletes in 2020/21.
Retirements Men Kai Mahler (SUI – halfpipe, slopestyle and big air) Anton Grimus (AUS – ski cross) Arnaud Bovolenta (FRA – ski cross) Robbie Andison (CAN – moguls)
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FIS Freestyle and Freeski World Cup 2019/20
Women Maddie Bowman (USA – halfpipe) Elisabeth Gram (AUT – halfpipe) Priscillia Annen-Zumstein (SUI – ski cross)
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FIS Snowboard World Cup 2019/20 By Chad Buchholz, Mateusz Kielpinski and Julia Ziemska
Beginning in August in Cardrona (NZL) and coming to an unfortunate early conclusion in Veysonnaz (SUI) in March, the 2019/20 FIS Snowboard World Cup season saw 31 competitions take place across the events of parallel slalom, parallel giant slalom, parallel team, snowboard cross, halfpipe, big air and slopestyle. Though the Covid-19 pandemic cast a shadow over the latter part of the season, the 2019/20 World Cup should be remembered as one of outstanding competition, thrilling achievements, and boundary-pushing progression from start to finish.
New this season There were a whole slew of new venues added to the FIS Snowboard World Cup in 2019/20, with alpine adding Bannoye (RUS), Piancavallo (ITA) and Blue Mountain (CAN), snowboard cross adding Big White (CAN), big air visiting the home stadium of baseball’s Atlanta Braves (USA), and a thrilling first look at the future Olympic big air venue in Beijing (CHN) – the world’s first permanent big air jump structure. Also of note were the efforts by the (unfortunately cancelled) Carezza (ITA) parallel giant slalom organisers to produce a more eco-friendly and sustainable World Cup competition – an exciting development for a long-running venue, and something we expect to see much more of in the future.
Big winners On the park & pipe side of things, Cai Xuetong (CHN) and Scotty James (AUS) walked away with the halfpipe and overall crystal globes, with both athletes setting or tying new benchmarks. Xuetong’s halfpipe globe was the sixth of her career, while her third overall globe ties her atop the all-time park & pipe standings. With nine trophies in all, she is now tied second on the all-time FIS Snowboard rankings and has two more titles 82
season review than any other freestyle rider. For James, meanwhile, his third halfpipe crystal globe ties him atop the men’s all-time rankings, while his four overall globes tie him third in men’s park & pipe history. Meanwhile, over in alpine snowboard, 39-year-old Roland Fischnaller (ITA) took the parallel giant slalom and overall globes to bring his career total to five trophies, while also finishing second overall in the parallel slalom competition. Meanwhile, Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) dominated the women’s field, taking eight wins (six individual, two team) from 11 events and also walking away with both the parallel giant slalom and overall titles. And finally in snowboard cross, Michela Moioli (ITA) won her third globe in five seasons on the women’s side, while Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) earned his second globe in a row with a decisive victory at the final event of the season in Veysonnaz.
Ruki Tobita (JPN) sky-high at the slopestyle World Cup event in Seiser Alm (ITA)
Roland Fischnaller (ITA) competing on his home slope in Cortina d‘Ampezzo (ITA)
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Cai Xuetong (CHN) holding her second consecutive halfpipe crystal globe at the season‘s finals in Calgary (CAN)
Michela Moioli (ITA) winning in front of her home crowd in Cervinia (ITA)
Best storylines There were World Cup firsts such as Chris Corning (USA) becoming the first rider to land a quad corked rotation on a scaffold big air jump on home soil in Atlanta, where he took the victory and his record seventh career crystal globe, and Maddie Mastro (USA) becoming the first woman to stomp a double cork in women’s World Cup halfpipe competition at Mammoth Mountain (USA). There were incredible comebacks, such as Belle Brockhoff (AUS) returning to full-time snowboard cross World Cup competition after more than two years of injury to earn podiums in five out of six events and finish second overall, and Katie Ormerod (GBR) returning after more than two years lost to injury to earn podiums in four out of four slopestyle World Cups while becoming the the first British athlete to win an FIS Snowboard crystal globe. There were sublime moments, such as Benjamin Karl (AUT) and Mirko Felicetti (ITA) finishing in a dead heat at Blue Mountain for the first-ever tie in World Cup parallel competition, and Liu Jaiyu (CHN) being helped from the halfpipe by medics after a crash in her second run at Calgary (CAN), only to return for run three and up her score for a spot on the podium. Anywhere you looked at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in 2019/20, something remarkable was happening, and we can’t wait for more of it next season. 84
FIS Snowboard World Cup 2019/20
season review Best newcomers Usually it’s tough to recognise one standout athlete who can be also be categorised as a “newcomer” in the young and ever-shifting landscape of FIS Snowboard events, but in 2019/20 one name stood above all others, as 17-year-old Dusty Henricksen went from the US rookie team to earning a spot amongst the world’s slopestyle elite in a two-month span from January to March. Qualifying first in his heat in Laax (SUI), winning at Mammoth Mountain, and dropping the first-ever quad in a slopestyle run at the Burton US Open, Henricksen is the real deal.
Chris Corning (USA) kicking off the season on a high in Cardrona (NZL)
Retirements Men Konstantin Schad (GER – snowboard cross) Chris Robanske (CAN – snowboard cross) Kaspar Flütsch (SUI – alpine) Christy Prior (NZL – slopestyle & big air)
Baptiste Brochu (CAN – snowboard cross) Women Nelly Moenne-Loccoz (FRA – snowboard cross)
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perspectives
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FIS Marketing AG Update By Christian Pirzer
The past winter was once again packed with spectacular races and extraordinary achievements. As in every successful World Cup season, FIS Marketing AG (FISMAG) had teams on the ground at almost every event. As it was a season without any World Championships, winning one of the globes was the big goal for the athletes. But even this aim was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit the winter sports family in the final weeks of the World Cup season. Like many businesses in the sports industry, FISMAG had to accept reductions of the sponsorship fees that resulted from the missing World Cup events at the end of the season. But all in all, the winter sports world was fortunate that the virus outbreak did not happen earlier. The long-term contracts with our partners Audi, Longines, Viessmann and Coop will ensure a stable and solid financial base for the next two years and FISMAG will make sure that our valued partners will get the best exposure possible.
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perspectives
One very positive aspect of the past season was the conclusion of the deal of the sale of the marketing rights of the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships. FISMAG is the exclusive sales agent for the TV relevant marketing rights of the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships in Genting Resort (CHN). After a long and extensive search for a partner marketing agency in the Chinese market, our efforts were rewarded when we met Gemdale Sports in Shenzhen. Gemdale Sports, established in 2010, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Gemdale Group. With tennis as its main business platform, Gemdale Sports has a thorough understanding of the culture and industrial concepts in the field of international tennis and has been committed to the commercialisation of China’s sports industry for a long time. In January 2018, Gemdale successfully won the right to host the 2019-2028 WTA Finals on behalf of Shenzhen. Gemdale immediately realised the meaning and possibilities of the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski, Freeski & Snowboard World Championships in Genting Resort for the Chinese market as a test event for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. After a short and trustful negotiation period we signed a contract on 14th December 2019. We believe that this is a huge success for all parties involved, such as Gemdale, the Local Organising Committee, the Chinese Ski Association, FIS and FISMAG. Eddy Liu, CEO of Gemdale Sports, was kind enough to give us an overview of the plans and strategy of Gemdale in winter sports. 91
Mr. Liu about the meaning of this deal for Gemdale “Gemdale Sports reached an agreement in 2019 to cooperate with the International Ski Federation, the Chinese Ski Association and the Zhangjiakou Organising Committee for event promotion and commercial development for the event. This is the first time that Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports have entered into winter sports. Winter sports in China are booming. With the implementation of policies and the benefits from the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, the winter sports industry will reach an unprecedented level. Earning the global exclusive commercial rights of the FIS Freestyle Ski, Freeski & Snowboard World Championships Zhangjiakou 2021 has significant meaning for both Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports. On the one hand, this is recognition of the capabilities of Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports from the international organisations, which demonstrates Chinese enterprises’ growing competitiveness in the world. On the other hand, such cooperation remarkably contributes to the development of Gemdale Cooperation and Gemdale Sports as this alliance enables Gemdale Sports to expand its successful tennis-only operation and extend its business into more sporting fields.”
Mr. Liu about the ambition and goals of Gemdale in winter sports “Gemdale Corporation is one of the earliest listed real estate companies in China with business interests in over 60 major cities across the country. In addition to the real estate sector, Gemdale also has a rich history in sports participation and investment and has been playing a dominant role in promoting tennis in China over the years. As the exclusive global commercial partner for the FIS Freestyle Ski, Freeski & Snowboard World Championships 2021, Gemdale Sports will act as an important bridge to connect brands and enterprises with this event as well as snow sports in China. “From a long-term perspective, Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports will utilise their extensive experiences from the tennis industry to contribute to the promotion and popularisation of winter sports in China, and facilitate the realisation of the strategic goal of ‘300 million people to participate in snow sports’ proposed during the joint bid by Beijing and Zhangjiakou to be the host of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The realisation of this strategy requires both the strategic guidance from the government and the concerted efforts from commercial enterprises. As a leading domestic company, Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports have a strong desire to contribute to this cause and help lead more peer enterprises and the general public to learn and participate in the sport.”
Mr. Liu about the importance of the long-term vision with FIS “The cooperation with FIS is Gemdale’s first involvement in other sports. This marks an important step in the strategic expansion of its sports landscape. Relying on its real estate and sports resources in many cities across China, and the cooperation with the International Ski Federation and the Chinese Ski Association, Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports hope to take this opportunity to further participate in winter sports development, such as developing ski resorts integrating grassroots popularisation, youth training and perhaps elite professional coaching in a sustainable industry.
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FIS Marketing AG Update
perspectives “The extensive experience that Gemdale Sports has gained in sports marketing and promotion is highly recognised by FIS. This largely assists the successful alliance between both sides. In years ahead, FIS will constantly cooperate with Gemdale Cooperation, Gemdale Sports and the Chinese Ski Association to develop snow sports and contribute to the Government’s ambitious targets in China. In the meantime, Gemdale Corporation and Gemdale Sports are determined to expand their business to other strategically fitting sports, which will enhance the company’s market influence and competitiveness in both the domestic and international sports industry.”
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FIS Travel Service AG By Caroline Ris
It was a turbulent 2019/20 season for FIS Travel Service. We were able to complete a busy and successful summer in 2019, which was focused on alpine training camps in Ushuaia (Argentina) and La Parva (Chile). As in past years, Aerolinas Argentinas supported FIS Travel Service with a great excess baggage offer, which allowed teams to bring important training equipment. The Audi FIS Alpine World Cup went on its yearly overseas trip to the USA and Canada in November and December – over 600 athletes, team members and media representatives were also able to profit from very good excess baggage offers and practical ticket deadlines. The yearly charter flight from Calgary to Vail/Eagle was also repeated this year and 120 people were welcomed aboard a Boeing flight. Another charter flight was planned and took off carrying participants from the World Cup in Bansko (BUL) via Sochi (RUS) to Zürich (SUI). As the amount of excess baggage was very high, an Airbus A320 had to fly the route from Sofia to Sochi multiple times. Another plane, an Airbus A330, carried 160 passengers back to Zürich from Sochi, while 20 tonnes of skiing equipment was loaded in containers. It was also a busy season for FIS Travel Service in the Nordic disciplines and Snowboard and Freestyle, beginning with the World Cups in the north of Scandinavia and continuing all around the globe. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic did not spare FIS Travel Service either. The Alpine World Cup in Yanqing (CHN) had to be cancelled and, while participants travelled to Yuzawa Naeba (JPN) as planned, the women’s World Cup in Åre (SWE) was cancelled halfway through. At the same time, the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in Narvik (NOR) had to be stopped. For FIS Travel Service, this meant a turbulent night session to help athletes and team members reach their homes as quickly as possible. In addition, the Alpine World Cup Finals in Cortina (ITA) were also unable to be held. 94
perspectives
Further on in spring, planning and preparations for the FIS Congress were also disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak and the event had to be cancelled eventually. All FIS Travel Service employees hope that the situation will normalise worldwide, so that the FIS Family can travel to events in a safe way and FIS Travel Service can continue to assist with the transport of teams and equipment.
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Bring Children to the Snow By Andrew Cholinski
Like many events and actions around the world, Bring Children to the Snow and its organisers were not immune to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. With such a negative atmosphere, the campaign changed tact and aimed to become a source of happiness for those yearning for an escape. The result? Bring Children to the Snow saw its largest growth in communications since the programme began. Much of this success must be given to the organisers and families who enjoyed the snow prior to the shutdown. These experiences yielded great moments, which were captured in photos or on video and ultimately shared via the FIS SnowKidz and World Snow Day platforms. The multitude of content was well received by the public and much of it was shared further. In addition to its communications, Bring Children to the Snow continued its original mission of providing various support to snow sports stakeholders to help them deliver actions to bring new children to snow sports. These included the provision of materials, event ideas, statistics, official recognition from FIS, and financial support in the form of awards. These support features remained free of charge. Looking ahead, Bring Children to the Snow will continue its operations. Recent thirdparty statistics have shown that the number of snow sports participants is beginning to grow again after a 10-year stagnation. Coupled with positive feedback from organisers, FIS is driven to continue to provide the free support to grassroots organisations that creates the foundation of our sport.
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perspectives SnowKidz Despite the early closure of resorts, the 2019/20 season of SnowKidz was a success. A total of 681 events and actions took place in 31 countries with an estimated 115,459 participants. Thanks to the positive results, all primary goals of SnowKidz for the current period were fulfilled. As well as fulfilling the goals of the project, a highlight of this past season was the 2020 SnowKidz Award. Now in its fifth edition, the SnowKidz Awards recognise the best the actions to bring children to the snow. For 2020, 12 countries competed for the title of “World’s Best Kids Snow Programme”, with nominations from both the northern and southern hemisphere. In the end, Everyone on Snow from Sweden triumphed, with Greece and Finland tying for second position. For the winners the victory was extra special as it was their first success after numerous second- and third-place finishes. The coordinator of the programme, Johan Linneaus, said: “Winning the award means a lot to us, the participants, programme leaders and the Swedish Ski Association. We are very happy.” All in all, SnowKidz continues on a positive path. The sheer scale of events and actions, combined with the motivation of the organisers, means the project has a healthy future ahead.
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World Snow Day The ninth edition of World Snow Day took place on 19th January 2020 with 359 events in 45 countries. World Snow Day organisers battled through tough conditions to stage a series of excellent events. Some standouts included: an open day in Norway with NOK 50 (EUR 5) lift passes for all kids and adults; free lessons for kids in Lake Louise (CAN); and ski and snowboard lessons throughout the Engadin valley in Switzerland. There were also 72 events throughout China with free or discounted ski lessons, equipment rental and lift passes; ski and snowboard schools throughout Poland with free lessons for children; free sandboarding lessons in Peru and Brazil; World Snow Day in schools around Lithuania; a kids’ snow festival in Ulaanbaatar (MGL); the first World Snow Day in Qatar; and the opening of the brand new SNØ indoor ski centre in Oslo (NOR). In addition to the physical events, World Snow Day created a buzz in the digital world. The hashtag #worldsnowday was shared by over 5,000 people and organisations and, thanks to media partners Eurosport, Infront Sports & Media and the European Broadcasting Union, the World Snow Day trailer was broadcast around the world. Moreover, thanks to Atomic Ski two families won two family sets of skis in the #atomicsnowday competition. Finally, thanks to partners Dinoski, one lucky family from Canada won two Dinoski kids’ ski suits. FIS would like to thank all the partners for their active support in this year’s event. Looking ahead, World Snow Day 2021 is confirmed. The next event will mark 10 years of World Snow Day and will take place on 17th January 2021. 98
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FIS Anti-Doping By Daniela Wimmer and Sarah Fussek
FIS is strongly committed to protecting clean athletes and clean sport. Therefore FIS is aiming to continually strengthen and develop the FIS Anti-Doping Programme. In addition to an intelligent testing programme, doping prevention is a cornerstone of the programme. Raising awareness, reaching out, providing support and access to information for athletes and athlete support personnel are fundamental elements of the FIS anti-doping responsibilities.
FIS mandatory anti-doping education Prevention and anti-doping education is not only an integral part of the FIS Anti-Doping Programme but also an important right of every athlete. Aiming to protect and strengthen athletes’ rights and to ensure that all athletes have access to education, the FIS Council has implemented mandatory anti-doping education requirements. This initiative has been started by the FIS Athletes’ Commission and, now, attending antidoping education is mandatory for all athletes included in the FIS Registered Testing Pool as well as all athletes competing at FIS Junior World Championships.
Clean Sport Talk – Junior World Championship Oberwiesenthal In cooperation with the National Anti-Doping Agency of Germany (NADA), the athletes participating at the 2020 FIS Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal were invited to an Anti-Doping Education Talk. Sandra Ringwald, former elite cross-country skier, and Stefan Trinks, Head of the Anti-Doping Testing Programme at NADA, answered athletes’ questions and provided theoretical and practical knowledge about the doping control system. Additionally, an outreach booth gave athletes and spectators alike the opportunity to engage and get more anti-doping related information.
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perspectives FIS athletes and stakeholders raise awareness for clean sport “Clean as Snow” is a year-round awareness campaign by FIS to support the fight for fair and clean sport. FIS athletes and stakeholders have used several opportunities to show their support for clean sport. Many joined WADA’s “Play Safe on Play True Day 2020” by posting videos and pictures using the hashtags #playtrue and #CleanAsSnow . FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis commented: “FIS has been a loyal participant in Play True Day each year and, also in 2020, the Skiing and Snowboarding community actively engaged in the Play True Day under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s special theme of staying healthy at home. FIS would like to commend the National Ski Associations and their athletes for jointly speaking up for the global common interest of Clean and Fair Sport.”
WADA’s World Conference on Doping in Sport The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Fifth World Conference on Doping in Sport took place from 5-7 November 2019 in Katowice (Poland) and welcomed over 1,500 representatives from the clean sport community. The Conference was focused on the presentation and endorsement of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards. FIS was represented by a delegation including Lausanne 2020 Athlete Role Model and Cross-Country skier Maria Ntanou (GRE).
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Testing Programme and statistics 2019/20 The FIS Testing Programme is an intelligent and comprehensive in- and out-ofcompetition testing programme, which continues to focus on unannounced out-ofcompetition testing and the expansion of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) programme. As anti-doping science and research continue to develop new techniques to detect the presence of prohibited substances and methods, long-term storage of urine and blood samples remains an important investment in order to have the possibility for later reanalysis.
FIS anti-doping 2019/20 in numbers  450 In-competition sample collections 1,826 Out-of-competition sample collections Additional testing conducted under the responsibility of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) has not been included in the numbers above.
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24th International Matteo Baumgarten Award By Andrew Cholinski
The International Matteo Baumgarten Award recognises and rewards athletes who have chosen to undertake tertiary education in addition to their competitive sport. The award was founded by the parents of Matteo Baumgarten, Giacomo and Paola, as a way to honour the memory of their son and to incentivise athletes to study as well as compete. This year, the award, now in its 24th year, saw one of the largest and most diverse fields of nominees. Twenty-four athletes from 12 nations were nominated, from a wide range of fields of study, including computer science, business, economics, civil engineering, humanities and chemical engineering. As founders and judges of the award, Giacomo and Paola took time to analyse each nomination. After a month-long process, 23-year-old Swiss Alpine athlete Tanguy Nef was selected as the winner. Nef currently competes in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup and studies computer science at Dartmouth College (USA). As the winner of the award, Nef joins a long and illustrious list of winners that includes 2018 Winter Olympic gold medallists Ramon Zenhäusern (SUI) and Ester Ledecká (CZE), Tanja Poutiainen (FIN), Tina Maze (SLO), Bernadette Schild (AUT) and Marco Odermatt (SUI). FIS and the Baumgarten family would like to thank all nominees and National Ski Associations who participated in this year’s award. The Baumgarten family have confirmed the International Matteo Baumgarten Award will take place again in 2021.
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APPLAUSE FOR YOUR EVENT
NUSSLI provided various temporary event structures for the FIS Nordic Ski Championships 2019 in Seefeld. Š Tirol Werbung / Webhofer Mario
Your event is in the spotlight; we provide the perfect setting: with temporary grandstands and event structures by NUSSLI, you offer your audience the best view from every position.
nussli.com
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Facts & FIGURES
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World Cup Winners 2019/20 CROsS-COUNTRY SKIING Women Overall
Distance
Sprint
Tour de Ski
Men
1 JOHAUG, Therese (NOR)
2508
1 BOLSHUNOV, Alexander (RUS)
2221
2 WENG, Heidi (NOR)
1697
2 KLAEBO, Johannes Hoesflot (NOR)
1726
3 NEPRYAEVA, Natalia (RUS)
1356
3 GOLBERG, Paal (NOR)
1311
1 JOHAUG, Therese (NOR)
1451
1 BOLSHUNOV, Alexander (RUS)
1293
2 WENG, Heidi (NOR)
920
2 ROETHE, Sjur (NOR)
864
3 ANDERSSON, Ebba (SWE)
717
3 NISKANEN, Iivo (FIN)
840
1 SVAHN, Linn (SWE)
509
1 KLAEBO, Johannes Hoesflot (NOR)
550
2 SUNDLING, Jonna (SWE)
486
2 VALNES, Erik
405
3 LAMPIC, Anamarija (SLO)
472
3 GOLBERG, Paal (NOR)
386
1 JOHAUG, Therese (NOR)
1 BOLSHUNOV, Alexander (RUS)
2 NEPRYAEVA, Natalia (RUS)
2 USTIUGOV, Sergey (RUS)
3 OESTBERG, Ingvild Flugstad (NOR)
3 KLAEBO, Johannes Hoesflot (NOR)
nordic combined Men Overall
1 RIIBER, Jarl Magnus (NOR)
1586
2 GRAABAK, Joergen (NOR)
1106
3 GEIGER, Vinzenz (GER)
108
Men
917
Triple
1 RIIBER, Jarl Magnus (NOR) 2 GRAABAK, Joergen (NOR) 3 GEIGER, Vinzenz (GER)
Facts & FIGURES ski jumping Women Overall
Men
1 LUNDBY, Maren (NOR)
1220
1 KRAFT, Stefan (AUT)
1659
2 HOELZL, Chiara (AUT)
1155
2 GEIGER, Karl (GER)
1519
3 PINKELNIG, Eva (AUT)
1029
3 KOBAYASHI, Ryoyu (JPN)
1178
Ski Flying
Four-Hills Tournament
RAW AIR
1 KRAFT, Stefan (AUT)
160
2 ZAJC, Timi (SLO)
140
3 ZYLA, Piotr (POL)
129
1 KUBACKI, Dawid (POL)
1132
2 LINDVIK, Marius (NOR)
1111
3 GEIGER, Karl (GER)
1108
1 LUNDBY, Maren (NOR)
944
1 STOCH, Kamil (POL)
1162
2 OPSETH, Silje (NOR)
900
2 KOBAYASHI, Ryoyu (JPN)
1155
3 PINKELNIG, Eva (AUT)
830
3 LINDVIK, Marius (NOR)
1154
Alpine skiing Women Overall
Downhill
Super-G
Giant Slalom
Slalom
Alpine Combined
Parallel
Men
1 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
1378
1 KILDE, Aleksander Aamodt (NOR)
1202
2 SHIFFRIN, Mikaela (USA)
1225
2 PINTURAULT, Alexis (FRA)
1148
3 VHLOVA, Petra (SVK)
1189
3 KRISTOFFERSEN, Henrik (NOR)
1041
1 SUTER, Corinne (SUI)
477
1 FEUZ, Beat (SUI)
650
2 LEDECKA, Ester (CZE)
322
2 DRESSEN, Thomas (GER)
438
3 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
320
3 MAYER, Matthias (AUT)
424
1 SUTER, Corinne (SUI)
360
1 CAVIEZEL, Mauro (SUI)
365
2 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
341
2 KRIECHMAYR, Vincent (AUT)
362
3 SCHMIDHOFER, Nicole (AUT)
217
3 KILDE, Aleksander Aamodt (NOR)
336
1 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
407
1 KRISTOFFERSEN, Henrik (NOR)
394
2 VLHOVA, Petra (SVK)
333
2 PINTURAULT, Alexis (FRA)
388
3 SHIFFRIN, Mikaela (USA)
314
3 ZUBCIC, Filip (CRO)
368
1 VLHOVA, Petra (SVK)
460
1 KRISTOFFERSEN, Henrik (NOR)
552
2 SHIFFRIN, Mikaela (USA)
440
2 NOEL, Clement (FRA)
550
3 LIENSBERGER, Katharina (AUT)
276
3 YULE, Daniel (SUI)
495
1 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
200
1 PINTURAULT, Alexis (FRA)
280
2 HOLDENER, Wendy (SUI)
125
2 KILDE, Aleksander Aamodt (NOR)
172
3 LEDECKA, Ester (CZE)
100
3 MAYER, Matthias (AUT)
140
1 VLHOVA, Petra (SVK)
113
1 MEILLARD, Loic (SUI)
129
2 DIREZ, Clara (FRA)
100
2 WINDINGSTAD, Rasmus (NOR)
103
3 BRIGNONE, Federica (ITA)
90
3 LUITZ, Stefan (GER)
82 109
Freestyle skiing Women Overall
Ski Cross
Halfpipe
Slopestyle
Big Air
Moguls
Aerials
110
Men
1 LAFFONT, Perrine (FRA)
89
1 KINGSBURY, Mikael (CAN)
94
2 NAESLUND, Sandra (SWE)
78
2 BOWMAN, Noah (CAN)
73
3 SMITH, Fanny (SUI)
72
3 BLUNCK, Aaron (USA)
72
1 NAESLUND, Sandra (SWE)
855
1 DRURY, Kevin (CAN)
786
2 SMITH, Fanny (SUI)
796
2 REGEZ, Ryan (SUI)
454
3 THOMPSON, Marielle (CAN)
709
3 LEMAN, Brady (CAN)
428
1 DEMIDOVA, Valeriya (RUS)
300
1 BLUNCK, Aaron (USA)
340
2 KARKER, Rachael (CAN)
280
2 BOWMAN, Noah (CAN)
320
3 ZHANG, Kexin (CHN)
240
3 IRVING, Birk (USA)
260
1 HOEFFLIN, Sarah (SUI)
192
1 RAGETTLI, Andri (SUI)
265
2 HAMILL, Marin (USA)
161
2 STEVENSON, Colby (USA)
199
3 KILLI, Johanne (NOR)
154
3 BOESCH, Fabian (SUI)
205
1 TANNO, Giulia (SUI)
240
1 RUUD, Birk (NOR)
310
2 GREMAUD, Mathilde
200
2 HALL, Alexander (USA)
240
3 KILLI, Johanne (NOR)
195
3 ADELISSE, Antoine (FRA)
188
1 LAFFONT, Perrine (FRA)
896
1 KINGSBURY, Mikael (CAN)
940
2 ANTHONY, Jakara (AUS)
565
2 HORISHIMA, Ikuma (JPN)
639
3 KAUF, Jaelin (USA)
470
3 CAVET, Benjamin (FRA)
531
1 PEEL, Laura (AUS)
469
1 ROTH, Noe (SUI)
386
2 XU, Mengtao (CHN)
351
2 KROTOV, Pavel (RUS)
334
3 RAMANOUSKAYA, Aliaksandra (BLR)
260
3 BUROV, Maxim (RUS)
223
World CUp WINNERS
Facts & FIGURES snowboard Women Snowboard Cross
Men
1 MOIOLI, Michaela (ITA)
5400
1 HAEMMERLE, Alessandro (AUT)
3960
2 BROCKHOFF, Belle (AUS)
4100
2 SOMMARIVA, Lorenzo (ITA)
3450
3 TRESPEUCH, Chloe (FRA)
3340
3 VISINTIN, Omar (ITA)
2930
Park and Pipe
1 CAI, Xuetong (CHN)
4000
1 JAMES, Scotty (AUS)
3800
Overall
2 ORMEROD, Katie (GBR)
3760
2 TOTSUKA, Yuto (JPN)
3400
3 IWABUCHI, Reira (JPN)
3700
3 CORNING, Chris (USA)
3250
1 CAI, Xuetong (CHN)
3600
1 JAMES, Scotty (AUS)
3800
2 LIU, Jiayu (CHN)
3000
2 TOTSUKA, Yuto (JPN)
3400
3 CASTELLET, Queralt (ESP)
2850
3 HIRANO, Ruka (JPN)
2800
1 ORMEROD, Katie (GBR)
2600
1 TOBITA, Ruki (JPN)
1616
2 BLOUIN, Laurie (CAN)
2200
2 COLLINS, Tiarn (USA)
1340
3 VOIGT, Brooke (CAN)
1250
3 HENRICKSEN, Dusty (USA)
1290
1 IWABUCHI, Reira (JPN)
2900
1 CORNING, Chris (USA)
3200
2 VOIGT, Brooke (CAN)
1620
2 LAFRAMBOISE, Nicolas (CAN)
2300
3 ONITSUKA, Miyabi (JPN)
1580
3 KIMATA, Ryoma (JPN)
1820
1 HOFMEISTER, Ramona T. (GER)
8260
1 FISCHNALLER, Roland (ITA)
6650
2 ZOGG, Julie (SUI)
5660
2 BAUMEISTER, Stefan (GER)
4165
3 JOERG, Selina (GER)
4930
3 LOGINOV, Dmitry (RUS)
3832
1 ZOGG, Julie (SUI)
2600
1 PROMEGGER, Andreas (AUT)
2260
2 HOFMEISTER, Ramona T. (GER)
1960
2 FISCHNALLER, Roland (ITA)
1750
3 JOERG, Selina (GER)
1740
3 BAUMEISTER, Stefan (GER)
1600
1 HOFMEISTER, Ramona T. (GER)
6300
1 FISCHNALLER, Roland (ITA)
4900
2 JOERG, Selina (GER)
3190
2 KARL, Benjamin (AUT)
3380
3 JENNY, Ladina (SUI)
3070
3 LOGINOV, Dmitry (RUS)
2882
1 AUSTRIA 1
3000
2 ITALY 1
1590
3 RUSSIA 1
1510
Halfpipe
Slopestyle
Big Air
Parallel Overall
Parallel Slalom
Parallel Giant Slalom
Parallel Mixed Team
Medallists FIS Junior World Championships 2019/20 ski jumping Women Normal Hill
Team
Men
1 KRAMER, Marita (AUT)
1 RESINGER, Peter (AUT)
2 BJOERSETH, Thea Minyan (NOR)
2 ERIKSEN, Sander Vossan (NOR)
3 MALSINER, Lara (ITA)
3 HAFNAR, Mark (SLO)
Women
Men
1 AUSTRIA
1 SLOVENIA
1 AUSTRIA
2 SLOVENIA
2 AUSTRIA
2 NORWAY
3 GERMANY
3 GERMANY
3 SLOVENIA
Nordic combined Women 5km
Men
1 NOWAK, Jenny (GER) 2 WESTVOLD HANSEN, Gyda (NOR) 3 HIRNER, Lisa (AUT)
10 km
1 OFTEBRO, Jens Luraas (NOR) 2 LAMPARTER, Johannes (AUT) 3 BLONDEAU, Gael (FRA)
Team
1 AUSTRIA 2 FRANCE 3 NORWAY
Mixed Team
1 NORWAY 2 GERMANY
112
Mixed
3 JAPAN
Facts & FIGURES CROSS-COUNTRY skiing JWSC Sprint
5 km C
Women
Men
1 LINDSTROEM, Louise (SWE)
1 EVENSEN, Ansgar (NOR)
2 MARCISZ, Izabela (POL)
2 GROND, Valerio (SUI)
3 WIGGER, Siri (SUI)
3 CERVINKA, Maxim (GER)
1 FOSSESHOLM, Helene Marie (NOR)
10 km C
1 SCHUMACHER, Gus (USA)
2 LOHMANN, Lisa (GER)
2 MOCH, Friedrich (GER)
3 MARCISZ, Izabela (POL)
3 GRAZ, Davide (ITA)
Mass Start
1 FOSSESHOLM, Helene Marie (NOR)
Mass Start
1 ANDERSEN, Iver Tildheim (NOR)
15 km F
2 MARCISZ, Izabela (POL)
30 km F
2 MOCH, Friedrich (GER)
Team
U23 Sprint
10 km C
3 WIGGER, Siri (SUI)
3 MOERK, Martin Kirkeberg (NOR)
1 SWITZERLAND
1 USA
2 USA
2 CANADA
3 SWEDEN
3 ITALY
Women
Men
1 RIBOM, Emma (SWE)
1 HEGDAL, Vebjoern (NOR)
2 HAGSTROEM, Johanna (SWE)
2 ARMELLINI, Mattia (ITA)
3 KERN, Julia (USA)
3 AMUNDSEN, Harald Oestberg (NOR)
1 ANDERSSON, Ebba (SWE)
15 km C
1 ARDASHEV, Sergey (RUS)
2 JOHANSEN, Marte Maehlum (NOR)
2 AMUNDSEN, Harald Oestberg (NOR)
3 RIBOM, Emma (SWE)
3 LAPALUS, Hugo (FRA)
Mass Start
1 ANDERSSON, Ebba (SWE)
Mass Start
1 AMUNDSEN, Harald Oestberg (NOR)
15 km F
2 LUNDGREN, Moa (SWE)
30 km F
2 ARDASHEV, Sergey (RUS)
3 RIBOM, Emma (SWE) Team
3 MOSEBY, Haavard (NOR)
1 NORWAY 2 RUSSIA 3 ITALY
113
ALPINE skiing Slalom
Giant Slalom
Women
Men
cancelled
cancelled
1 RASK, Sara (SWE)
cancelled
2 DVORNIK, Neja (SLO) 3 NORBYE, Kaja (NOR) Alpine Combined
1 EGGER, Magdalena (AUT)
cancelled
2 GRILL, Lisa (AUT) 3 CASHMAN, Keely (USA) Super-G
Downhill
Mixed Team
1 EGGER, Magdalena (AUT)
1 RIESER, Stefan (AUT)
2 GRILL, Lisa (AUT)
2 DORNAUER, Armin (AUT)
3 SMADJA CLEMENT, Karen (FRA)
3 CHABLOZ, Yannick (SUI)
1 EGGER, Magdalena (AUT)
1 MONNEY, Alexis (SUI)
2 GRILL, Lisa (AUT)
2 TALACCI, Simon (ITA)
3 ZANONER, Monica (ITA)
3 RIESER, Stefan (AUT)
Cancelled
Freestyle skiing All events cancelled
Snowboard All events cancelled
114
Medallists FIS Junior World Championships 2019/20
Facts & FIGURES
115
116
Facts & FIGURES Important Dates Date
Place
Event
September 28 - October 4
Online
Online FIS Autumn Meetings
December 11 - 13
Planica (SLO)
FIS Ski Flying World Championships
TBA
Krasnoyarsk (RUS)
FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski Junior World Championships
January 21 - 31
Lucerne (SUI)
30th Winter Universiade
January 30 - February 7
Zakopane (POL)
FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships
February 6 - 13
Vuokatti (FIN)
European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF)
Feburary 8 - 21
Cortina d'Ampezzo (ITA)
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
February 23 - March 7
Oberstdorf (GER)
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
February 15 - 28
Zhangjiakou/Genting Resort (CHN)
FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships
March 1 - 11
Bansko (BUL)
FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships
March 23 - 28
Berchtesgaden/Ruhpolding (GER)
CISM World Winter Games
March 23 - 27
Mürren/Schilthorn (SUI)
FIS Telemark World Championships
May 30 - June 5
Portoroz (SLO)
52nd Ski Congress „2020“
February 4 - 20
Beijing (CHN)
Olympic Winter Games 2022
March 1 - 12
Panorama (CAN)
FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships
March 10 - 13
Vikersund (NOR)
FIS Ski Flying World Championships
TBA
St. Anton (AUT)
FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships
January 12 - 22
Lake Placid (USA)
31st Winter Universiade 2023
February 6 - 19
Courchevel-Méribel (FRA)
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
February 13 - 26
Bakuriani (GEO)
FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships
February 21 - March 5
Planica (SLO)
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Planica (SLO)
FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 TBA
117
118
119
Imprint/Impressum FIS Bulletin Nr. 169 / 2020 Published by/Herausgeberin/PubliĂŠ par
CH-3563 Oberhofen/Thunersee (Suisse)
Copyright
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