New Goggle Camera debuted in Schladming

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Schladming have provided the stage for a world premiere. Starting with the men’s super combined slalom competition on 11th February, a number of racers have been equipped with the latest technical innovation, a camera integrated into their goggle, which will be used in the technical events during the 2nd week of the championships.

Since last spring, technicians from the German company Riedel Communications have been working closely with professionals from FIS,  the Austrian Ski Association and experts from the Austrian public broadcaster ORF to develop the solution that enables completely new images to be transmitted all over the world. Various prototypes of the Riedel solution have been inspected and tested by safety experts and athletes over the last 10 months.

Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director for ladies Alpine Skiing commented: “FIS is always interested in developing the sport, not just the technical aspects but enhancing the sport’s presentation. The idea of a camera on the racer is not new, however, the current initiative by Riedel finally makes the execution in racing possible. In the development of the solution the key focus for FIS was to ensure the solution’s safety, fairness and appropriate implementation of the technology to our sport.”

The latest version of the goggle camera called "RiCam" only weighs a total of 64g. Wearing it in competition is voluntary for the athletes and there will be four to eight athletes per technical event racing with the camera. There will be no goggle cameras in use in the speed events. Coverage created by the goggle cameras is content that belongs to the rights holders and is not available freely.

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