What is homologation, and why is it important?

Originating from the Greek word ‘homologeo’ translated as ‘to agree’ or ‘to admit’, the verb ‘homologate’ means to approve or officially confirm. It is usually performed by a legal, scientific or regulatory body.

In Alpine Skiing, homologation is the official technical certification procedure that enables a slope to host international races authorized by FIS. The Homologation Certificate is valid for a maximum of five years for speed events - Downhill and Super G - and 10 years for technical events.

Elena Gaja Des Ambrois has been Chair of the Sub-Committee for Alpine Skiing Courses since 2014, and oversees the homologation process. Each FIS Homologation Certificate carries her signature.

“Homologation consists of a full survey conducted by qualified FIS homologation inspectors whose duty is to evaluate whether a given slope has the geometric, morphological and, above all, safety requirements necessary to host a specific Alpine Skiing event,” says Gaja Des Ambrois. “When I say specific, a homologation for Downhill is just for Downhill, for Super G it’s just for Super G, and so on.

“Without this certification, no ski resort can host international races of any level - FIS races, Continental Cup, World Cup, World Championships or Olympic Games.”

Busy time of year

While most of the Snow Sports community is enjoying a summer break, Gaja Des Ambrois and her team are at their busiest. This is because the full surveys are carried out on slopes without snow, i.e. in the warmer months. But why is this?

“The site visit guarantees that the slope does not present any visible or hidden natural or artificial structure or hazard,” states Gaja Des Ambrois. “We have obstacles like rocks, trees, towers, but we always find a way to protect them. The survey defines the minimum safety requirements so, for example, where A-Nets, B-nets, air safety mattresses must be positioned.”

Unsurprisingly, most of the slopes being homologated are in the Northern Hemisphere. “Last year we had 448 and it’s usually around 450 per year,” Gaja Des Ambrois reveals. “Five nations represent 65% of the entire number of certificates issued each year. They are Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, and USA. But we operate everywhere from the Far East to South America and Morocco.”

In late April, FIS issued a number of homologation certificates for venues operated by the Chinese indoor ski developer Bonski in Chengdu, Harbin, and Wuhan. In November, FIS and Bonski signed a Memorandum of Understanding to try and bring snow sports to one million children across the country.

Indoor slopes are not new with the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Lithuania also boasting homologated venues, but China is now leading the way for these facilities. However, there are limitations as to the type of racing that can be held indoors with only FIS-ENL (entry-league) level races being staged at present.

“Higher standards require higher vertical drops,” explains Gaja Des Ambrois. “For example, for a FIS level outdoor Slalom you need a minimum vertical drop of 120m for women and 140m for men. The indoor facilities only have 50m or 60m.

“This can be overcome by employing a different format. We already have Slalom over three runs for these indoor venues, but they have higher race penalties because they are far easier to ski on than natural race hills. Maybe we will have some new formats in the future, but I’m not sure they’ll ever host higher levels of racing.”

The homologation survey and process

Gaja Des Ambrois is also a FIS homologation inspector, and the course visit itself is more of a conversation than just an amble down a slope. “We walk down and look around with the owner,” she says. “We measure the width and the gradient, look at the obstacles and how to protect the ones we can’t remove. We cannot remove an entire forest, of course, but we might have enough course width to install the correct safety measures to stop the athletes reaching the trees.

“We try to work out the best safety measures to put in each section. The important thing is that the owner can afford these installations. With a very big budget, it’s easier, but that’s not the case at lower levels.

“For speed events, we also ask that the usual course setter comes with us. In tech races, course setting can change a lot. In speed, it doesn’t make sense to not follow the path of the course. Also, the inspector is not from the area so it’s important to have the course setter in order to understand where to protect, which turn, how they normally set up, etc. to be more efficient.

“We define the position of the start and finish points, which might vary from the owner’s points depending on the inspector's experience. We specify if any works need to be carried out on the terrain, like widening of the course, brushing, removal of boulders, or installation of fixed protection that needs some earth moving.

“We also define things like the emergency evacuation plan - how they evacuate the athletes and by which mode of transport. How close the nearest emergency infrastructure is by helicopter, flying or by road, etc. This will be defined in detail as well as lift operation and how long it takes to go up from the finish to the start.

“Our sport is based on time so we’ll have details concerning the type and number of timing cables. Also any other relevant info possibly affecting a race on this course like wind influence, risk of avalanches, and minimum and median snowfall levels.”

Venues may have more than one course requiring homologation so it is possible to do more than one inspection per day, i.e. one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Four courses would therefore require two days. But what happens next?

“If the outcome from the site visit is positive, or once the resort has performed the work requested, the inspector will submit the report to me,” says Gaja Des Ambrois. “We then issue the certificate with a unique homologation number together with the expiration date. From that moment, international races may be held on that course.”

However, it can be “anything from one day to one year” between the site visit and issuance of the certificate despite the process being digitized. “If everything is already set and the plans and profiles are correct, and I have everything from the owner, the inspector just has to fill out the inspection report online form and submit it,” she adds. “Then me, as controller, will check all the documents submitted by all inspectors, and can issue and sign the certificate within two hours. But if the owner hasn’t supplied those documents to the inspector, it could be months or longer.”

Extending homologation beyond racing

A former national level racer in Italy, Gaja Des Ambrois was an official and homologation inspector before being proposed by her National Ski Association (NSA) - Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali - to become a FIS inspector. As a FIS TD for over 20 years and a Chief of Race, she is busy all year round.

In her role as Chair of the Sub-Committee for Alpine Skiing Courses, she has been called upon to provide documentation for legal proceedings in the wake of serious accidents. The FIS Homologation Certificate has little more than the homologation number and expiration date, with “sensitive information” such as detailed safety plans restricted to inspectors and TDs unless expressly asked for.

One area where Gaja Des Ambrois hopes FIS can have more of an impact is in non-competitive skiing and especially training. “If you think about all the ski clubs worldwide, there is a huge difference between the number of training runs they host in a calendar year and race runs,” she claims. “Statistically, athletes have a far greater chance of injuring themselves during training and nobody is controlling this. Some nations are doing something, but not all.

“For training, we don’t have any obligation to have courses homologated nor juries ensuring safety measures are being adhered to. We can’t be ‘involved’ per se - I cannot tell you where to put your table in your house - but maybe we can direct or make recommendations to try and reduce the numbers of injuries sustained in training.

“This is not part of our role at present, but in the future we and all affiliated NSAs could issue guidelines for general training. The same could happen in areas like equipment control, where we try to communicate and support the best practises we see worldwide in order to enhance safety and reduce injuries.”

As ever, safety is of paramount importance to FIS with homologation “the first ring in the chain” when it comes to protecting athletes.