After the cancellation of this year's Forum Nordicum, the international meeting of Nordic ski sports journalists, the organisers have launched a smaller version of the event on the available digital platforms.

Forum coordinator Thorsten vom Wege (MDR) and AIPS member Viktoria Franke invited both the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the International Ski Federation (FIS) for virtual Q&As that were published last week on the newly initiated Forum Nordicum website (www.forum-nordicum.info), alongside their YouTube channel and Facebook page. 

FIS Marketing Director Jürg Capol as well as ski jumping race director Sandro Pertile shed light on the challenges they are facing this season, with a range of events being cancelled, rescheduled or otherwise amended in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. While corona was also the focus in the chats with ski jumping stars Stefan Kraft and Karl Geiger, the talk with Thomas Burmann (Holmenkol) provided an interesting background on the international federations' efforts to banning fluoride wax within the next two years. Covid-19, gender equality, sustainability, health issues – even within the limits of a digital world - the Forum once again provided a variety of latest news and developments right at the start of the winter season.

"We will provide more content over the course of the winter and hope to have interesting talks with athletes, organizers and federations. With all the travel limitations in place, it would be great, if the Forum could provide a place where journalists could meet an interviewee via Zoom or a similar tool and ask their questions. We’re all no experts when it comes to finding those solutions, but this year’s Forum, the 41st, is the first one to be cancelled since its foundation in 1980 and we somehow want to continue our work before we meet again next October," says Thorsten vom Wege.

Source: AIPS