FIS Council approves additional measures to further strengthen athlete safety
Oct 23, 2025·Inside FIS
At its meeting on Tuesday, the FIS Council maintained a strong focus on athlete safety, approving a comprehensive set of measures designed to enhance safety culture across the snow sports ecosystem – with particular emphasis on the speed disciplines of Alpine Skiing.
The Council reviewed a plan built on two key pillars: enhancing safety standards and promoting education and culture change.
Enhancement of safety standards
Key actions include:
Conducting a detailed audit of homologated Downhill training courses worldwide to ensure full compliance with the highest safety requirements. This process is set to be completed by the FIS Spring Meetings in May 2026.
Updating safety guidelines across all levels – national and international – and introducing strict safety protocols for both training and competition.
Enforcing the mandatory use of protective equipment, such as airbags, not only in competition but also during training sessions.
Establishing a specialist workstream, led by Chief Race Directors Markus Waldner and Peter Gerdol, tasked with developing, testing, and submitting new proposals to further raise Alpine Skiing’s safety standards. The aim is to have these proposals approved for implementation in the 2026/27 season.
Education and culture change
To embed a stronger culture of safety throughout the sport, FIS will:
Launch an education program aimed at fostering cultural change across the Alpine Skiing landscape. Several initiatives are already underway, including dedicated speed clinics for athletes and coaches.
Consult with athletes, coaches, organizers, and safety specialists to assess additional initiatives and processes to make safety practices more effective.
“Alpine Skiing is, by definition, a high-risk sport – that will never change. What must continue to evolve is the safety culture surrounding it, at every level and in both competition and training,” said FIS President Johan Eliasch.
Roadmap approved for implementation of the FIS Eligibility Policy
Having recently agreed on the principle of relying on SRY testing to determine eligibility for men’s and women’s competitions, the FIS Council has now approved a roadmap to implement the FIS Eligibility Policy.
FIS will begin immediately by gathering feedback from National Ski Associations and athletes – particularly regarding testing procedures. This input will help shape detailed guidelines for the final version of the policy, which is expected to be approved by the Council and distributed to NSAs by April 2026.
The policy is scheduled to take effect in July 2026, with a phased rollout beginning at the FIS World Championships before being introduced at the FIS World Cup level in the 2027/28 season.
FIS strengthens leadership with appointment of Marcus Hausen
To support these strategic and operational developments, FIS is reinforcing its administration and operational capacity with the appointment of Marcus Hausen to the President’s Office.
Hausen will join FIS as Head of Presidential Affairs and will also serve as Deputy Secretary General. He brings with him extensive experience from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), where he served as Chief of Staff to the President of the IOC for 10 years. He will officially assume his new role at FIS on 1 December 2025.
In his new capacity, Hausen, reporting to the President of FIS, will be responsible for strategic planning and corporate development, aligning the federation’s operations with its strategic goals, ensuring that FIS’s long-term vision is effectively translated into concrete actions.
FIS Congress 2028 to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania
The FIS Council has also voted for Vilnius, Lithuania, to host the 2028 edition of the FIS Congress.
