FIS Council takes key sporting decisions at January meeting
Jan 13, 2026·Inside FIS
The FIS Council convened on Friday, 9 January, with members jointly expressing their grief and sympathy for the victims of the tragedy that struck Crans-Montana at the start of the new year, as well as showing unwavering support for the local organizers of this month’s FIS World Cup event and the FIS Alpine World Championships 2027.
The key decisions of the day were sports-specific, spearheaded by the approval of the preliminary FIS World Cup calendar for 2026/27 in Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, and Ski Jumping.
2026/27 calendar
After the Media Rights Executive Board and the FIS management worked together to outline the 2026/27 season calendar for Alpine and for the Nordic disciplines, the drafts were submitted to the Council and approved in their preliminary form.
The calendar for the Nordic disciplines presents a few remarkable milestones, starting with women’s Ski Jumping, which will for the first time include the prestigious Four Hills Tournament, a true milestone in the history of gender equality in snow sports.
The women’s Ski Jumping tour is also heading back to the former Winter Olympic Games venue of Zhangjiakou, in China ─ an announcement that comes only a few days after Ping Zeng made history by becoming the first Chinese ski jumper to reach the podium in a World Cup event.
Another highlight is the 21st edition of the FIS Tour de Ski, which will now challenge the best Cross-Country skiers in the world to venture into three countries over the course of just over one week, going from Les Rousses (FRA) to Oberstdorf (GER) and finally to the famous Alpe Cermis climb in Val di Fiemme (ITA).
The competition formats for Cross-Country and Nordic Combined are currently being discussed and will be finalized by Spring 2026.
The final and official calendars for all FIS disciplines, including the ones from Freestyle, Freeski, and Snowboard, will be confirmed by the Council by Spring 2026.
Update to injury status regulations for Alpine Skiing
The proposal for an update to the Rules for the FIS Alpine World Cup concerning the status of injured competitors, which had been unanimously approved by the Sub-Committee Alpine World Cup, received ratification from the Council and will come into force on 1 July 2026.
The updated rules, including an enhanced set of criteria to protect injured athletes and other precisions regarding this matter, are available here:
More from the meeting:
The FIS Council discussed the situation regarding marketing rights at FIS and approved the creation of an additional category for a Presenting Sponsor for the FIS World Cup in Alpine Skiing.
The FIS President provided the members of the Council with a comprehensive update on the key matters on which FIS has been working, including the latest steps in the enhanced Alpine Safety Plan, the implementation of the Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) program, and the preparations for next month’s Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
The bidding process for the second and third editions of the FIS Freeride World Championships ─ in 2027 and 2028 ─ has been approved. The maiden edition will be held in Ordino Arcalís, Andorra, from 1-6 February.