Madeline Nappey on leadership, equality and protecting snow sports

From waking up at 4 a.m. in Greenland to watch Nordic skiing to helping deliver World Cups and Junior World Championships at FIS, Madeline Nappey has turned a lifelong passion into a career. 

In the latest instalment of our series of interviews with coaches and participants from the FIS Women Lead Sports Master Program, the FIS Nordic Operations Coordinator reflects on working across three very different disciplines, the importance of women coaches and Technical Delegates, and why protecting the future of snow sports must remain a priority. 

Inside FIS: So, Madeline, how did your passion for Nordic disciplines begin, and how did you end up in your current role? 

Madeline Nappey (MN): In 2006, during the Olympic Games in Torino, my parents called me over when Jason Lamy-Chappuis on television. They told me, “You see this guy? He's 19, he's from Franche-Comté, where we're from, and in four years he'll be an Olympic champion.” And four years later in Vancouver, he did become Olympic champion! 

That moment sparked something in me and because it was Nordic Combined, very quickly I also became passionate about Cross-Country and Ski Jumping. Since that point, the sport’s had a hold on me.

I've lost count of the hours I have spent watching these disciplines, sometimes extremely late at night, sometimes incredibly early in the morning. Like when I lived in Greenland, I’d wake up at 4 a.m. to watch the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. It wasn’t even a question for me; I wasn’t going to miss it! 

Come 2021 and FIS was looking for someone with experience organizing Nordic events. I'd volunteered at the World Cup in Chaux-Neuve & Oslo and at the Youth Olympic Games, so I applied, and that's how I ended up entering the sport professionally.

Inside FIS: Were those volunteer roles important in helping you reach this position? 

MN: Yes, absolutely! My friends were always saying, “You volunteer so often, you're wasting so much time,” but I don’t think I wasted my time at all. 

I wanted to give back to the sports that gave me so much passion, and in the end, I got a job in them. So, I think it all worked out!

Inside FIS: Nordic operations require coordination between athletes, officials, organizers, TV and FIS staff. What leadership skills are most important? 

MN: First and foremost, you need adaptability. I work with three very different disciplines and even if some people on the outside think they're similar, they each have their own dynamics, so you need to adapt to each sport and to each person in front of you. 

You’ve also got to respect everyone’s opinion and understand their position, because an athlete or coach’s perspective is very different from the broadcasters’, for example. 

You have to take all these perspectives into account while always keeping the best interests of the sport in mind. 

Inside FIS: Have you grown in confidence during your time in this role? 

MN: Yes, absolutely, and I think I grew most thanks to the Junior World Ski Championships because it's a project where I'm heavily involved. At a World Cup or Olympic Games, you're part of bigger teams, but at Junior Worlds we're a very small group, so the responsibilities grow every year. 

Of course, sometimes you make mistakes, and I still remember them, but that’s how you learn and how you grow. The Junior Worlds are where I’ve felt the most legitimate and grown the most professionally. 

It's also always a privilege to see the next generation compete, and I still get emotional when athletes I first saw at Junior Worlds compete in the World Cup and reach the podium! 

Inside FIS: What was the most valuable lesson you took from the Women Lead Sports program, and how has it influenced the way you approach your work at FIS? 

MN: I think there were two main lessons, the first one being that there are four distinct personality types, and that you need to approach people differently depending on their personality. I was already aware that you need to adapt your approach for different people, but studying those four types was very interesting. 

And another big lesson I’ve tried to apply was that when you're in a discussion or debate, it's okay to take some space, take your time and really make your point. I used to be quite shy and so I’d speak very fast, but now, when I think my point's valuable, I’ll stop myself and take the necessary time and space to explain it. 

Inside FIS: FIS has set ambitious goals around women in leadership. Have you noticed progress in terms of female representation in technical and leadership roles? 

MN: I've been here five years and numerically I've noticed an increase, but what I'm more aware of is that we've reached a turning point where people understand we need to change and we need to start now. 

Each discipline, department and office has its own rhythm and specificities, so we move one step at a time. Some disciplines are more advanced in this area and others less so, but even if we can’t yet see major numerical changes, it's clear we're all taking this into account and that this is the direction we are going.

Inside FIS: What measures do you think could improve inclusivity and equality in snow sports? 

MN: I'd stick to my own area of knowledge, which is the sports side, and I work across three disciplines - which are all at very different stages. 

Cross-Country is the most advanced of the Nordic disciplines in terms of gender equality, and we now have equal distances, equal prize money, and the same competitions. Now we need to work on equal participation, as we’re still seeing around 110 men on the start line and about 30 fewer women. 

Progress in Nordic Combined has been extremely fast. Before 2021 there was no Women’s World Cup and now we've got a World Cup and an almost equal calendar. The next big step is equal prize money and inclusion in the Olympic Games. Ski Jumping has also made very quick progress, but prize money is still an issue there too. 

For me, what I'd really like to focus on is coaches. In Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping we've very few women coaches and Technical Delegates. In Ski Jumping we only have two women coaches, and in Nordic Combined we don’t have any... 

I'd really like this to change because women bring something different and valuable, especially when it comes to coaching other women. I think it's important to encourage women's interest in coaching and to show former athletes that they can become coaches - and that they have something valuable to offer. 

At the moment, many female snow sports athletes end their careers and focus on starting a family or transition into another profession. I don’t know if it’s because the [coaching] opportunities are not visible enough or they don’t think the role is for them, but we need more women coaches. This is something FIS can help with, and it's work we should do. 

Inside FIS: Intriguingly, prior to joining FIS you completed an internship with the University of the Arctic. How did that experience shape you? 

MN: Well, before that, I completed a master's degree in West Nordic Studies, Governance and Sustainable Management in the Faroe Islands. My thesis focused on how Indigenous peoples in the North can use sport - including the Arctic Winter Games, a multi-event competition featuring indigenous sports - as democratic tools to assert identity and national identity. It’s something I’m very passionate about.  

The internship with the University of the Arctic was an amazing opportunity, and living in Lapland was quite the experience! The project brings together a network of universities from across the Arctic, and there's loads of valuable cooperation and knowledge-sharing. 

Inside FIS: We can’t talk about the Arctic without mentioning sustainability. Is that something you would like to become more involved in at FIS? 

MN: Yes, of course. It's an extremely important issue.  

We’re a snow sports organisation but even now we have to be much more adaptable [given changing climate conditions]. Some disciplines may adapt more easily than others, but we're still winter sports. It's in our DNA. 

It'd be foolish to think we can go through the next ten years without sustainability being one of the main topics, together with gender equality. It’s in our DNA to jump on snow and ski on snow, so it’s down to us to make sure the next generation have that privilege too.