Bid process for future FIS Junior World Championships in full swing

The FIS Junior World Championships (JWSC) are where the stars of tomorrow are discovered. The list of gold medalists in recent years reads like a who’s who of the best of ski and snowboard, with Marco Odermatt, Frida Karlsson, Camille Rast, Daniel Tschofenig, Nika Prevc, Gyda Westvold Hansen, Federica Brignone, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Ester Ledecka, Jonna Sundling, Xu Mengtao, Perrine Lafont, Flora Tabanelli, and Sandra Näslund all topping the podium.

National Ski and Snowboard Associations (NSAs) are invited to apply to host JWSC events in 2027 with the deadline in mid-September. The exceptions are the Nordic JWSC, which have already been awarded to Shchuchinsk (KAZ), and Moguls and Ski Cross which will both be held in Åre-Duved (SWE).

Informal dialogue is very much welcomed before then, and the application process has been carefully structured to guide event organizers. FIS offers dedicated support throughout, from concept development to event planning, as detailed in the ‘Bidding Guides’. For Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski events, priority will be given to bids that include different event combinations (emphasizing quality over quantity).

The springboard to a successful career

Gyda Westvold Hansen took silver in the very first JWSC Nordic Combined women’s competition in Lahti (FIN) in 2019. “It was very cool to be a part of and, when you have dreamed of being one of the best athletes in the sport since childhood, it gave me even more motivation,” she reflected. “The junior championships are also very social, and it was great fun.”

Fresh from taking Youth Olympic gold in Lausanne, Westvold Hansen won individual silver again a year later in Oberwiesentahl (GER). She also helped Norway to the first mixed team title in Nordic Combined. And in 2021, at her third JWSC, she gave notice of her future dominance with individual and mixed team gold back in Lahti.

“Ahead of this event, I was in very good shape,” she recalls. “The pressure was very low, and I was just looking forward to the competition."

Weeks later, while still a teenager, Westvold Hansen became the sport’s first female senior world champion in Oberstdorf (GER). “The experience in Lahti, and previous junior championships, helped me a lot,” she said.

“I feel competitions are the best training. I have learned a lot from these events, and I am very glad to have taken part in JWSC. I have learned that normal performances are enough, even though it feels very important.”

While she enjoyed the sporting side at JWSC, the Norwegian also appreciated her time away from the arena. "JWSC are so much fun, and I was able to socialize out of competition and make new friends."

Alpine Skiing talents Giorgia Collomb and Benno Brandis won gold medals at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea before heading to France for their JWSC debuts.

Both kept expectations low, with Brandis enjoying “the whole event due to this relaxed approach”. Collomb remembers it as “so much fun”, and showed her ability with 10th place in the Slalom.

“Because the events were so close to town, there was always a crazy atmosphere with so many people there,” recalls Brandis. “The Team Combined and Parallel Event were huge, even though I didn’t compete in either.”

“The event was also really enjoyable off the slopes,” says Collomb. “It was a different and stimulating environment because I had the chance to interact with other athletes who were already used to the top-level circuit.”

A year later, Collomb competed on home snow at Tarvisio 2025 as a world champion in the senior ranks. The teenager was part of Italy’s triumphant Team Parallel outfit in Saalbach, having applied what she had learned from her JWSC experience. “It definitely taught me to work on myself and my expectations,” she revealed. ”I’m happy I was able to focus above all on enjoying the experience rather than chasing the result.”

Collomb secured Giant Slalom glory in Tarvisio which she called “even more special” than her first JWSC. “Beyond the final result, I’m really proud of how I handled racing at home and managing the pressure and expectations,” she reflected. “I’d had a difficult few weeks but, thanks to some targeted training with my team, I arrived at the event feeling calm and determined.”

Brandis would also claim victory in the men’s Super G. Despite wearing start bib 23 and being one of the youngest racers in the field, the German clinched “the greatest success in my career so far”. He added, “The conditions weren’t ideal, and I didn’t have the best start number, so it was all the more crazy when I crossed the finish line and saw the green light.

“My friend Felix Rösle won Downhill gold two days earlier, which made the experience even better because we also flew together to the World Cup Final in Sun Valley.”

Both Brandis and Collomb went to Sun Valley with the Italian having her best World Cup finish of 14th. “The JWSC are undoubtedly an important milestone in an athlete’s career, because they prepare you in a certain way for what comes next, like the World Cup circuit,” said Collomb.

“It’s exciting because you get to be part of the ‘big leagues’ and can really compete, whereas in the World Cup I was still starting with very high bib numbers.”

“The JWSC definitely showed me that success is also closely tied to other things,” admitted Brandis. “I learned a lot about what an athlete has to do besides sports, something I wasn’t really aware of before.”

Competition and education at Junior World Ski Championships

As Brandis realized, JWSC competitors have the opportunity to learn more about their disciplines, and what it takes to be a professional athlete. Education sessions dealing with subjects including integrity and sustainability have featured at previous JWSC, although venues may present challenges.

FIS Education Manager Cornelia Blank is keen to make them a more integral part of the experience. “The JWSC is perhaps the only opportunity where we have direct access to our athletes to educate them,” she says. “We can support the work that NSAs are doing, but we cannot go to every country. We only have events, and the senior World Championships and Winter Olympics are just too ‘professional’ with the athletes purely focused on the competition.

“A lot of the JWSC is about competition, so it’s challenging logistically because you need to have the space to do education. If it’s only four days, you don’t have time. And sometimes it’s difficult to gather athletes together if they are in different hotels, or if there’s no common lunch area.”

In Tarvisio, teams were brought together for ‘Snowmorrow’, an FIS initiative sharing knowledge of sustainability. Sustainability Director Susanna Sieff engaged athletes in activities featuring questionnaires and interactive tasks. ‘Snowmorrow’ had been launched at the 2024 Nordic JWSC in Planica (SLO).

Blank hopes to build on that in the future, starting with the 2026 Alpine JWSC in Narvik (NOR). “Narvik has the framework for us,” she explains. “They have a big university associated with the event, and a big common space for all the athletes which is ideal for us to pilot our educational sessions.

“It’s gamified, and you can imagine it like a fair. Athletes can go to the sustainability booth, they can go to the sports integrity booth, they can go to the social media communication booth, and they have different tasks.

“The sustainability team have developed a card game to play. Integrity will likely consist of a fortune wheel to spin with the result prompting different tasks. Together with the Communication Department, we will offer a social media workshop with an array of associated learning tasks.

“As it’s a great opportunity for an intercultural exchange, we’ve added the rule that an athlete must do their task with someone from another country. So the card game, for instance, can’t be done within one team.”

After Narvik, the plan is to advocate education sessions as a fixed part of the Alpine JWSC event and, if possible, across other disciplines.

Rails set for JWSC debut in Calgary

The Park & Pipe JWSC in Calgary (CAN) will be the first to feature Rail events. As the newest and fastest-growing addition to the FIS event portfolio, they are also among the most accessible and easiest to stage. With far less snow required than other disciplines, and obstacles familiar to Slopestyle viewers, Rail events can even be held indoors.

Riders from regions without mountains or snow can train and excel in Rails. It can be practiced on the streets or one’s backyard. In competition, they are judged on their tricks and use of the course.

“The Rails scene is growing rapidly and opening doors to major international stages,” says Park & Pipe Development Coordinator Martijn Oostdijk. “A Rails setup is usually compact and allows athletes to have fast turnarounds and a large number of runs in a heat. There’s a variety of options for runs, between different rail and jib options. The setup is street-based, and riders may pass through areas without snow.

“Rail events are known for being dynamic, spectacular competitions with compact formats. Jam sessions in small heats are often used as qualification. Then there is a Head-to-Head final: easy to follow, providing great storytelling to the public.”

With the FIS Rails World Cup set for take-off in the 2026-27 season, young athletes in Calgary may soon be making their presence felt on the big stage with the discipline set to make its World Championships debut in due course.