Remembering Mathilde Grenet: a lasting legacy in safeguarding and snow sports

It is with deep sadness that the FIS community marks the passing of Mathilde Grenet. Mathilde left a lasting impact on snow sports, not only through her expertise, but through the care, conviction and humanity she brought to every conversation and every project she touched.

A former NCAA tennis player and the founder of safeguarding consultancy En Garde, Mathilde dedicated her work to helping sport become safer, fairer and more supportive for everyone involved. Through En Garde, she advised a wide range of international and national sports organizations on safeguarding, always combining professional rigor with deep personal understanding of why this work matters.

At FIS, Mathilde played a hugely important role in shaping and strengthening safeguarding efforts at a key moment in the federation’s development. A member of the pool of International Experts on Safe Sport at the Council of Europe and a certified IOC Safeguarding Officer, she was one of the invited experts at the first FIS seminar on the convergence of snow sports and human rights in Portorož, Slovenia, in May 2024, helping to bring safeguarding firmly into the heart of the discussion around safe, fair, and responsible sport.

Mathilde’s impact went far beyond policy, helping people understand safeguarding not as an abstract obligation, but as something real, practical and deeply human. She supported FIS in educating team leaders at Junior World Championships, served as a FIS Safeguarding Officer, and helped ensure that athletes and participants knew there was someone there to listen, support and act when needed. Her presence brought reassurance, clarity and trust.

One of her most significant contributions to FIS was the development of the FIS Safe Event Toolkit. Created in collaboration with En Garde in early 2024, the toolkit was designed to give event organizers clear, step-by-step guidance on how to implement the safeguarding measures required under FIS policy. It was practical, thoughtful and rooted in the belief that safe sport must be built deliberately and consistently.

Mathilde’s legacy lives on in the systems she helped create, the awareness she raised, the people she educated, and the athletes she supported. More than that, it lives on in the higher standard she set - and in the reminder she gave all of us that safeguarding is not an add-on, but an essential part of what sport should be.

FIS extends its heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and all those who knew her. She will be remembered with deep gratitude, admiration and affection.