FIS Council concludes two-day meeting in Thun

The FIS Council convened in Thun, Switzerland, for a two-day regular session and strategic workshop, which included a visit to the FIS Headquarters in Oberhofen am Thunersee. Council members discussed key strategic and sporting matters, including FIS’ governance structure, financial position and long-term priorities, and approved a number of important decisions.

Key outcomes of the meeting included:

• Future of World Championships: Having been presented with a preliminary feasibility study centered on sporting value, calendar assessment, and commercial and media-rights potential, the FIS Council agreed on the concept of increasing the frequency of the FIS World Championships so that they would be organized not only biennially in odd years, but also in even, non-Olympic years as of 2032.

Upon receiving a detailed assessment, the Council is also open to exploring the viability of increasing the frequency of World Championships with an edition already in 2028.

• Long-term calendar: The FIS Council agreed on the core principles of a long-term FIS World Cup calendar for all disciplines, which would take into consideration ideas such as:

  • establishing regional calendar clusters

  • developing emerging markets while protecting core markets

  • establishing a multi-pronged Calendar Impact Score for each event

With the principles having been approved, the matter will now be taken back to the FIS Management and, eventually, to the Media Rights Executive Board before a draft long-term calendar is submitted to the Council for approval after the Autumn Meetings.

• Wild card framework: Members of the Council also approved the principle of adopting a common policy and framework to govern the granting of wild cards across all FIS disciplines. The all-encompassing framework would consider:

  • objective achievement criteria

  • fixed number of starts

  • fixed eligibility period

  • anti-doping compliance

  • safety controls

Each discipline would then be responsible for outlining their specific conditions, such as performance thresholds and the effects on seeding and quota definitions.

Regulations will now be drafted and developed, with plans for a final version to be approved by the Technical Committees and, ultimately, the Council in Spring 2027.

• Individual Neutral Athletes: Following recent decisions by the International Olympic Committee, the FIS Council approved the conditions under which athletes and support personnel of Belarusian and Russian sporting nationality may be granted access to FIS competitions during the 2026/27 season. They must sign a declaration of neutrality based on principles established by FIS, and compliance will be continuously monitored, with sanctions available in the event of a breach. Athletes may participate only in individual events, without national symbols such as flags, anthems or uniforms, and must meet all applicable anti-doping requirements.

• New hosts announced: Two candidatures to host editions of the FIS Junior World Championships this season were approved by the Council:

  • FIS Junior World Championships Park & Pipe 2027 in Secret Garden, China, 14-27 February 2027

  • FIS Junior World Championships Snowboard Alpine 2027 in Phoenix Park, Korea, 13–15 February 2027.

• Appointments: In accordance with article 11.3.4 of the FIS Statutes, the Council proceeded to appoint chairs and members of the Standing Committees, the full composition of which is available on  fis-ski.com.