Calgary, Alta. – Delegates from around the world met in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for the FIS Spring 2019 meetings, with the IPC delegates meeting earlier in the spring in Bonn, Germany. The following recaps the Canadian delegates’ recap of the key items discussed at the committee level.

For the official FIS release on the decisions made at the FIS Council Spring Meeting 2019, please visit FIS-SKI.com.

A recap of the IPC meetings can be found at Paralympic.org.

FIS discussions

Alpine Committee

• World Cup
  • Stricter criteria has been set for athletes to be able to be o the start list of a World Cup race, including:
  • Basic Quota (one per nation): use of the basic quota must meet a stricter standard (competitor must be ranked in the first 150 of the valid FIS point list of the event, or ranked in the first 30 of the WCSL in one of the following events: slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, or alpine combined. Maximum FIS points permitted: 140. For speed events, must be under 80 FIS points in downhill or super-G);
  • Replacement of competitors in earned quota: replacement only by competitors ranked in the top-60 of the WCSL or within the top-120 (women) and top-80 (men) in that event.
• Parallel Racing
  • The following will be implemented for the 2019-20 season:
  • Parallel will be an official event of alpine ski racing;
  • Parallel will now be a full World Cup event, with three events this season and a small Crystal Globe World Cup. World Cup points will count to the parallel and overall World Cup;
  • The NorAm Cup calendar will include events with World Cup starting spots for the top two athletes for both men and women;
  • As approved by the FIS Congress in May 2018, the parallel is now a medal event for the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy;
  • Updated FIS rules will be in place for the parallel for this season for all levels of FIS racing.
• Alpine Combined Racing
  • The alpine combined remains an official event of alpine ski racing;
  • The FIS Alpine World Cup will offer three men’s and four women’s events in the 2019-20 World Cup calendar, along with a small Crystal Globe;
  • The priority will be super-G and slalom, and where possible, the slalom will run first;
  • The alpine combined will be a medal event at the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
• FIS Alpine World Junior Championships will be hosted in:
  • Bansko, Bulgaria (2021)
  • Panorama, B.C. (2022)
  • Hinsterstoder, Austria (2023)

Alpine TD Sub-Committee

• Annual North American FIS Alpine TD Updates are confirmed for Calgary, Alta., Oct. 18-20, 2019, and Stowe, Vermont, Oct. 25-27, 2019
• Attendance at updates is a licensing requirement for FIS Alpine TDs; other interested stakeholders - including FIS race organizers and national officials – are also welcome and encouraged to attend.

Alpine Youth and Children Sub-Committee

• Speed training and competition are strongly encouraged to be included in athlete development at the U16 level. Organizers of Children’s FIS competitions are encouraged to offer super-G events;
• The current FIS age ranges (U14, U16, U18, U21, and senior) were discussed, with no proposed changes;
• The alpine events of the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, will be hosted at Les Diablerets Jan. 10-15.

Classifications Sub-Committee

• FIS list deadlines – saw the successful introduction of a two-week list publication and will continue on that timeline into the 2019-20 season;
• Single penalty – alpine trialed a new system in 2018-19 with success, which is expected to be introduced into all disciplines this season;
• Race adder proposal – a proposal to change the current 4.4.7 rules was put forward by Germany, moving to the average fo the top-20 competitors with FIS points divided by 10. This was discussed by a number of nations at the table and a formal vote saw the proposal rejected for the 2019-20 season for a variety of reasons, including: concerns over the impact to smaller nations, the reduced size of the field in women’s races, and the overall impact of the change with the new FIS point penalties unknown at this time.

Legal Committee

• The FIS injury databse is to be expanded;
• FIS draft of its transgender policy will be reviewed in coordination with other international federations.

Masters Sub-Committee

• An internal calendar committee was formed to address long-term calendaring for Masters events as it was identified to be a weak link within the group;
• Canada is hosting its first FIS FMC race in Quebec (Stoneham) this 2019-20 season.

Medical Committee

• FIS injury surveillance system (ISS) to become more involved in injury analysis - including type, event, and cause – across all disciplines;
• A working group which includes Canadian Dr. Katie McGregor will update the FIS Medical Guidelines (current version dates to 2013);
• More study and analysis to be done on non-medical devices such as cut-proof underwear, spinal protectors, airbags in suits, and helmets to see if the certified standards need to be upgraded and whether use can be mandated;
• Work conducted on a guide that looks at mental health, competing while pregnant, and transgender athletes.

Ski Cross Sub-Committee

• FIS Ski Cross World Cup confirmed at Nakiska Jan. 17-18, 2020;
• Equipment controller to be implemented at all World Cup, World Championships, and Olympic Winter Games;
• Ski cross injuries significantly reduced on the World Cup circuit this year, largely due to course design – next is to push that strategy deeper into the development pathways (ex. Europa Cup).

Universtiy Racers Sub-Committee

• Canada and the United States will be working together over the summer months to update the FIS UNI rules and separate out the FIS Universidade and World University Games rules to ensure further clarity is provided to those TDs, coaches, and race organizing committees hosting university FIS races. This update will not be formally in play for the 2019-20 season, but will become a formal proposal with the new rule document at Congress 2020.

Women Sub-Committee (formerly Ladies’)

• The sub-committee is now formerly known as “Women” and updates will be made to all documentation moving forward, including rule documents for the 2019-20 season;
• All national sport organizations represented on the committee to submit links to their resources and commitments to Safe Sport;
• Discussion on gender equity around the requirements for Congress 2020 with regards to the 30/70 gender split on all FIS sub-committees.

IPC discussions

• The 2019-20 calendar has been updated and can be found at Paralympic.org;
• A review of the visually impaired (VI) classification and associated research is underway – more information on the University of Waterloo research and other participants, as well as information on next steps, can be found here.