November 07, 2012 – Here is the latest news from FIS, including an update on the 2016 Youth Olympic Games, announcement of a mascot contest for the Falun 2015 World Championships, a skiing history exhibition in Val di Fiemme, decisions from the recent FIS Council Meeting in Oberhofen, Switzerland, and a progress update about ski jumping in Romania.

Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games off to a flying start

The first visit of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination for the second Winter Youth Olympic Games wrapped up on 26th October 2012 in Lillehammer (NOR).

Chaired by IOC member Angela Ruggiero, the Commission was impressed with the early progress made by the Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee since the city won the bid in December 2011 and the strong government and National Olympic Committee support pledged from the outset.

The shared vision of the three parties aims to engage as many young people as possible locally and abroad in the Games. It will also act as a catalyst for change in the development of youth sport nationwide before, during and long after the Games conclude.

During the meeting, the Coordination Commission visited all the venues that will be used to host the seven sports that currently make up the YOG Programme.

The majority of these venues were built for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, thereby extending the legacies of those Games. One of the few venues to be built from scratch for the 2016 YOG will be the Youth Olympic Village, which will house the athletes and be the site of all the Culture and Education Programme activities.

Commission chair Ruggerio concluded: “We have full belief in Lillehammer to not only deliver a successful Games, but also leave a legacy for youth sport development long after the Games have terminated.”

Falun 2015 has launched mascot competition

How should the official mascot of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun look like? The Swedish Organisers have recently rolled out a mascot competition inviting people from all age groups to design the official Falun 2015 mascot.

“The purpose of the mascot competition, apart from creating a buzz about the Championships, is to gather ideas from the general public to be able to create a popular symbol for Falun and the World Championships. The mascot has to work in a wide variety of settings – from printed materials to films and the homepage as well as cheerleading the crowds in the stadium”, said Kent Lövgren, Marketing Director of the 2015 Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun.

Anybody who is interested can enter his/her very best ideas by uploading a photograph or scan including a mascot name to www.beyondskiing2015.com/maskot. The competition will remain open until 15th December 2012.

During the autumn, the general public will be able to vote for the best of the approved proposals shown on the homepage. After that, a jury will be taking on the job of selecting the final mascot. The new mascot will then be introduced during the summer and autumn of 2013 and in 2014, in conjunction with the World Cup competitions that will also serve as World Championship test events.

It’s all about Skiing – “Ski History” exhibition officially opened in Val di Fiemme

In conjunction with the Forum Nordicum held in Val di Fiemme (ITA) on 16th October 2012, a “Ski Past” exhibition has officially been inaugurated in the presence of 100 participants at Le Gallerie space in Trento.

During the opening ceremony FIS President Gian Franco Kasper underlined the significance of “keeping memories alive and strong”.

Mountain equipment, historical objects and various items related to sport and winter activities such as boots, skis, poles and clothing are telling the story that has characterized the region of Trento over the past century. High-tech video installations, pictures, medals and trophies as well as a detailed time-line from the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 in Chamonix (FRA) until the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme (ITA) are fully covering the exhibition space.

Decisions from the FIS Council Meeting in Oberhofen

The FIS Council traditionally held its Autumn Meeting at the FIS Office in Oberhofen (SUI) on Saturday 3rd November and dealt with a full agenda, including reports from Organising Committees for future FIS World Championships, the appointment of technical officials as well as proposals from the FIS Technical Committees with calendar updates and a number of rules.

Click HERE to see the main decisions of the FIS Council.

Final inspections before the season – Romania reaches a milestone in Ski Jumping

Among numerous inspections carried out before the season in the different FIS Olympic disciplines, FIS Ski Jumping Race Director Walter Hofer recently met with representatives of the Romanian Ski Association. The visit focusing on the new jumping hills was held in conjunction with the Romanian International Championships on 27th-28th October 2012 in Rasnov.

“Staging an international Ski Jumping competition in Romania might sound rather unusual and it actually is. But already a view on the facility Trambulină Valea Cărbunării in Rasnov has shown, that something was built here that is not mysterious, but the result of years of professional planning”, reported Walter Hofer.

On 19th-20th January 2013, four FIS Cup competitions (2 ladies, 2 men’s) will be held on the new HS 100 hill. The facility originally consisted of three jumping hills for children and young athletes and was completed by two more hills K64 (HS 71) and K 90 (HS 100) in October 2012.

Upon his return, FIS Ski Jumping Race Director Walter Hofer concluded on the positive trends: “Six years ago we did some sort of an appraisal and saw a precarious situation. Just like in some other countries as well, the only possibility for a young Romanian athlete to train was to travel abroad. Since then an amazing development took place at an accelerated pace. In the open national championships (including Bulgaria and Hungary) at the end of October, the fruit of this labour could be seen and Romania is now on its way to establish itself on the international field. One athlete (Dana Haralambie) could even already achieve the personal qualification standard for the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.”

As a result of a cooperation between the Austrian industrial company OMV and the Romanian Ski Association started in 2007, the construction of the first Ski Jumping centre in Romania and South-Eastern Europe could be launched in 2009 in the city of Rasnov. With the sponsorship of OMV, project leader and Ski Jumping expert Paul Ganzenhuber and former ski jumper Christian Moser (both AUT) have been the driving forces in this development. The goal of the project “OMV Move & Jump” was to give Romanian ski jumpers the chance to score among the top ten of the world within the next ten years.