August 29, 2008 – The FIS Nordic Combined Committee met in Prague last Saturday to evaluate the experiences and feedback collected following the summer events held as the FIS Grand Prix Nordic Combined from 25th July to 1st August. These three events served as a test for the new competition format introduced during the FIS Congress week in Cape Town, South Africa in May, consisting of one jump followed by a 10km Cross-Country race.

Following the so-called “Funnel System,” which is a structured method of decision-making in use in the FIS Nordic disciplines, the experience from the test events and the proposals of FIS experts were first discussed by the Nordic Combined Committee and will now be circulated to the National Ski Associations for comment by 15th September. They will again be dealt with by the Nordic Combined Committee at their Autumn Meeting on 1st October 2008. The final versions of proposals will then be forwarded for approval by the FIS Council at its next meeting in November.

“I was positively surprised by the constructive approach and upbeat tone of our Prague meeting. Based on the analysis, feedback and experiences during the test events, we continue to proceed with the new one jump, 10km race competition format. Overall, I have the feeling that the discipline of Nordic Combined finds itself in a certain phase of consolidation, especially regarding its competitive elements,” commented Walter Hofer, the FIS Head of Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping.