October 09, 2014 (Zurich, Switzerland) – During the FIS Technical Committee Meetings in Zurich (SUI) several Cross-Country Sub-Committees met to discuss a broad range of topics.

The Sub-Committee for the World and Continental Cups focused on future calendars with an emphasis on principles and basics for each World Cup period. The calendar for the upcoming 2014/15 season was already confirmed by the FIS Council in the spring.

Calendars for future winters are shaping up as well and the 2015/16 programme is almost finalised. “I am happy that the 2015/16 season, with the final World Cup phase in Canada, is close to being completed. Our goal is to send a clear message to our stakeholders that we are planning long term,” FIS Cross-Country Race Director Pierre Mignerey said. Currently calendars are being drafted to the 2018/19 season.

Another important topic discussed there was how athletes are assigned to quarter-finals and semi-finals in sprint events. To help reduce a clear advantage in the final for athletes coming from the first semi-final, a trial of the assignment of the competitors to the quarter-final heats will be made at the competitions at the end of the season in Lahti (FIN) and Drammen (NOR). The qualified athletes will choose their quarter-final heat and a special bibs distribution will be organised right after the qualification.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Committee for Rules and Control worked on updating the ICR. The Sub-Committee also discussed the future of FIS points in Roller Ski and Popular competitions. A Working Group was put in place and will present proposals at the spring meeting in Varna (BUL).

The new Chair of the Sub-Committee for Roller Skiing, Martins Niklass (LAT) has worked with the Sub-Committee members since spring on the development of the discipline and bringing it closer to Cross-Country Skiing. Education of Roller Rki Technical Delegates will be organised as part of the general TD education and Roller Ski specifics will be an extra module. The Sub-Committee has also worked on the introduction of FIS points and proposals were sent to the Working Group to study before making a final decision next spring.

The Sub-Committee for Youth & Children continues tackling the topic of how to bring children to skiing. Several inspiring projects were presented during the meeting and many creative ideas were discussed and shared between many NSAs.

Angelo Corradini, Chairman of the Sub-Committee for Popular Skiing informed the ongoing discussion about cooperating with the existing worldwide popular series’ FIS Marathon Cup, Worldloppet and Ski Classics.

The introduction of FIS points in Popular competitions is also on the table of the Sub-Committee with a goal of implementing the system after decisions next spring.