The FIS Cross-Country autumn meetings in a nutshell

From 28th to 30th September 2022, the FIS Committee meetings will take place in Zürich, SUI. It's the annual meeting of all FIS disciplines and departments and for the first time since two years, those meetings take place in person again.

Also the FIS Cross-Country family will meet up and discuss the technical matters for our sport. With this brief overview we want to give a refresher on how the decision-making process withing FIS works, from an idea for improvement or change to it's implementation.

Major topics like calendar planning and rule adjustments will land on the tables of the various Sub-Committees and final proposals are submitted to the Cross-Country Committee which meets on Friday afternoon.

As always, all proposals from the Cross-Country Committee are subject to the approval of the FIS Council which will meet on 22nd October.

From an idea to it's implementation. How does the decision-making process work at FIS?

Any inputs from stakeholders (athletes, teams, NSA's, LOC's, etc.) that need an adaption in the existing rules, or projects and development steps that have an impact on the current framework of FIS Cross-Country, must be taken to the Committee meetings. The first step is therefore to establish a proposal and send it in via their respective national ski federation.

The proposals are then taken up in the various Sub-Committees (see below), depending on its content.

If a topic needs further evaluation, working groups with experts are set up, and for those, additional athletes representatives, coaches, service staff, LOC members, etc. are included.

Twice a year (FIS spring and autumn meetings) the Sub-Committees come together to discuss all proposals on the table in their committees. Good to know: the FIS Cross-Country Sub-Committees are responsible to discuss technical matters. All FIS overall counting aspects, such as marketing & pr, are discussed in the respective departments and their decisions are valid for all FIS disciplines.

All proposals from the Sub-Committees are then forwarded to the Cross-Country Committee, which is the highest authority within FIS Cross-Country and consists of representatives of the National Ski Federations. The finalized proposals are then sent to the FIS Council that gathers the proposals from all FIS disciplines and gives their final approval at their Council meeting. Only then, the implementation can officially begin.

Overview Committee and Sub-Committees and chairs:

Cross-Country Committee
Chairman: Uros Ponikvar

The Cross-Country Committee gathers the proposals from the Sub-Committees and finalizes them if needed to proposals that are then submitted to the FIS Council.

Sub-Committee for World Cup and Continental Cup
Chairman: Chris Grover

At the FIS Autumn meetings, one major aspect for the Sub-Committee for World Cup and COC is to finalize and approve the race calendars and all matters concerning the World Cup rules.

Sub-Committee for Rules and Control
Chairwoman: Anna Rosa

The main focus for the R&C Sub-Committee lies on  ICR (International Competition Rules), homologations and TD (technical delegates) education and appointments as well as FIS points.

Sub-Committee for Youth and Children
Chairwoman: Satu Kalajainen

With a strong focus on the next generation skiers, the Sub-Committee establishes the framework, on how we as a governing body can provide a healthy and supportive platform for all young athletes to come. Furthermore, to support also the environment of athletes, an active exchange between NSA's is engaged, also with sharing experiences on coaching seminars and development programs that are being established.

Sub-Committee for Cross-Country Development
Chairman: Özkan Koyuncu

To make sure that World Cup (and higher level) racing is possible also for smaller and developing nations, one major focus of the Sub-Commitee is the qualification rules for the events. The Sub-Committee also cooperates strongly with the FIS overall development programs.

Sub-Committee for Roller Skiing
Chairman: Martins Niklass

Everything around official FIS Roller Skiing events - including Rules&Regulation, calendar planning and so forth, are established in the Sub-Committee for Roller Skiing.

Sub-Committee for Popular Skiing
Chairman: Tommy Höglund

Updates from the Worldloppet and Ski Classic series are provided and discussed. The Sub-Committee is the binding element between the popular race series and the World Cup level.

Sub-Committee for Nordic Women
Chairwoman: Virginia De Martin Topranin

The platform that joins forces between women in Nordic sports has been established in 2020, after merging all discipline specific Women's Sub-Committees together. With the focus on establishing more positions for women in the sport, the Sub-Committee elaborates mentoring programs, development programs and engages an active exchange between already existing programs.

The updates from the FIS Autumn meetings will be published after the Cross-Country Committee meeting has closed.