With wildfire smoke obscuring mountain views and compromising easy breathing in much of the West, it’s safe to say it is summer. In this episode of the Devon Kershaw Show, we mostly chat with Zach Caldwell of Vermont’s Caldwell Sport. Last season, during one of our conversations with Zach, we discussed some ideas we’d like to see in terms of an enhanced broadcast from FIS for their cross-country World Cup coverage. Zach came up...
Over the weekend, it was reported that Gian-Franco Kasper, the former president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), died. Kasper stepped down from his role at FIS after serving the organization as president for 23 years. In total, Kasper worked 46 years for the organization. Newly elected FIS president, Johan Eliasch, memorialized Kasper in a press release. “Gian Franco Kasper was unique in the international sports community,” Eliasch said. “He built FIS from a small...
Gian Franco Kasper, President of FIS for the past 23 years stepped down earlier this month. Under his leadership, FIS grew to be the preeminent winter Olympic sport federation. Yet despite its growth, Kasper resisted most efforts to reform and modernize FIS, and he left the organization much as he found it. In 1975, FIS President Marc Holder needed a hand at FIS and brought in the then 29-year-old Kasper—who up to that point had...
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) remains committed to improving its online and mobile products according to a recent announcement. The IBU, along with the global app and web developer Vincit, claims the new products, “will allow fans to follow competitions in real-time, as well as provide a second-screen experience with user-friendly statistics and insights into competitions, personalized user experience, and top-notch content with images and video.” More on this in a bit. Live event streaming or...
Last week after winning 65 of the 119 total votes, Johan Eliasch (59), a dual citizen of Sweden and the United Kingdom, was elected the new President of the International Ski Federation (FIS). Eliasch succeeds Gian-Franco Kasper who has been in the position for 23 years. Nominated for the position by GB Snowsport, Eliasch brings a long history of business acumen as the CEO of Head Sport to FIS. Eliasch is credited with leading HEAD...
Following the FIS Cross-Country committee meetings in May, the FIS Council approved the race calendar for the upcoming season. On the list of events is the newly approved Mixed Relay (4x5km) and Mixed Team sprint, both to debut Sunday, March 13th, 2022 in Falun Sweden. The Swedish Ski Federation and the “Svenska Skidspelen” organizers conducted a study on the feasibility of these formats before approval. At last year’s Swedish senior national competition in Falun, they...
Gian-Franco Kasper, the President of FIS for the past 23 years, will step down after a new candidate is elected at the FIS virtual FIS Congress on Friday, June 4th. The new President will be only the fifth person to hold that role since the inception of FIS in 1924. The elections come at an inflection point within the organization as it looks to navigate the ski sports under its governance into a new, post-pandemic...
On April 14, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced former Estonian cross-country skier Andrus Veerpalu was found guilty by the CAS Anti-Doping Division. Veerpalu was involved with “Operation Aderlass”, a blood doping scheme run by Dr. Marc Schmidt in Germany. Veerpalu’s penalty is a two-year ban from FIS sanctioned events ending on March 17, 2023. Now retired from skiing, the fifty-year-old Veerpalu in recent years has served as a coach for team “Haanja” in Estonia....
Over the past few years, FasterSkier has reported on per-fluorinated waxes, powders, liquids, and pastes. Entities like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Europe’s equivalent, the European Environment Agency, are phasing out eight-chain fluorocarbons. We know, after diving into the scientific literature, the evidence suggests these compounds are not good for your health, and they persist in the environment as they do not readily breakdown into inert substances. We also know that skiers love fluoros....
“Go back and watch the video,” is something I have heard and done maybe 100 times collectively since the men’s 50 k mass start classic concluded with a winner then a DQ, then another winner on Sunday as the 2021 World Championships slammed the door on competition. To say it was a bizarre scene would be an understatement as Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov rocketed into and around a sweeping left-hand curve...
The International Ski Federation released a statement this morning regarding Alexander Bolshunov’s disqualification in the Lahti, Finland 4 x 7.5 k relay for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. This linked article written earlier this month considers the pathway to sanctions in cases like a physical altercation at a FIS race. Below is the FIS statement in its entirety. *Decision of Ethics and Compliance Commissioner on Alexander Bolshunov* The FIS Council assigned an Independent Ethics and Compliance Commissioner...
The International Ski Federation (FIS) announced today that all remaining World Cups in Norway are canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. “Due to new Covid-19 government restrictions announced today by the Norwegian government that the Norwegian Ski Association will be unable to host any further competitions through the end of the current World Cup season, due to the stricter travel and event-related restrictions,” stated the press release. The mandate runs across the snowsport disciplines and...
By Ella Hall and Jason Albert So many moving parts when considering Alexander Bolshunov’s aggression towards Joni Mäki of Finland in the closing moments of the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in Lahti on January 24. The finish line was in sight for the two skiers as Mäki came around the sweeping left-hand turn into the final straight ahead of Bolshunov. Mäki, it seemed, sensing Bolshunov making a move and advancing in the outermost...
Sturla Holm Lægreid (NOR) crushed his competitors in the IBU biathlon World Cup opener on Saturday and earned his first World Cup victory. On Sunday, turbo junior Helene Fossesholm (NOR) posted the second-fastest time of the day in the 10-kilometer pursuit at the FIS Nordic World Cup opener. “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I never imagined I would win,” Lægreid said after his race, which took place in in Kontiolahti (FIN). The 23-year-old dominated the 20-kilometer individual competition,...
This morning the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced the postponement of the Lillehammer, Norway World Cup events. President of the Norwegian Ski Federation, Erik Røste, told FIS, “Based on the difficult time we are in, the uncertainty and the consequences associated with Covid-19, the Norwegian Ski Association believes that it is not right to arrange the World Cup in Lillehammer now. We would rather work on finding new dates in consultation with FIS and...
On short notice in October, the International Ski Federation (FIS) reversed its fluoro wax ban for the upcoming season. Bryan Fish, Cross Country Sport Development Manager for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, explained this was termed a “delayed implementation”. What had been expected to be a fluoro-free racing scene at the FIS level, became a business as usual wax policy for 2020-2021. In short, fluoros, C8 or otherwise, are allowed at FIS sanctioned events. The FIS...
2023 World Juniors/U23 goes to Canada Recently, Canada was awarded the right to host the 2023 Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships. The hosting club is Black Tusk Nordic which runs much of its ski training out of Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley. The venue hosted nordic events that included cross-country, jumping, nordic combined, and biathlon at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. “We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to bring this prestigious event for...
Like so many organizations, FIS, the governing body for international skiing, is a slow-to-change entity. Doping reforms, for example, have evolved but at a yawn-worthy rate. So in rather atypical fashion, like a finger snap, FIS voted to oust its Secretary General, Sarah Lewis, on October 9th. Lewis had been considered a lifer at FIS. She’d been on staff for two decades. News on the “why” of her removal remains sparse. Yet it was an...
The International Ski Federation announced last Friday that Secretary General Sarah Lewis has been relieved of her duties effective immediately. “At its meeting today, the FIS Council, including the members of the Marc Hodler Foundation, has decided by a great majority vote to terminate the employment relationship with Sarah Lewis (in accordance with its contractual terms) and that she is released from her work duties as the Secretary General of FIS, effective 9th October 2020.”...
This morning the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the International Ski Federation announced they were postponing their fluoro wax bans until the 2021-2022 season. The stated reason in the IBU press release was the following: “allow more time to test and refine the Fluorine Tracker device that is currently under development.” FIS also claimed the device was not ready for use on the World Cup: “Despite the accuracy of the device measurement technology, testing also...