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≡ FIS ELECTIONS ≡
Seven leading national governing bodies for skiing and snowboarding sent a polite but direct letter to the other 134 national ski associations on 5 May 2026, campaigning for votes for the upcoming International Ski & Snowboard Federation elections … for anyone but incumbent Johan Eliasch.
Born in Sweden, but nominated by the British association in 2021, Eliasch won with 65 votes out of 119 over Urs Lehmann (SUI: 26), Sarah Lewis (GBR, nominated by BEL: 15), and Mats Arjes (SWE: 13).
Now, he has raised concerns serious enough for the associations from skiing heavyweights Austria, Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association to join together in a two-page letter. It includes:
“Over recent months, many NSAs have expressed similar concerns about the future direction of FIS. With the upcoming elections on June 11, we wanted to share some of our thoughts regarding the current situation and the importance of the upcoming leadership decision.
“All of us have had open and constructive exchanges with Federations over the past
months … [and] one thing has become increasingly clear: there is a growing sense across the FIS community that the organisation is facing significant issues which need to be addressed.”
The letter cites three areas of worry: finances, governance and communications:
● “FIS is in a very serious financial situation which has deteriorated significantly over the past five years. Cash reserves have declined substantially, annual operating costs have increased significantly, and revenues have not developed as anticipated. Despite recent presentations and appeasements.
“This situation affects all of us. In particular we believe it is essential that FIS remains in a position to continue providing meaningful distributions and support mechanisms to all NSAs – especially small and medium-sized nations – in the years ahead.”
● “Most recently, the FIS budget was shared with the FIS Council less than 24 hours before their meeting this week. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern that has developed over time and has caused very strong concerns about the governance of FIS.
“Financial and other information shared with the NSAs and the Council has too often been incomplete or delayed, limiting the ability of elected bodies to properly fulfil their responsibilities on behalf of the membership.”
● “We have repeatedly made genuine efforts to engage constructively with the current leadership in the interest of all NSAs – large, medium-sized and small alike – in the hope of contributing to positive solutions. Unfortunately, these efforts have not resulted in an improvement of the situation.
“While perspectives may differ, many of us feel that the upcoming election represents an important opportunity to strengthen trust, collaboration and long-term stability within FIS.”
The close of the letter promotes a solution: vote for someone other than Eliasch:
“The positive news is that we have four highly respected new candidates for President: Vicky Gosling, Anna Harboe Falkenberg, Alex Ospelt & Dexter Paine. Each bring valuable qualifications, perspectives and experience to the role and share the same views about what we need to develop for OUR federation and sports. We are fully convinced we need a change for FIS and the NSAs to have credibility and a positive future for our sports and athletes.”
The four mentioned candidates come from only one of the seven federations behind the letter – the U.S. – and each is already deeply involved with the ski and most are FIS Council members already:
● Alex Ospelt (LIE) ~ FIS Council member
● Anna Harboe Falkenberg (DEN) ~ FIS Council member
● Dexter Paine (USA) ~ FIS Council member
● Victoria Gosling (GBR) ~ GB Snowsport chief executive
Eliasch was nominated by Georgia this time and is required by FIS regulations to carry a passport from the country nominating him. He has been criticized for an autocratic style and has succeeded on consolidating media rights for skiing, a strategy which he believes will pay significant financial dividends in the future.
The FIS will hold elections on 11 June 2026, in Belgrade (SRB).
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