★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ FIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
The International Ski & Snowboard Federation, known by its old-style French acronym – “FIS” – is the largest of the winter sports federations, governing alpine skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, freestyle and snowboard events.
And it holds championships in all of them, and is now soliciting hosts for most of these events for 2029 and 2031.
To that end, it released a detailed bidding overview for its World Championship events in 2030 and 2031, to be voted on at the FIS Congress in 2026:
● 2030 World Ski Flying Championships
● 2031 Freestyle & Snowboard World Championships
● 2031 Nordic World Championships
● 2031 Para World Championships
(The Alpine Worlds have already been attributed for 2029 to Narvik (NOR) and for 2031 to Val Gardena (ITA).)
A formal application is due by 1 May 2025, along with a non-refundable application fee, which varies by event (CHF 1 = $1.10 U.S.):
● CHF 150,000 for the Nordic Worlds
● CHF 125,000 for the Freestyle & Snowboard Worlds
● CHF 100,000 for the Ski Flying Worlds
● CHF 20,000 for the Para Worlds
For venues bidding for a second time, the reg fee is reduced by 25% and for third-time bidders, by 50%. In case you were wondering, the Alpine Worlds have a CHF 400,000 registration fee.
FIS also provides some helpful guidance into what a resort or region might be getting itself into by trying for one of these events:
Nordic World Championships:
● 200 athlete training days (with accommodation and board)
● 12 days for Cross Country, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping
● Event organizing cost estimated at CHF 15-20 million
● Added hosting fee for the selected site of CHF 400,000
Freestyle & Snowboard World Championships:
● 200 athlete training days (with accommodation and board)
● 12-14 days for Aerials, Big Air, Halfpipe, Moguls, Slopestyle, Ski/Snow Cross and Parallel
● Event organizing cost estimated at CHF 10-15 million
Ski Flying World Championships:
● Four-day program (200 m hill or larger)
● Event organizing cost estimated at CHF 3-4 million
Para World Championships:
● Includes all or part: Alpine, Cross Country, Snowboard
● 10-11 day program for each discipline
● Event organizing cost estimated at CHF 1-4 million
These events aren’t cheap. But FIS does provide some support, with organizers receiving 60% of media and commercial sponsorship rights sales for their event, plus ticket sales – but not VIP sections or hospitality sales – and whatever support can be obtained from local, regional or national governmental sources. The usual suspects for support of these kinds of events is the tourism authority for the area, seeking to boost recognition of a winter site.
European sites have dominated the Worlds in these sports; since 2000:
● 2001-27: 13 of 14 Nordic Worlds in Europe
● 2015-29: 5 of 7 Freestyle & Snowboard Worlds in Europe
● 2000-28: 15 of 15 Ski Flying Worlds in Europe
Outside of Europe, only Japan has hosted the Nordic Worlds (2007) and since the start of combined Freestyle and Snowboard Worlds in 2015, just the U.S. (2019) and China (2029) have been selected to host. The 2021 Freestyle and Snowboard Worlds are not counted, as they were split among four sites due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with three in Europe and one in the U.S.
The Para Worlds have often been split among multiple sites for Alpine, Nordic and Snowboard; since 2019, these have mostly been in Europe, but also in Canada. FIS is still looking for hosts for Cross Country and Snowboard in 2027.
The FIS documentation is a fascinating look into the current state of the skiing Worlds; will anyone outside of Europe get in the game?
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 895-event International Sports Calendar for 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
