Gangwon Province, Korea – Approximately 800 delegates representing 75 member National Ski Associations of the International Ski Federation (FIS) are scheduled to participate in the 48th International Ski Congress in Kangwonland, Gangwon Province (KOR) from May 27 to June 2 at the first FIS Congress to be held in Asia.

Following the election of PyeongChang as the Organizer of the Olympic Winter Games 2018, Korea will be staging various international ski and snowboarding events as the preparations for the Games progress over the next six years. In order to become acquainted with the area, a visit by the FIS Congress participants to the future Olympic venues in the mountain cluster near Alpensia Ski Resort has been arranged for next Thursday.

As part of the Congress Week, more than 100 meetings of the FIS Council as well as the various FIS Technical Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups will take place from Monday to Wednesday, while the FIS Congress (General Assembly) itself takes place next Friday.

The hosts have organized a number of events to extend its hospitality to all FIS Congress participants outside of the program of meetings, with the week including dinners and entertainment offered by the Korean Ski Association, the President of the Organizing Committee of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and Governor of Gangwon Province, as well as by Kangwonland Resort.

The Organizers of the FIS Ski Flying World Championships 2016 and the FIS Alpine, Nordic, Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships 2017 will be elected by the FIS Council on Thursday. The Candidates will present their concepts to all Congress participants from display stands and will have a final opportunity to present to the Council on Tuesday.

Representing the highest decision-making authority within FIS, the FIS Congress will take place on June 1. It will review the business reports of the Council, the accounts and reports of the auditors, approve the budget, elect the 16 FIS Council Members for a two-year period as well as decide on the proposals submitted by the Member Associations and the Council. Nineteen candidates are running for election to the FIS Council.

The items on the agenda of the FIS Council in the days prior to the Congress include the final approval of the FIS World Cup calendars for the 2012/13 season as well as reviewing proposals submitted by the Technical Committees following their meetings. Additionally a key focus of the Council will be on the Congress Agenda and reviewing its opinion on the various proposals to submit to the delegates.

The 47th International Ski Congress, which also marked the centennial celebration of international skiing, took place in Antalya, Turkey. The 49th International Ski Congress will be held in Barcelona, Spain, in June 2014.

Candidates as Organizers of the 2016/2017 FIS World Championships

Candidate for the FIS Ski Flying World Ski Championships 2016
Kulm / Bad Mitterndorf (AUT)

Candidates for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2017 (in alphabetical order)
Åre (SWE)
Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA)
St. Moritz (SUI)

Candidates for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 (in alphabetical order)
Lahti (FIN)
Oberstdorf (GER)
Planica (SLO)
Zakopane (POL)

Candidate for the FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships 2017
Sierra Nevada (SPA)
Candidates for the FIS Council

ÅRJES Mats, SWE            Swedish Ski Association        re-election
BOKAREV Andrey, RUS        Russian Ski Association        new election
GOSPER Dean, AUS        Ski & Snowboard Australia        re-election
HOERMANN Alfons, GER        German Ski Association        re-lection
KASZO Klara, HUN        Hungarian Ski Association        new election
KOCIJANCIC Janez, SLO        Ski Association of Slovenia        re-election
KUMPOST Roman, CZE        Czech Ski Association        re-election
LEE Sung-Won, KOR        Korea Ski Association            re-election
MALYSZ Adam, POL        Polish Ski Federation            new election
MAROLT Bill, USA            U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association    re-election
PAVLEK Vedran, CRO        Croatian Ski Association        re-election
RODA Flavio, ITA            Italian Winter Sports Federation    new election
ROLDAN Eduardo, SPA        Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation re-election
SCHROECKSNADEL Peter, AUT    Austrian Ski Association        re-election
SEEBERG Sverre, NOR        Norwegian Ski Association        re-election
SMITH Patrick, CAN        Canadian Snowsports Association    re-election
SUNDBERG Matti, FIN        Finnish Ski Association        re-election
VION Michel, FRA            French Ski Federation        re-election
YAN Xiaojuan, CHN        Chinese Ski Association        new election