International Ski and Snowboard Federation

The Fédération internationale de ski (FIS) was founded on 2 February 1924, during the Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. The FIS succeeded the Internationale Skikommission, which had been formed on 18 February 1910 in Christiania (today Oslo, Norway). Despite keeping the acronym FIS, on 26 May 2022, at the FIS Congress in Milano, Italy, its name was changed to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, to recognize the discipline of snowboarding.

The FIS governs the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, and Snowboarding. All these disciplines are also part of the Winter Youth Olympics programme since the competition’s inception, at Innsbruck 2012.

Men’s cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined events were all part of the programme of the first Winter Olympics at Chamonix 1924, which also doubled as the first FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. In fact, the Winter Olympics from 1924 to 1980 were also the Nordic World Ski Championships in Olympic years. This meant that the Olympic champions were also World Champions and received an additional medal from the FIS.

The women’s début in cross-country skiing came with a single event at Oslo 1952, and their entrance at the Nordic World Ski Championships would happen two years later, at Falun 1954. Women’s ski jumping would be featured at the World Championships for the first time at Liberec 2009, and début at the Winter Olympics at Sochi 2014. Although women had their first Nordic combined events at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2021, in Oberstdorf, Germany, as of 2026, the discipline has only been contested by men at the Olympics.

The inaugural FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were held in 1931, in Mürren, Switzerland, with events for both men and women. Alpine Skiing’s début at the Winter Olympics would happen at Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, also for both genders.

The first FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships for men and women were staged in 1986, in Tignes, France. Freestyle skiing would appear in the Winter Olympics for the first time at Calgary 1988, but only as a demonstration sport for both genders. Four years later, at Albertville 1992, freestyle skiing had its first official Olympic events for both men and women.

The first FIS Snowboarding World Championships were held in 1996, in Lienz, Austria, for men and women snowboarders. Before joining the FIS, snowboard was governed by the International Snowboarding Federation (ISF), which had been founded in 1989 and organized its inaugural World Championships in 1993, in Ischgl, Austria. Both genders would also make their Olympic entrance two years later, at Nagano 1998.

Moreover, the FIS governs the Paralympic disciplines of Para Alpine Skiing, Para Cross-Country Skiing, and Para Snowboard, and also the non-Olympic disciplines of Freeride, Speed Skiing, Grass Skiing, and Telemark Skiing. All these disciplines have their respective World Championship competitions.

As of January 2026, the FIS has 141 affiliated member nations. The FIS headquarters is located in Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland, and its current president is Britain’s Johan Eliasch.