Athletes gain a voice with new voting rep on the FIS Council

By Published On: June 24th, 2016Comments Off on Athletes gain a voice with new voting rep on the FIS Council

At the 2016 FIS Congress in Cancun, Mexico, the FIS Council unanimously approved a change of statutes to include a representative of the FIS Athletes’ Commission as a full voting member.

Retired Swedish alpine ski racer Jessica Lindell-Vikarby, who chairs the Athletes’ Commission, was unanimously elected by the Congress and will serve for two years alongside the remaining members of the FIS Council as a voting member.

The FIS Communications team sat down with Lindell-Vikarby to digest the implications of this historical decision.

With the inclusion of an athlete representative on the FIS Council, the FIS Athletes’ Commission has reached a major milestone.
Indeed! To have an athlete included on the FIS Council as a full member is a big step forward. It has been a very positive move, which will give athletes more of a voice.

The FIS Council makes all of the important decisions that affect our disciplines. We are now involved in the decision-making process and can bring the voices and experiences of the athletes to the discussions at Council level, so they feel fairly represented. It is important for us to show the athletes of all FIS disciplines that we have a chance to make a difference.

How did this come to fruition?
For the past eight years, the Athletes’ Commission has established its role within FIS’ decision-making bodies, and I would like to thank all former commission members for their continued valuable work.

We have taken a big lead from the IOC Athletes’ Commission, which has a representative on their Executive Board.

Two years ago, at the FIS Congress in Barcelona, the Athletes’ Commission was granted an observer position on the FIS Council. This was the first time in the history of FIS that such a position was available for athletes. Before that, we had a member with voting rights in each discipline’s main committee.

I feel it has been very important to gain experience at the various levels before reaching the Council.

Besides establishing its role within FIS, what are the priorities of the Athletes’ Commission?
One of our main priorities is to establish good communication between FIS athletes and the commission, and the commission and FIS. Much has been done to reach out to the athletes within the various disciplines, and their concerns and ideas could be put forward to the main discipline committees for discussion.

Apart from that, we are supporting the FIS Anti-Doping programs to help promote clean sport, the FIS Bring Children to the Snow campaign, and the opportunities offered by the IOC to encourage athletes to prepare for life after sport.

We are in good contact with the members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission and the WADA Athlete Committee to exchange ideas and update ourselves on current topics.

In 2017 at the FIS World Championships, there will be new elections of the FIS Athletes’ Commission for the 2017 to 2019 period. We are working on passing on the significant experience the commission has gained over the years. It is our goal to build a solid foundation and to ensure we keep building on the successful work of the Athletes’ Commission in the years to come!

Release courtesy of FIS

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