New FIS President & First Ever British Representative on Council
New FIS President & First Ever British Representative on Council
Published : 11-Jun-2026 17:19
It has been an exciting day for ski racing fans with the world's governing body, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS), electing a new president, as well as a new FIS Council which includes Britain's first ever representative.
Alexander Ospelt from Liechtenstein won the presidency election by a razor sharp 65 to 64 votes. Meanwhile GB Snowsport Chief Executive, Victoria Gosling OBE was elected to the FIS Council as a representative of Britain, the first time Britain's National Ski Association has held an elected role on the body.
"To become the first British representative nominated to Council in FIS history is humbling, and I am aware of the significant responsibility that I hold in that regard. Throughout recent weeks, the FIS family has shown that it is unafraid to have the robust and necessary conversations that we need to have for the long-term health of the sport, and I look forward to continuing those discussions in the coming months and years," said Gosling, adding, "As a snowsport nation, Britain has been on a significant journey in recent years. It has not always been easy, but I believe that today shows the high regard that we are held in within the snowsport community. We have much to look forward to as a sport, and I am committed to putting the interests of our sport first from within the FIS Council."
In a post-election press conference Ospelt said.
"There's been some great dialogue in the build-up to this Congress and it's been very interesting to talk to representatives from all different countries, but the result [65 votes to 64] shows we're still divided," said President Ospelt. "I see this division as a chance, rather than a problem. My first task will be bringing unity and a common ambition to drive FIS forward together."
When quizzed further on where he plans to start his work as President, Ospelt underlined his intention to listen to the National Ski Associations (NSAs) and to athletes, to get a deeper understanding of the issues they are experiencing. "There's a lot of work to do, but I want every NSA to feel like now is a new start, that I will take all their concerns seriously and that every NSA must be treated with the same importance as any other."
continued Ospelt, a FIS Council member since 2024 and President of the Liechtenstein Ski Association between 2015 and 2023."I've requested that the bigger states show solidarity with the smaller states - it's not in anybody's best interest to just have athletes from the leading nations competing in the World Cup - and the bigger states are committed to that,"
said Ospelt, when quizzed on further areas of action."We're already looking at ways to gain additional stakeholders, investment and sponsors, in order to distribute more income to the NSAs and meet athletes' requests for increased prize money,"
"For me, it makes most sense to strengthen the disciplines where each of their audiences are. Taking China as an example, it makes most sense to take Freestyle and Snowboard Alpine events there, as the great athletes they have [in those disciplines] can enable us to put on showpiece events - showpieces we can use to broaden the interest across the whole of Asia."
Ospelt also expressed a keen interest in applying successful concepts across disciplines and competitions.
"I've been to the Engadina [ski marathon] many times and there are over 12,000 people participating in it, so I always wondered, 'why not combine it with a World Cup Cross-Country race?' as we'd already have the audience there and it'd be even more attractive to sponsors."
said Ospelt, who was asked about the prospects of Freeride becoming an Olympic discipline and how to strengthen Alpine's media appeal."We can also learn from organizers of big Ski Jumping events like the Four Hills Tournament, sharing good ideas across venues and across disciplines. I think the fact that we've got so many disciplines is an opportunity for us. With Alpine, there are lots of discussions going on about how to make it more attractive,"
"We need to find the right TV format and I think we need to make the athletes more visible, work on promoting them more and turning them into stars - which is what audiences want to see. Freeride is really cool too, it's a totally challenging competition in every way, which is what you want to see, and it's very fun and very attractive for spectators - especially TV audiences," he said, as the press conference drew to a close.
Image top photo credit: FIS / Action Press / Marko Djokovic
Victoria Gosling Image above photo credit: Sam Mellish/GB Snowsport.
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