In an open letter delivered to the international body on Sunday in Courchevel, on the sidelines of the Worlds, the skiers ask the International Ski Federation (FIS) to make efforts in favor of the environment.
It is a call to action. A hundred international skiers, including American star Mikaela Shiffrin, asked the International Ski Federation (FIS) to step up its efforts in favor of the environment, in an open letter, published on Sunday February 12.
“Our sport is in danger”, warns this letter prepared by the Protect Our Winters (POW) association and signed by 142 skiers from different disciplines (alpine skiing, freestyle, freeride). Among these, in addition to the American skier, there are also the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and the Italian Federica Brignone. The document was symbolically handed over to the FIS in Courchevel, a few hours after the men’s downhill of the alpine skiing world championships won by the Swiss Marco Odermatt.
Skiers demand an adjustment of the calendar
“More and more competitions are canceled due to lack of snow (…), soon it will no longer be possible to produce artificial snow on several usual World Cup sites given the increase in temperatures”warn skiers.
>> To read: artificial snow and ecology, an impossible marriage?
The letter asks the FIS to adjust its calendar in order to reduce intercontinental travel (the Alpine circuit is stopping off on two different occasions this season in North America) and to delay the start of competitions. Several races scheduled for late October and November 2022 have been canceled due to lack of snow.
Athletes also demand that the FIS commitment made in 2021 to halve its carbon footprint be followed by a concrete plan “made public before the start of next season”and requires from the authority a “total transparency”.
“It is high time to address this very important subject”
The international body had announced, at the end of 2021, that it wanted to become the first international federation “carbon-positive” thanks to a program to protect virgin forests in the Amazon. A project which should, ideally, remain annexed according to the POW association, for which the priority should be to “reduce emissions” current.
>> To read: is the professional practice of Nordic skiing in France destined to disappear with climate change?
“It is high time to address this very important subject. We see that the world is changing, we also see the impact it has on our sportcommented Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, in the wake of his silver medal obtained during the downhill. I want to keep doing what I love, we have to do our best to keep it going, but I also want future generations to be able to do it. It’s a great letter that touches on something that we have to keep in mind all our lives.”