Two new governing bodies for skiing
Chamonix 1924 saw the creation of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and provided the catalyst for the foundation of the French Ski Federation (FFS) a few months later.
The FIS is the governing body of Alpine skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, Nordic combined, snowboarding and freestyle skiing. It has 135 member nations, organises six biannual world championships and more than 330 World Cup events, and sanctions over 7,000 ski and snowboard competitions annually. As of 2024, FIS boasts 36,985 licensed active athletes.
In addition to organising competitions at the highest level, the FIS runs initiatives promoting snow sports and encouraging children to become involved in them. Its activities also seek to protect the environment and combat doping in sport. When it was founded at the 1924 Olympic Winter Games, it had only 14 member nations and a solitary discipline in Nordic skiing.
Inspired by the success of the Chamonix Games a few months earlier and the achievements of the Scandinavian athletes, the management committee of the Club Alpin Français, which had organised the first international ski competition in 1907, founded the FFS on 9 July 1924. Its main reason for doing so was to reorganise skiing in France, create a skiing culture in the country, and ultimately produce champion athletes capable of challenging the world’s best. Three months later, the new organisation admitted its first three regional federations (Vosges, Pyrenees, and Jura), paving the way for the sustained growth of winter sports in France and the future success of the country’s skiers and snowboarders.
The FFS performs similar functions to the FIS in France and provides an umbrella for 950 ski clubs across 17 regions, organises nine regional leagues, and boasts 106,000 members: 47,000 competitive athletes and officials, and 59,000 recreational skiers and snowboarders.
Committed to developing, promoting, organising and regulating skiing and snowboarding in France, the FFS has also been instrumental in helping the nation become a force at international winter sports events, supporting the country’s athletes and providing them with the training environments they need. At the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, for example, France placed thirteenth in the medal table with 14 medals in all.