The European Ski Federation (ESF) is the official federation regulating

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

within the continent of Europe and is responsible for the representation of skiing within the greater

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

over the disciplines of

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

, and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

. The goal of the ESF is to strengthen Europe's voice in international skiing and promoting winter tourism in Europe.

History

The ESF was founded in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on 5 February 2009 by the four nations of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The four nations were represented by Peter Schröcksnadel, who would become the first President of the Federation for Österreichischer Skiverband,

Alain Méthiaz Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...

for the Fédération Française de Ski, Giovanni Morzenti for the Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali and Dr. Urs Lehmann for Swiss-Ski, respectively.

Members

The original four members are the Österreichischer Skiverband representing Austria, the Fédération Française de Ski representing France, the Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali representing Italy, and Swiss-Ski representing Switzerland. Since 2009 the number of members has increased to 11. * Österreichischer Skiverband, . President

Roswitha Stadlober Roswitha Stadlober (née Steiner) (born 14 June 1963 in Radstadt, Salzburg) is an Austrian former alpine skier. Career She concluded her career at the end of the 1987/1988 season by clinching her second Slalom World Cup title, also winning her l ...

* Belarusian Alpine Skiing and Snowboard Federation, , President

Natalya Petkevich Natalia Vladimirovna Petkevich ( ''Natallya Uladzimirawna Pyatkevich''; ''Natalya Vladimirovna Petkevich''; born 1972) is a Belarusian politician who served formerly as the First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus. As ...

* Fédération Française de Ski, , President

Michel Vion Michel Vion (born 22 October 1959 in Moûtiers) is a French alpine skier and world champion. He competed in three events at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Vion became a world champion in the combined event in Schladming in 1982.< ...

* Winter Sports Federation of Georgia, , President George Ramishvili * Hungarian Ski Federation, , President Dr. Klára Kaszó * Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali, , President Flavio Roda * Latvian Ski Association, , President Vairis Brize * Liechtensteinischer Skiverband, , President

Andreas Wenzel Andreas Wenzel (born 18 March 1958) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Liechtenstein, active from 1976 to 1988. Born in Planken, he was the overall World Cup champion in 1980, the same season in which his older sister Hanni won the wo ...

* National Skiing Association of Lithuania, , President Remigijus Arlauskas * Russian Ski and Snowboard Association, , President

Andrey Bokarev Andrey (Андрей) is a masculine given name predominantly used in Slavic languages, including Belarusian, Bulgarian, and Russian. The name is derived from the ancient Greek Andreas (Ἀνδρέας), meaning "man" or "warrior". In Eastern O ...

Swiss Ski The Swiss Ski (before Swiss Ski Association, abbrev. SSV), is the winter sports federation for Switzerland. Part of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), it deals with some federations conducting sports for the Winter Olympics, i ...

, , President Dr. Urs Lehmann

Presidents of the ESF

* Peter Schröcksnadel, 2009–2012, * Dr. Klára Kaszó, 2012–2023, *

, 2023-,

Controversy

The first competition officially organised by the ESF occurred on 7 November 2009 at the

Amnéville Indoor Facility Amnéville (; , 1940–45: ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The town is an important tourist and thermal spa centre in France. Geography Amnéville is located in the Moselle valley, between Metz a ...

Amnéville Amnéville (; , 1940–45: ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The town is an important tourist and thermal spa centre in France. Geography Amnéville is located in the Moselle valley, between Metz a ...

, France officially named the "European Indoor Championships" was declared illegal by President of the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

Gian-Franco Kasper.{{Cite web, url=http://www.sportlive.it/sportinvernali/risultati-europei-indoor-sci-amneville-2009.html, title=Amnéville European Indoor Ski Championships Results 2009, last=Moscati, first=Matteo, date=, website=Sportlive.it, language=it, access-date=, archive-date=2012-09-12, archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912131428/http://www.sportlive.it/sport-invernali/risultati-europei-indoor-sci-amneville-2009.html, url-status=dead The two slalom races were divided into male and female with

Jean-Baptiste Grange Jean-Baptiste Grange (born 10 October 1984) is a French retired World Cup alpine ski racer. He competed primarily in slalom and earlier also in giant slalom and combined. Born in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, Grange grew up in Valloire, ...

and

Veronika Zuzulová Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to: People * Veronica (name) * Saint Veronica * Saint Veronica of Syria Arts and media Comics and literature * ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope * ''Veronica (novel)'', a 2005 novel by ...

receiving gold medals, respectively.

References

International Ski and Snowboard Federation