WORLD SNOW DAY. The eighth edition of World Snow Day will see 469 events and actions take place in 45 countries on the 20th January 2019. FIS President Gian Franco Kasper remarked, “once again World Snow Day has exceeded 400 events. This is great achievement and testament to how important children and families are to snow sports.”

The eighth edition will be the seventh time that World Snow Day has exceeded 400 events. This is an important statistic as World Snow Day set a goal in 2016 to average 500 events annually, allowing the programme to look to the future with a strong foundation.

Looking at the events, World Snow Day 2019 will see a wide array of activities in various loactions including urban locations. Some of the standouts include 112 events throughout China, over 50 ski and snowboard schools with free lessons for children throughout Poland, seven events in the southern hemisphere in South Africa, Peru and Brazil, free or heavily discounted lift passes throughout Austria, free ski and snowboard lessons throughout the Engadin valley in Switzerland, a kid’s snow festivals in Stockholm (SWE), Tallin (EST) and Ulaanbaatar central park (MGL).

Bring Children to the Snow Coordinator Andrew Cholinski commented “Organisers understand how busy parents are. World Snow Day events make it easy for them to go out and enjoy snow sports.”

World Snow Day 2019 will also be a special year for the Organisers as they will be vying to earn one of the World Snow Day Awards. The awards recognise Organiser’s efforts to bring children to the snow under varying circumstances.

Four categories have been created:
- “Best World Snow Day”; for events over 500 participants,
- “Best Small World Snow Day”; for events under 500 participants,
- “The Innovation Award”; for the most creative actions
- “Line Honors”; for the first event to register.

The Line Honors Award was already awarded with 1st place going to Ski Klub Stara Planina Pirot from Serbia. But the remaining three categories are wide open. Previous winners Zakopane (POL), Ski and Snowboard Klub Maksimir (CRO) and Ski Federation Denmark have all returned. However they will face tough competition with high quality actions from Sweden, Italy, Germany, Estonia, Canada, USA, Peru, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Poland, Switzerland and China just to name a few.

For more information on World Snow Day visit www.world-snow-day.com

About FIS

FIS is the governing body for international skiing and snowboarding, founded in 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIS manages the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. Through its 128 member nations, more than ’500 FIS ski and snowboard competitions are staged annually. Specific initiatives are undertaken by FIS to promote snow activities as a healthy leisure recreation, notably for the young. For more information, please visit www.fis-ski.com.

FIS press release
09 January 2019