70th FIL Congress 2022 in Hall in Tyrol (AUT) with new elections

Salzburg (FIL) The Presidium and its Executive Board members as well as the members of various commissions of the International Luge Federation (FIL) will be newly elected at the 70th Anniversary Congress on Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19, 2022 in Hall in Tyrol (AUT). Delegates from the 51 member nations of the FIL have been invited to the World Congress.

First and foremost, there are trend-setting personnel decisions for the next four years on the agenda. In addition to the reports of the FIL Executive Board members, special honors, presentations of the organizers of the upcoming FIL World Championships 2023 in Oberhof (GER), the Youth Olympic Games 2024 in Korea as well as the Olympic Winter Games 2026 in Milan Cortina (ITA) are planned for the two congress days.

Resolutions on the proposals of the Statutes, the International Luge Regulations (IRO) and the awarding of FIL Championships up to a maximum of 2026 are included in the agenda of the 70th FIL Congress 2022.

For re-election as FIL President, Einars Fogelis (LAT) will be the only candidate in the elections on Sunday, June 19. Fogelis was first elected to head the International Winter Olympic Federation by delegates at the 68th FIL Congress in November 2020. 
The 62-year-old Latvian had been FIL Secretary General since the 2018 FIL Congress in Bratislava, Slovakia. Previously, Einars Fogelis served as Vice President for Technical Affairs from 1994 to 2018. Josef Fendt was only the second President in the history of the International Luge Federation, which was founded in 1957. Fendt made the position of FIL President available in 2020, after 26 years.

FIL Secretary General Dwight Bell (USA) is also the only candidate running for re-election for his position. Bell was elected FIL Secretary General at the 68th FIL Congress in Großgmain (AUT) in 2020. He previously served as FIL Executive Member since 2018. From 1977 to 1984, Dwight Bell was an active luge athlete.

Harald Steyrer (AUT) will refrain from a renewed candidacy as Vice President for Finance. The 68-year-old long-time FIL Chief Financial Officer is no longer available at his own request due to age reasons. At the 45th Congress of the International Luge Federation, held in Olympia, Greece, in 1996, the Austrian was elected Vice-President for Finance of the FIL as successor to Helmut Ganster (AUT), who died in 1995. As the only candidate for the position of Vice President for Finance, Mag. Philipp Trattner, Head of the Sports Section at the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Public Service and Sports in Austria, will run for election at the 70th FIL Congress.

In addition, the Vice President for Natural Track, Peter Knauseder (AUT), will not run for re-election. Knauseder was first elected to the position of Vice President for Natural Track Luge at the 2014 FIL Congress in Innsbruck. Previously, he was a member of the Sport Commission Artificial Track from 1986 to 1992. There are three candidates for Knauseder's successor. 

The elections are also likely to be exciting for the positions of members on the Executive Board. Eight candidates are standing for election for the two positions, including three women.

New elections for the functions in various FIL Commissions are also on the agenda. 
Among others, the "father of the FIL Code of Ethics" Norbert Hiedl from Waltrop (GER) will not run again as Ethics Officer. The 73-year-old is resigning from his positions at his own request. At the 65th Congress in Constanţa, Romania, lawyer Hiedl was elected as the first Chairman of the FIL Ethics Committee after he had been the Chairman of the FIL Court of Arbitration since the 1996 Congress in Olympia in Greece and had been in charge of developing the FIL Code of Ethics, but with the assistance of the Chairman of the Legal Committee, Dr. Christian Krähe. This Code of Ethics was adopted at the 64th Congress in Lake Placid (USA). 
Dr. Jochen Fritzweiler (GER) is the candidate to succeed Norbert Hiedl as Ethics Officer.

photos: Einars Fogelis, Harald Steyrer and Norbert Hiedl with Dr. Christian Krähe