The Alpine Luge Future Workshop launched in March 2024. With the start-up phase complete, the focus now is on maintaining momentum and putting the strategy into action step by step.

Gerhard Mühlbacher explaining his stragegies

Berchtesgaden (FIL / 8 November 2025) – Anyone speaking with Gerhard Mühlbacher immediately feels the passion of the 2007 World Champion. The 50-year-old from Bad Dürrnberg near Hallein (AUT) heads the Alpine Luge Future Workshop, coordinating the work of its various task groups. “There’s been an incredible surge of energy – people are truly passionate about it. I’d never have imagined this kind of drive,” says Mühlbacher, known in the scene as “Mühli”, commenting on the current progress. The initiative aims to make the sport future-ready and set it on a new foundation – from promoting grassroots participation to developing innovative competition formats.

Sustainability as a Core Principle

Despite the impressive commitment, Mühlbacher stresses the need for focus: “We must ensure we don’t take on too many projects at once. At the same time, topics like sustainability should be tackled soon – it’s one of the core pillars of our sport.” All participants in the Future Workshop contribute on a voluntary basis, with additional support from the International Luge Federation (FIL). The initiative’s leaders have found an open ear: the FIL is backing the project with an annual budget to drive its development. Within the FIL Strategy 2034, Alpine Luge plays a key role, particularly through its focus on recreational sport. The goal, as Mühlbacher vividly puts it, is to build a bridge “from the couch to Olympic gold”.

New Race Formats Taking Shape

Concrete progress is already being made in transforming traditional natural track luge into a new Piste World Cup format. A dedicated test team – led by the recently retired luge legends Patrick Pigneter, Evelin Lanthaler and Tina Unterberger – will spend the coming winter working intensively on this development. “This makes the future tangible for the athletes. The new International Luge Regulations (ILR) are expected to be adopted by the end of the year. After that, we’ll have a transition season before the regular competitions begin,” explains Mühlbacher. At the same time, efforts are underway to strengthen grassroots participation. Enquiries are already coming in, for example from the Jenner in Berchtesgaden (GER), where interested parties want to learn more about the concept. “Luging not just on tracks but on pistes – that needs careful planning, but we’re on the right path,” say the organisers.

Winter as the Key Phase

In the coming months, the focus will be on finalising the new race formats – from the equipment to the staging of the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup on both track and piste. “Everything now revolves around winter – that’s when we can get real testing done. Our goal is to be race-ready in time,” says the project team. Fresh ideas are also emerging on the grassroots side – such as pop-up luge parks. Initial trials, for example during the 2025 World Championships in Kühtai (AUT), have already produced promising results.

Test Events Designed to Engage Fans

The upcoming test events will focus not only on competition but also on creating an engaging spectator experience. “We want to showcase top-class racing – fair, spectacular, and hands-on. You watch the world’s best lugers, and then you can try it yourself,” explains Mühlbacher. According to him, mountain railway operators are proving to be strong partners, increasingly recognising luge as an attractive winter sport for the wider public. While not all details have been finalised, one thing is certain: this year’s test events will feature a more open starting field – including recreational lugers, World Cup athletes, and even artificial track athletes who wish to join. “Definitely with a larger line-up than in Sweden and Switzerland in spring 2025,” Mühlbacher adds. The final nomination of participants will rest with the respective national federations, depending on availability.