Innsbruck. The 55th Congress of the International Luge Federation (FIL) will be marked to a great extent by the 50th anniversary of the Olympic federation’s foundation. At the general assembly to be held on June 22/23 in the two-time Olympic city of Innsbruck (1964 and 1976), the commemorative address by FIL President Josef Fendt, which he will hold during a ceremonial act on Friday evening, will be the main focus.

The FIL with its currently 50 national member federations on four continents was founded in Davos, Switzerland, on January 25, 1957, where delegates from 13 nations elected Bert Isatitsch from Austria as their founding president. That same year, at the Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria, the FIL was admitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Two years later, at its congress in Munich, Germany, the IOC decided on the inclusion of luge in the program of the IX. Olympic Winter Games 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria. The sport of luge has been part of all Olympic Winter Games since then.

The FIL emerged from the “International Sled Sport Federation”, which was founded by Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1913. After its new foundation in 1927, the International Sled Sport Federation joined the International Bobsleigh Federation (“Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing“/FIBT) founded in 1923 as “Section de Luge”. Luge World Championships have been staged since 1955, and since 1979 in natural track luge as well.

In the winter of 1977/1978, the World Cup format was launched. Since that time, the luge World Cups, which have been sponsored by the heating manufacturer Viessmann for more than ten years, have developed into the FIL’s figurehead competition series besides the FIL World Championships. In the winter of 2007/2008, the 200th World Cup event will be staged, most likely in Altenberg, Germany – surely another anniversary to be celebrated by the FIL.

Besides the work reports of the Executive Board members and of the Vice-President for Finance, the agenda of the jubilee Congress in Innsbruck will include presentations of the event organizers in Oberhof (2008 World Championships artificial track), Cesana (2008 European Championships artificial track) and Olang (2008 European Championships natural track) and of the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. In addition, championships up to 2011 will be awarded by the Congress.