FIL Support Program: „Our success proves us right“ Berchtesgaden (pps) Josef Fendt, President of the International Luge Federation, FIL, reports on an innovation as of next season. “As of the 2010-2011 season the widely accepted Team Relay event will officially receive World Cup status,” the 62-year old from Berchtesgaden explains in the official interview with fil-press. Additionally, the former two-time World champion refers to the solid number of participants in the Viessmann Luge World Cup, how well the junior events are received (“the young talents will guarantee the future of our sport”) and the extensive support program of the FIL (“Our success proves us right.”) Fendt also talks about his personal contacts with the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died in a training accident prior to the beginning of the Olympic Winter Games. “Despite the tragic and fatal accident in Whistler the sport of luge has to keep and will keep going – in memory of Nodar and his family”, explains Josef Fendt. Only a few hours prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouer, Georgia’s luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in an accident during the last training run. Looking back to this day, how did you, in your capacity as President of the International Luge Federation, FIL, experience this tragic incident ? Josef Fendt: „On February 12, 2010, not only me but the entire sport of luge had to live through one of its blackest moments in the almost 50 year long history of luge at Olympic Games. It was a shock for all of us and it’s still deep-seated. With his just 21 years Nodar was a promising luge athlete. He had this great dream of Olympic Games that ended so tragically on February 12. Similar to those who witnessed this accident in Whistler I will surely never forget this day, the very moment I learned of Nodar’s death.” How did you learn of his accident? Josef Fendt: „Together with FIL Secretary General Svein Romstad I was at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Vancouver. Immediately IOC and VANOC organised and convened a professional crisis management group with meetings almost every hour. The different assignments were allocated in such a way that I was to stay in Vancouver with the crisis management group and Secretary General Romstad to go to Whistler. My thoughts and my sympathy were first and foremost for the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili. But also for our friend Felix, the uncle, coach and President of Georgia’s luge federation.“ So now, almost five months after the accident, can you give us details as to the support that the FIL is giving Nodar’s family? Josef Fendt: „Right from the beginning I have tried to keep a personal contact with the family. And I still do. At the end of March I attended the funeral service in Nodar’s hometown of Bakuriani in Georgia. Apart from VANOC President John Furlong and IOC representatives there were also numerous representatives of FIL member federations as well as athletes – first of all Germany’s Olympic champion Felix Loch - who all attended the memorial service, which have to be carried out 40 days after the death according to the traditions of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Upon FIL invitation Nodar’s father Davit as well as Felix Kumaritashvili recently saw me at my office in Berchtesgaden. And then we also visited the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.” Are there any other plans apart from a personal support for the family? Josef Fendt: „Nodar comes from a small village and a family with a long tradition in luge. This is the reason why - despite this tragic accident - the family wants to further promote the sport of luge in Georgia. The family, the entire village, the National Olympic Committee and the government of Georgia wish to set up a luge center in Bakuriani with an artificially-iced track for the local eastern region of Georgia – all that in commemoration of Nodar Kumaritashvili. Even though the IOC has already indicated its willigness to support this undertaking it remains to be seen if it can indeed be carried out.” How would you describe the situation of the FIL in the post-Olympic winter 2010? Josef Fendt: “Despite the tragic and fatal accident in Whistler the sport of luge has to keep and will keep going on – in memory of Nodar and his family. Thanks to our good and continuous developement activties within the FIL we have been experiencing a solid number of participants at our events for quite some years now. Stringent qualifying criteria notwithstanding, luge athletes from a total of 25 nations participated at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver/Whistler. Further member federations had wanted to enter athletes at the Winter Games but due to the qualifying criteria that we stipulated with the IOC, the FIL had to deny participation. And there were no exemption from the rules.” What is the situation in the Viessmann Luge World Cup and among the young luge talents? Josef Fendt: “In the entire 2009-2010 winter season athletes from altogehter 32 nations participated in our World Cup events on artificially-iced tracks. And we are particularly pleased about the large number of competitors in the youth and junior events. Thus, for instance, there were 162 young athletes from 20 nations at the junior World Cup event in Koenigssee and promising talents from 21 nations and three continents had entered the competitions at the FIL Junior World Championships in Igls. I am very proud of that fact because especially those promising and young talents will guarantee the future of our sport.” What are the reasons for this positive development? Josef Fendt: “Of course this pleasant trend has not come about all by itself. It is a great proof that all our activities within the FIL to support and to further develop the sport of luge are applied appropriately and systematically. And – equally important – these actions are accepted and implemented by our member federations. Our development programs are really multifaceted. Contrary to other federations, we do not just give any member federation a certain amount of money. Of course this would be the easiest way for the FIL. Our allocation system, developed and continuously improved over the past years, is surely costly in terms of labour and work. But I think that our success proves us right.” Can you give us details as to these activities? Josef Fendt: „For instance, the FIL backed training camps in Nagano (Japan), in Manali (India) or, quite recently, in Erzurum (Turkey). I would also like to mention the committment of Vice President Geoff Balme, who established a luge training centre in New Zealand. At the New Zealand Winter Games last year, the sport of luge was represented as a demonstration event for the first time ever. Additionally, Kazachstan, Turkey and Hungary have filed a motion for full FIL memberships at the FIL Congress – because, as it was demonstrated, the sport of luge is carried out in these countries. Moreover we have an athlete from Tonga who has already achieved very good results in luge events last season. All this gives evidence of the good developement within the FIL.“ So, bearing the competitions in mind – what will be in the focus in the near future? Josef Fendt: “In January 2012 we will have a completely new event that will be carried out in Innsbruck-Igls – the Youth Olympic Games, recently created by the International Olympic Committee. The preparations for this event are in full swing and we are in close contact with the IOC and the Organising Committee of the Youth Olympic Games. The sport of luge is already a fixture on the schedule. We expect a large number of participating nations since there were already numerous athletes of those age-groups, eligible to participate at the Youth Olympic Games, who competed at our Junior World Cup and Junior World Championships. However, we were not successful to integrate the sport of luge on natural tracks within the Youth Olympic Games as we hoped.” Are there any other innovations to be expected next season? Josef Fendt: “In accordance with the Sports Commission the Executive Board has passed an important innovation for the events on artificially-iced tracks, effective as of the upcoming winter season: the widely accepted Team Relay event will officially receive World Cup status. In contrast, the present Challenge Cup will be not be carried out any more. This was made possible after positive discussions with our marketing agencies regarding the different sponsor’s rights. This is why I would like to express my gratitude towards the agencies Infront and RGS. However, we will not save on the prize money that was set aside for the Challenge Cup – this prize money will now be distributed at the Team Relay events.” It is your aim to have the Team Relay event integrated within the program of Olympic Games. How do you intend to realize this aim? Josef Fendt: “We have already filed the respective application so that the new discipline ‘Team Relay event’ will hopefully be officially recognised and part of the program at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sotchi. The IOC Programm Commission will soon address all those applications. A decision is expected in November. However, we already received a favorable reaction!”
