Interview with President Josef Fendt in the FIL magazine:

World Cup Sprint a complete success but some adjustments are required

Berchtesgaden (RWH)  President of the International Luge Federation (FIL), Germany’s Josef Fendt, has hailed the trial run of the sprint competition at the 46th FIL World Championships in Königssee as a success, but indicated that there are some improvements in the pipeline. “The race procedure for the sprint competition is not yet fully developed, so our experts still have to make a few adjustments”, Fendt said in an interview in the latest issue of the FIL magazine.  He explained that there would be no attempt to include the race in the Olympics until the FIL is satisfied that it has come up with the correct competition format and it has been tested successfully in several competitions.

Fendt currently sees no specific threat to his sport losing its status as an Olympic event, although he acknowledged criticism relating to the increasing cost of ice tracks. “We are already working closely with the International Olympic Committee to counteract this issue”, said Fendt.

The FIL magazine features an array of interesting issues related to the sport of luge. It can be ordered free of charge from the FIL office (Rathausplatz 9, 83471 Berchtesgaden). The glossy magazine is published twice a year.