At the invitation of the ISU President and IOC Executive Board member Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Luge Federation, Mr. Josef Fendt went to watch the World Figure Skating Championships on March 26-27, 2004 in Dortmund.
He used the opportunity to meet with IOC Vice-President Dr. Thomas Bach and IOC member Prof. Walter Tröger both from Germany as well as with the IOC Executive Board member Vitali Smirnov from Russia.
Both World Presidents Ottavio Cinquanta and Josef Fendt exchanged their thoughts in a friendly atmosphere about the preparation of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin.