 Poster: A snowHead
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Marc Hodler, President of the International Ski Federation for a remarkable 47 years (1951-1998) died last week. He was 87.
Hodler's influence was enormous and most prominent four years before the 2002 Winter Olympics when he exposed widespread corruption in the bidding process. Numerous IOC and Salt Lake City officials resigned or were sacked for giving or accepting bribes.
I posted a short piece on Epic about this, with a couple of links to news reports on Hodler's death:
http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=45733
Anyone have any comments on Hodler's life? He appointed a former British ski racer, Sarah Lewis, as secretary-general of the FIS six years ago.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Goldsmith, sad but 87 ain't bad.
what's the process for electing the next President and could this be a massive opportunity for Ms Lewis?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There's no current vacancy. Gian Franco Kasper is current President of the FIS, and if he follows in Hodler's footsteps he'll be around until the year 2045!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Can't say he had a major influence on me - I thought you were going to say someone like Killy etc. I'd consider the athletes and manufactuers/resort operators to have a far bigger influence than administrators, much that administrators would like to think they rule the roost.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Fair point. Maybe I should have said "international ski racing" instead of "international skiing".
It's true that the people who have most influenced recreational skiing since 1950 have probably been inventors, engineers and resort developers. But no one should underestimate Hodler's influence on what we've seen on TV. He was President of the FIS 17 years before Killy stepped onto the Olympic podium and he oversaw the commercialisation and 'professionalisation' of ski racing, not to mention all the technical changes, adoption of snowboarding (a sport which wanted to break free) and so on.
He was one very smart operator indeed. Of course, detractors of the FIS would say that he was a king of dinosaurs. It'll be interesting to see what historians make of Hodler's incredibly long presidency.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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fatbob, I am inclined to agree.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
adoption of snowboarding (a sport which wanted to break free) and so on.
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Not entirely successfully,arguably it was only the IOC giving the snowboard franchise to the FIS that made some boarders ever compete in the tour, whereas independent tours event enjoy great success and media coverage e.g. the TTR series
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Yes, that's also been the story with speed skiing and freestyle skiing. Breakaway tours start up from time to time, and then find that the mighty FIS is capable of wrenching back control. I guess most international sports governing bodies enjoy a type of monopolistic power, which is hard to challenge.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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DG stop scaring me like that, for a minute there I thought PG had passed away. 
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[Those are also the initials of Paul Goldstein, richest ski entrepreneur in Britain - owner of Nevica and Killy etc. Maybe most influential figure in British ski fashion!]
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| Yes, that's also been the story with speed skiing and freestyle skiing. Breakaway tours start up from time to time, and then find that the mighty FIS is capable of wrenching back control. I guess most international sports governing bodies enjoy a type of monopolistic power, which is hard to challenge. |
Yup, if you swap FIS for FIA you could just about repeat that tale for motorsport.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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