The rules that were in place when Whistler Olympic Park hosted ski jumping and Nordic combined World Cup test events last winter will be slightly different when the World Cup season resumes.
As well, the International Ski Federation (FIS) at its annual congress looked at some changes to cross country and alpine skiing to make those sports more exciting for fans.
In ski jumping, the Summer Grand Prix events held at jump sites across Europe tested a new scoring system that takes current wind conditions into account when deciding the in-run length during a competition. For example, in the event of a headwind that crops up mid-way during a contest the athletes may be allowed to ski in from higher up the in-ramp. Both the in-run change and wind conditions are factored into the scoring formula, which also takes distance and landing style into consideration.
The new rules will apply at all World Cup events for ski jumping and Nordic Combined, but will not be in place during the Olympic Games events.
The FIS Alpine Committee approved a Nations Team parallel race at the World Cup Finals in Germany this year where up to 100 athletes would be allowed to participate. This is a one-time test event that could be adopted at World Cup and world championship events in the future.
The FIS Cross Country Committee looked at a few changes for the coming season that mainly revolved around the World Cup calendar - specifically adding new events in Poland and Italy to fill in the gaps that currently exist on the calendar, and then building a marketing campaign around a new calendar that would offer events through the winter. They also looked at the possibility of breaking the world championships up into stages.
