At the annual World Snowboard Federaton (WSF) and Ticket to Ride (TTR) General Assembly held in Kleinarl, Austria, delegates from 22 Nations joined the two-day long meetings, representing National Snowboard Associations, Riders, Event Organizers and Boardsports Media.
The idea was to usher in the next phase of snowboarding by continuing to look at the landscape of professional snowboarding and how it can be improved.
The results of the meeting from workgroups and days of joint sessions between WSF and TTR moves snowboarding forward in an unrivalled way. During their meetings, WSF and TTR agreed to collectively pave the way to create a new governing structure for International Snowboarding. The new organization will serve Snowboarding on all levels, in a completely neutral way, smashing down walls that have built up over years adding to an already splintered landscape for competition snowboarding. The future will provide a transparent non-confrontational and unified sports system that will be extremely easy for the world to navigate.
With immediate effect, Nations Representatives, Event Organizer Representatives and a Rider Representative will develop necessary structural details under the leadership of TTR President Reto Lamm.
Working Groups and Consultants appointed during the GA contribute and oversee the developments, and reports will be provided to the public on a regular basis.
WCS GmbH, the joint company owned by WSF and TTR, will act as executional body for all commercial matters.
In the near future the final structure will be proposed that combines a global Snowboard Association and a company to serve the changed world of snowboarding.
The leverage on moving with the needs of the industry will have a huge impact on Snowboarding now and in the future. “Adapting to the current needs of the riders, national associations and industry is our primary goal,” says Meinhard Trojer, President of WSF. TTR President Reto Lamm concludes, “The way riders and organizers are included gives everyone a clear responsibility, and things will improve even more based on our new ideas.”
Here are some specific results:
Developing Women Snowboarding As Core Competence
The WSF Education Committee held a workshop that gained valuable insights to progress female snowboarding. Results of the workshop will be analyzed and published on the WSF website. “Leveraging existing synergies and looking at each host country individually will be key to our growth. The workshop was perceived with great interest, and challenges are ready to be turned into opportunities in Women Snowboarding,” says Miriam Deller who initiated WSF Pro Women within the Education Committee in 2015.
Market Development and Media Trends
Marco Sampaoli, WSF Vice President, provided an overview of the status of the European Winter Sports and Outdoor Market. Current trends imply that collaborations between resorts, tourism institutions, governments and sports federations become increasingly necessary. Looking at relevant data from snowboarding and related sports provided a vivid picture of the recent and coming developments. “More than ever, successful strategies will be based on a combination of deep knowledge of market trends and the ability to swiftly integrate them,” said Marco Sampaoli.
Election Results at WSF and TTR General Assemblies
The WSF Board 2016/17 consists of nine members:
President, Meinhard Trojer, Austria
Vice President, Marco Sampaoli, Italy
Vice President, Sacha Giger, Switzerland (newly appointed)
Treasurer, Shigeru Ishihara, Japan
Board Member, Robert Joncas, Canada
Board Member, Paul Krahulec, USA (newly elected)
Board Member, Miriam Deller, China (re-elected)
Board Member, Gian Luca Zanetti, Italy (re-elected)
TTR Representative, to be announced
Highly valued WSF Secretary Anna-Maria Strittmatter moves to a new position and remains a consultant for the World Snowboard Federation until a replacement will be announced.
TTR voted for a new structure for their Board:
President, Reto Lamm, Switzerland
Vice President Maria McNulty, USA
Executive Board Member, Eric Webster, USA
Executive Board Member, Rich Hegarty, Australia
Executive Board Member, Alexander Doerr, Germany
Board Member, Josef Harml, Austria
Board Member, Christian Scheidl, Austria
Board Member, Satu Jarvela, Finland
Board Member, Marc Bajona, Spain
Board Member, Martin Boettger, Germany
WSF Representative, Meinhard Trojer, Austria
For updates and more information: www.worldsnowboardfederation.org; www.worldsnowboardtour.com.
