It is now just two and half weeks until the start of the 47th International Ski Congress which will be held from 31st May to 5th June 2010 in Antalya, Turkey. After the FIS Congress in 1988 in Istanbul, this will be the second time that the world-wide ski family gathers in Turkey. .

The Congress and Committee Meeting preparations are well on their way. The National Ski Associations already received the Congress Agenda and Proposals in January in accordance with our Statutes and the so-called Congress Book and financial reports followed in April, whilst the various Committees have now prepared and distributed their agendas too. Based on registrations to date, around 1000 participants are expected in Turkey.

One of the highlights of the Congress Week will undoubtedly be the election of the organizers for the FIS World Championships 2014/2015. Altogether there are nine strong candidates bidding for these events and they will be presenting their bids to all Congress participants in the customary exhibition from Monday to Wednesday. Continuing with the election theme, at the General Assembly itself on Friday 4th June there are a historic record number of 26 candidates vying for the 16 available seats on the FIS Council (editor: the full list was published in last week's Newsflash), which we can expect to keep the Congress delegates, as well as the tellers counting the votes, busy for quite a while.

As far as the Committee Agendas are concerned, some main topics will include the revision of the competition format for the Alpine Nations' Team Event that was piloted at the FIS Alpine World Cup Final in Garmisch 2010, and the proposed integration of the wind and gate factors into the rules for Ski Jumping, as well as the competition management of the Nordic Combined discipline..

Some of the major events I have attended over the past month have included SportAccord 2010 that was held in Dubai at the end of April. For Dubai and the United Arab Emirates the gathering of the sports world was an important opportunity to present itself as a possible organizer of major future events including the Olympic Summer Games. Overall, Dubai 2010 was a successful event for sport and a major meeting point of the sports service providers and the International Federations. SportAccord, formerly known as GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations) and the SportAccord Convention, is an important forum for all stakeholders to gather in one place and combine their statutory meetings at the same time instead of travelling several times to various events, as well as to make contact with the commercial partners of sport. Thanks to the assemblies of the major associations of the international sports federations and the meeting of the IOC Executive Board, it also attracts a certain level of media interest these days. In terms of the actual business of SportAccord itself, much focus was garnered by the first edition of the Combat Games in Beijing this summer.

Last weekend the WADA Executive and Foundation Board's meetings took place in Montreal at the organization's headquarters. A major topic was the review of the new athlete whereabouts process a year after their implementation. This is an important undertaking to ensure that there are no mistakes made by any of the involved parties. Additionally, the approval of non-WADA accredited laboratories undertaking blood analysis to support the Athlete Passport Program is an important decision for convenient and cost-effective testing for FIS with most of our competitions taking place in mountain resorts.

I look forward to see you in Turkey at the 47th FIS Congress!