Skiing has gone through many changes over the years.

As the world’s best alpine skiers battle it out on the slopes of Whistler, the sport of alpine skiing celebrates a century of existence.

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the International Ski Commission and the very first International Ski Congress that was held in Norway on February 18th, 1910.

Skiing had grown throughout the last decades of the 19th century and national ski associations were created in Russia in 1896, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) in 1903, Switzerland in 1904, the United States, Austria and Germany in 1905, and Norway, Sweden and Finland in 1908.

The national organizations also increased the need to monitor the global development of skiing. A statement by the Norwegian Ski Association in February 1909 to other associations argued for the need for an international association, and in response, delegates from ten nations agreed to attend a meeting.

On February 18th, 1910, Norwegian Ski Association President Karl Roll welcomed 22 delegates to Christiania (now Oslo). He was unanimously elected chairman of the meeting and German was chosen as the official language. The participating nations were Austria, Bohemia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The International Ski Commission was founded at this inaugural meeting and the organization eventually became the Federation International de Ski or the International Ski Federation (FIS). The name change took place during the International Winter Sports Week, known in Olympic history as the first Olympic Winter Games, in Chamonix in February 1924.

FIS has expanded to over 100 nations over these past 100 years, and a commemorative book with a review of the first century of international skiing will be published at the FIS Congress in Turkey in June.

“The first International Ski Congress in 1910 represented an important first step for managing and promoting the sport of skiing globally. The last centenary has seen its great growth and rapid development which still continues unabated,” said FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “We are pleased to begin our second centenary here at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games where 40 of the 86 Olympic titles are awarded in Skiing.”

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