The 15th International Skyrunning Federation General Assembly was held on September 9th, 2022, concomitant with the 2022 Skyrunning World Championships in the ancient town of Domodossola in Piedmont, Italy.
For the first time post pandemic, the Assembly was held in person, after last year’s zoom meeting. The ISF counts a total of 48 nations, between full members, associate members and aspirant members. Twenty-four voting members, either direct or by proxy, were represented out of the Federation’s 42 voting members.
The assembly was chaired by Silvio Calvi, VP, International Relations, Alexander Keim, Secretary General and Marino Giacometti, President and assisted by Maurizio Regis from the Head Office.
The President’s Report outlined the current situation which included an improved budget with respect to the last two years, subject to cancelled events due to the pandemic. The Strategic Plan launched in 2021 by General Secretary, Alexander Keim, while not complete, has delivered new Statutes, approved later in the Assembly, opening the door to activate the Commissions and Courses for Referees and Coaches. The Strategic Plan included a proposal for an ISF License Card and Ranking system which is currently in progress and will be launched before the end of the year on a global scale.
Skyrunning competitions in 2022 included the introduction of the first SkySnow World Championships in February in Sierra Nevada, Spain, with the participation of 15 countries and, in July, the Skyrunning Youth World Championships in Andorra where 26 countries took part demonstrating strong passion and performances.
The seventh Skyrunning World Championships were held immediately after the assembly with 35 countries participating in three disciplines. The 2022 season will finish with the second VK OPEN Championships in Limone sul Garda, Italy, on October 15.
Looking towards 2023 and beyond, Keim announced the Skyrunner® World Series has a new management which will focus on expanding the circuit outside Europe with 15-20 races.
The 2023 SkySnow World Championships will take place in Italy in one of two proposed locations and the Youth World Championships will return to Gran Sasso in Italy, while the bid for 2024 is open. New parameters for the Championships were approved for the A category (15-17 years).
The full 2023 race calendar will be announced soon after the Management Committee’s decisions for Continental and 2024 World Championships bids are finalised.
The ongoing Media Report for 2022 was presented by Lauri van Houten, VP, Communication, and the GAISF application with a view to Olympic recognition was updated by guest Nils Glatthard, UIAA director, after a UIAA meeting with the Olympic Committee on September 5. The ISF is a unit member of UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation).
End of term elections took place for President, Marino Giacometti and Vice President, Lauri van Houten, who were both voted another four-year term.
Giacometti thanked the Assembly for his re-election and stated that he wishes to complete the ISF renovation through Keim’s Strategic Plan and asked for the full collaboration of all members.
The GA approved the last motion concerning the new definition of “skyrunning” proposed by the Italian Skyrunning Federation (FISky), with a clear technical definition to underline the skyrunning identity.
The vote on all the articles of the Statutes, proposed by Pavlos Georgiades, Member for Cyprus, was accepted and the GA approved the new Statutes with a majority.
The Assembly was closed, and all participants celebrated with the first of the weekend’s three disciplines, the VERTICAL in the San Domenico ski resort. Overall, 35 countries took part in the events and ten countries – a new record – took medals, headed by Italy, Spain and Japan.
