Ski mountaineering authorised as further sport for Alpes 2030 Olympic Winter Games

This choice by the Session follows a advice from the IOC Executive Board, based mostly on a proposal submitted by the French Alps 2030 Organising Committee (OCOG) and reviewed by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Working Group (OPWG).

In a presentation of the advice to the IOC Session, OPWG Chair Karl Stoss stated: “We recognised the sport’s potential to add meaningful value to the programme, supported by its strong presence in Alpine regions, and its ability to enhance diversity, authenticity and appeal, while building on its growing Olympic momentum.”

He continued: “The emphasis for the French Alps [OCOG] is on the individual discipline and its events, which they consider to best represent the core of the sport and the character of the Alps.”

Ski mountaineering made its Olympic programme debut as an extra sport proposed by the Organising Committee on the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. In his report, Stoss highlighted the success of this Olympic debut, which Alpes 2030 can construct upon:

“The competition format delivered exciting head-to-head racing, even in challenging weather conditions – with strong engagement from spectators, a good atmosphere, a format that was easy to follow and observe, and clear competitive value.”

He continued: “The OCOG also highlighted the sport’s youth appeal, distinct identity, and strong relevance to the Alpes 2030 context, supported by its continued growth in recent years.”

He acknowledged that since ski mountaineering was added to the Olympic programme in 2021, the variety of taking part National Olympic Committees has elevated by over 45 per cent, and the variety of International Ski Mountaineering Federation registered athlete membership members has greater than doubled.  

The Working Group concluded that ski mountaineering would strengthen the general Games idea whereas reflecting the identification of the host area.

A delegation from the French Alps 2030 Organising Committee, comprising President Edgar Grospiron, just lately appointed Chief Executive Officer Vincent Roberti, Sports Director Mathilde Meurisse and French ski mountaineer Emily Harrop, an Olympic gold and silver medallist at Milano Cortina 2026, introduced the OCOG’s proposal to incorporate ski mountaineering as an extra sport on the IOC Session.

Grospiron defined the rationale behind the proposal:

“Ski mountaineering is rooted in the history of skiing, aligned with the identity of our Games, and focused on the future. In the Alps, ski mountaineering is not a guest – it is at home. It is part of the scenery. Part of our landscapes. Part of our culture.”

The intention for Alpes 2030 is to characteristic 5 ski mountaineering occasions throughout two disciplines, with a quota of 72 athletes. The proposed programme consists of girls’s and males’s particular person race occasions, alongside the ladies’s, males’s and combined relay dash occasions that featured at Milano Cortina 2026.

Finalisation of self-discipline and occasion programmes

The IOC EB has adjusted the timeline for finalising the Alpes 2030 self-discipline and occasion programme, in addition to athlete quotas, as a way to separate this course of from the Fit for the Future discussions on the 146th IOC Session. These choices are anticipated to be taken by the IOC EB within the weeks following the 146th IOC Session.

A programme evaluation is at the moment underway to evaluate disciplines, occasions and athlete quotas for the Alpes 2030 Olympic Winter Games. The evaluation is knowledgeable by knowledge from Milano Cortina 2026

This revised timeline supplies the IOC EB with further time to guage all obtainable knowledge earlier than taking ultimate choices on the Alpes 2030 programme.

Initial programme

The seven sports activities on the Alpes 2030 preliminary sports activities programme had been authorised by the 142nd IOC Session in Paris in July 2024, concurrently the host election. These sports activities are biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and snowboarding/snowboarding.

Further data on the Olympic programme might be discovered through this hyperlink: Sports programme and outcomes – FAQ (olympics.com).