Skiing: Russian skiers can qualify for the World Cup with an email application

I ski the world cup is being skied this weekend in Davos, Switzerland. The Games will also feature two Russian skiers for the first time since the spring winter of 2022. The reason for the shutdown that has continued until now is Russia’s full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine.

Still on Friday Saveli Korostelovia and Darja Neprjajevaa not seen on the racetracks, because the program includes men’s and women’s pair sprints. Russians are not allowed to participate in team competitions.

Korosteljov and Neprjaeva get to the individual competitions because they have met the criteria set by the international skiing federation Fisi for the status of a neutral athlete.

There are three main criteria. The athlete must not have voluntary contact with the Russian or Belarusian army or another national security agency, the home country must not appear in any way in the athlete’s communications, and the athlete must not support Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

But who and how decides which athletes meet the criteria? How do you apply for neutral athlete status and how do you get it?

The answers to these questions can be found on Fisi’s website.

Fis communicates the issue of neutral athletes quite openly. Among other things, it maintains a real-time listing of athletes who have been granted this status on its website.

Fis has also published documentwhich lists the most common questions on the topic and answers them. The first thing in the documentary is that the neutral athlete status is applied for by sending an email to Fis.

Fis has established its own Neutral Athletes Eligibility Evaluation Panel (Ainerp) for the evaluation of athletes’ neutrality. The IOC already established its own panel of the same name earlier.

The email sent by the athlete initiates a process that includes the following steps:

• Athletes approached by e-mail will receive an application form to fill out. They will also be sent the official documents required for the neutral athlete status.

• When Fis has received the completed application form, it ensures that the applicant meets the prerequisites. If this is the case, Fis will transfer the application to the eligibility review process. This process is handled by an external operator.

• Next, this external actor reports his solution to Fisin Ainerp.

According to Fis, the process takes a few days in an ideal situation. The upper limit is 30 days.

If anything the state denies the entry of a Russian or Belarusian athlete, Fis can’t do anything about it. Visa issuance and entry policy are decided by the country organizing each competition.

Fis says that it does not take responsibility for rejected visa applications, if there are any.

At least the Davos weekend didn’t cause such problems, but the visas to Switzerland were arranged. There is still no definite information on how Finland will react to the matter when the Salpausselkä Games come in the spring and winter.

In addition to the pair sprint, the Davos program includes sprints on Saturday and 10 km freestyle skiing competitions on Sunday.