To the INTERNATIONAL SKI FEDERATION - Members of the Committee Blochstrasse 2 3653 Oberhofen/Thunersee For information to: - National Ski Associations - Gian Franco Kasper Tel +41 33 244 61 61 - Sarah Lewis Fax +41 33 244 61 71 - Member Athletes Commission - Inggard Lereim, NOR (Medical Committee)

Oberhofen, 05.06.2017

Minutes of the 79th Nordic Combined Committee Meeting Westin Resort, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16th May 2018

Dear Ski Friends,

We have pleasure sending you today the Minutes of the 79th Meeting of the Nordic Combined Committee held in Costa Navarino (GRE), 16th May 2018.

You are kindly asked to send any remarks to the FIS Nordic Office in Oberhofen until 30th June 2018.

We would also like to take the opportunity of informing you that the minutes are available on the Member Services section of the FIS Website: www.fis-ski.com.

Thank you very much for your valuable contribution. We wish you a nice and beautiful summer.

INTERNATIONAL SKI FEDERATION

Lasse Ottesen Race Director Nordic Combined

Enclosure: ment.

INTERNATIONAL SKI FEDERATION Nordic Combined Committee

Minutes Nordic Combined Committee, Westin Resort, Costa Navarino (GRE) Wednesday, 16.05.2018, 08.00 – 12.00 hrs, Conf. Room “History”

AGENDA 1. Opening of the meeting

2. Members present

3. Approval of the agenda

4. Approval of the minutes of the Nordic Combined Committee meeting in Zurich (SUI), 06.10.2017

5. Report from the past season - Sub-Committee for Officials, Rules and Control - Sub-Committee for NC/SJ Youth & Children’s Questions - FIS World Cup presented by Viessmann - Continental Cup - Youth-Cup - Equipment control - Other important reports

6. New proposals “Funnel System” discussion and decisions - Rules - Calendars 7. Proposals to the FIS Council

8. FIS Congress Proposal - GER : Inclusion of Nordic Combined competition for ladies on the programme of the FIS World Ski Championships as from 2021 (see enclosure)

9. TD Nominations

10. Other items arising

Presentations of WSC Candidates: - Planica (SLO - Trondheim (NOR)

11. Next meeting - FIS Autumn meetings, Zürich (SUI), 25.-29.09.2018 - FIS Calendar Conference, Cavtat-Dubrovnik (CRO), 29.05.-01.06.2019

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 2 -

Tuesday, 15th May 2018, 14:00 – ca. 15.20 hrs, Conf. Room “Astronomy” Presentations for Cross-Country, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Committee Members

Future Organisers (to be presented by NSA or LOC):

- 14:00 hrs: Riedel, Inrun tracks - 14:10 hrs: Alpina, plastic mats for Jumping hills - 14:30 hrs: WSC 2019, Seefeld, AUT - 14:40 hrs: JWSC 2019, - 15:00 hrs: WSC 2021, , GER - 15.10 hrs: OWG 2022 Beijing, CHN

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 3 -

All proposals and decisions of the Nordic Combined Committee are subject to the approval of the FIS Council in Portoroz (SLO), 28.05.2017

1. Opening of the Meeting The Chairman, Horst Hüttel (GER) welcomed all members and guests to the 79th meeting of the Nordic Combined Committee. The Race Director, Lasse Ottesen, also briefly welcomed the Committee members.

2. Members Present Remarks Substitutes HUETTEL Horst GER Chairman ABE Masashi JPN present BORGEN Paul Einar NOR present BUKOVNIK Janez SLO present CHASHCHYN Leonid BLR present CHUDY Peter SVK excused Radoslav Cagala DEMONG, Bill USA present DEVALL Jerker SWE absent DUBROVSKI Dimitri RUS present HEILIG John CAN present KOYUNCU Özkan TUR absent KEMPF Hippolyt SUI excused Berni Schödler LAZZARONI Eric FRA present MICHALCZUK Jakub POL present PELKONEN Jyri FIN present PERTILE Sandro ITA excused SLAVIK Tomas CZE present TAHK Suzanne EST present VERVEYKIN Andrey KAZ present YOU Juhee KOR absent CSAR Günter AUT for S.C. NC for Rules & Control, present LAHEURTE Maxime FRA for Athletes’ Commission, excused

HAIM Harald AUT Ex officio for Youth & Children’s questions ULVANG Vegard NOR Ex officio for Cross-Country, not present KOJONKOSKI, Mika FIN Ex officio for Ski Jumping, not present

OTTESEN Lasse FIS Race Director GRAVE Jan Rune FIS Assistant Race Director KRAUS Guntram FIS Coordinator / Equipment Control NEUMAYER Michael FIS COC Coordinator TEGETHOF Silke FIS Media Coordinator

Guests William Trachsel (FRA), Erik Andresen (Trondheim), Jesse Kiuru (Lahti), Tommi Lanki, Lorenzo Pala (Infront), Franz Rappenglück (GER), Uwe Mühln (GER), Peter Riedel, Siegried Riedel, (AUT), Angela Wiartalla (Oberstdorf), Hans Schmid (Oberstdorf), Lucien Leonhardt (Swiss Timing), Michael Simmank (Swiss Timing), Rex Bell (USA), Andreas Kunoth (Klingenthal), Alexander Ziron (Klingen- thal), Marcus Stark (Klingenthal), Yvonne Kirnbauer (Seefeld), Cristina Bellante (Val di Fiemme), Ueli Forrer (SUI), Alan Johnson (USA), Olaf Kühlenborg (FISMAG).

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 4 -

3. Approval of the Agenda The agenda was sent out on 24.04.2018. The Committee approved the agenda.

4. Approval of the Minutes of the last Meeting in Zürich (SUI), 06.10.2017 The minutes were sent out on 19.10.2017. The Committee unanimously approved the minutes.

5. Reports of the Season 2017/18 All reports, statistics and Committee documents are available on the FIS Cloud: https://cloud.fis-ski.com/index.php/s/entIYheqljyJLv2

5.1. Sub-Committee for Officials, Rules and Control The Chairman, Günter Csar, gave a short summary of the last meeting held in Zürich on the 13.04.2018. Proposals were received from Finland, , and FIS and discussed.

The next TD Seminar will take place in June 2019 in Wisla (POL). Günter Csar thanked Committee Member Jakub Michalczuk and for their support.

Important key aspects touched upon in the Chairman’s report were:  TD/TDA performances  Personal responsibility of TD/TDA in terms of accidents when ICR are not followed  E-learning program for TDs, now available in Ski Jumping, will also become available for Nordic Combined

Presentation Swiss Timing – Motion Sensor System Swiss Timing’s Lucien Leonhardt gave a short presentation on the newly de- veloped Motion Sensor System that provides real-time flight data during the ski jumping part, for example about the flight curve, landing speed and more.

The system will provide additional information to the spectators on the TV screen and even more data can be provided to the teams for analysis (flight trajectory, speed at inrun/landing, angle of attack, opening angle, roll angel, at all times combinable with the current wind situation). The data can also be used for jumping hill construction as it gives important insights about flight trajectory, landing points and more.

The devices weigh 14 grams on each ski and a mounting device has been developed with together with Slatnar but will also be available for other binding manufacturers. Swiss Timing will assist with the mounting of the device before an event day and take it off after the competition to recharge the batteries.

All nations will have access to all information in a global database or obtain the information in a pdf printout or excel file.

Leonhardt stressed that the FIS rules would need to be adapted that wearing of the sensors is mandatory if provided, so that this system is actually used by the teams. It was commented that the universal sharing of the information should also be fixed in the rules to specify this point.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 5 -

Another question that arose was that of the cost of the system. For the World Cup, it will have to be agreed on between FIS and Swiss Timing, for training purposes, the negotiations have to take place between the respective ski federations and Swiss Timing.

→ The Committee agreed to use the Summer Grand Prix as a test phase and FIS/Swiss Timing will report back at the meeting in Zürich in fall.

5.2. Sub-Committee for NC/SJ Youth & Children’s questions Lasse Ottesen started off the report with the remark that this committee is important for Nordic Combined and offers great expertise to draw on to develop the ladies in the right way. Sepp Buchner is the Nordic Combined representative within the Youth & Children’s questions Committee.

Ottesen reported that the discipline of Nordic Combined was praised for its Youth Cup with motivated organisers and a good system in summer and winter time. He explicitly thanked the national ski federations for the support and reminded everyone that the FIS Youth Cup has been and remains the main tool to develop the ladies.

Committee Chairman Harald Haim agreed with the remark that a matching system in ski jumping remains very hard to organise. He continued with the topic of the hill size for the Ladies’ Nordic Combined premiere at the Junior World Ski Championships. The Committee had a vote on this but decided to let the ladies start from the normal hill as all other disciplines/competition at the event. He continued that there was a small concern over the very tight program at the Junior World Ski Championships being filled up with another event.

Haim continued with an evaluation of the JWSC test event in Kandersteg (SUI) in the past winter. It was a good competition and showcased the future possibilities of the ladies’ development. He underlined the importance to have the right speed of development and appropriate hill sizes as they are still quite young at the moment. He finished his report with congratulations for development of ladies and youth in Nordic Combined, which is going in the right direction.

5.3. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup presented by Viessmann Ottesen started his World Cup report by highlighting how important it is to take care of Swiss Timing in the appropriate way. The technical problem in Lahti showed the importance of a working data service and the organisers and FIS need to make sure they are well taken care of so that they ensure everything works in the best possible way in turn.

The Nordic Combined TRIPLE This year, the TRIPLE was held as a WSC test event together with Cross- Country Skiing. While the new winner Akito Watabe, the new stadium and new course were all positive factors, the “TRIPLE” feeling was not the same as in last years. The Race Director summed up that joint events are a positive thing in general but for the season highlights it’s difficult to share the venue. The goal for the future would be to be alone for the TRIPLE and keep building the discipline’s highlight.

There were no new proposals regarding the TRIPLE and there haven’t been any changes since the start, so the system seems to be working. Of course,

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 6 -

the Sunday event sports some bigger differences between the athletes but compared to other highlights this is nothing unusual. The or Tour de Ski are also not tight on the last day anymore with 10 athletes fighting for the victory.

OWG 2018, PyeongChang (KOR) Lasse Ottesen reported on very well organised Olympics and thanked John Heilig, who spent a lot of time in Korea to get the organisers ready, especially on the small details, before “switching hats” and service as NC TD.

The Olympics are a long period and the important parts have to be ready, like for example the OC Office and communication lines. This is especially hard for OCs that usually do not host high-level Nordic events. He admitted that the atmosphere was sometimes missing in parts of the events and recommended that IOC should look into their logistics, especially how to bring more spectators around the course. While the windy and cold first week brought its own set of challenges but the wind net worked perfectly. The Race Director commended the very strong performance by but also , who stepped their performances up considerably, coming out of a not perfect season until this point.

INFRONT Sports & Media TV numbers Infront’s Lorenzo Pala reported on the TV figures of the past winter. As in the past, the Data was directly taken from broadcasters, except for the events in Austria which are not managed by Infront.

FISMAG TV numbers (Nielsen report) The Race Director reported on further TV and social media figures from the 2018 Nielsen report.

5.4. FIS Continental Cup & JWSC Lasse Ottesen reported on the past season on behalf of COC Coordinator Toni Guggemoos. Thanked Toni, who has retired and will be replaced by Michael Neumayer. Bill Demong reported on Livestream from COC. Very positive numbers, is high investment and takes some time to develop and for viewers to take to but can hopefully be turned into a source of revenue in the future.

5.5. Youth Cup On behalf of FIS Youth Cup Coordinator Uwe Mühln, Lasse Ottesen reported on a total of 187 participants from 15 nations in the FIS Youth Cup season 2017/18. Generally, stable fields of participants can be seen. The weekends in Oberstdorf as well as Trondheim are very emotional events for the children when they receive the prizes out of the hands of the top stars of the discipline. The current main group of Youth Cup athletes is born in the years 2002- 2004. For the older boys, the attention slowly shifts to OPA and COC and they start in the Youth Cup less and less. Due to the small hill size, the category boys II has not been offered in Vuokatti and this will also be a measure for Oberstdorf, as they have the luxury problem of a starting field of 120 young athletes. In order to still guarantee a high-quality event with a social program, this step was seen as necessary.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 7 -

5.6. Equipment Control FIS Coordinator Guntram Kraus reported on his activities in 2017/18. The following new rules were in place: no more plumbing, the belt round hip had a tolerance of 0 cm and there was a no touch rule in front of the equip- ment control box on top of the jumping hill. All athletes followed the rule well and there was no disqualification due to this rule.

Due to the new no plumbing rule, the teams were given the opportunity to test the air permeability of their suits by themselves. As a consequence, about 500 clicks more on the FIS machine testing this could be registered. We will continue with this system next season.

In total, there were 53 disqualifications, 27 in the COC/JWSC and 10 in the Alpencup. This brings the total to 27 disqualifications less than last year. For major events, a second EQ controller is important. For the next Championships and Olympics, it should be coordinated that all FIS Equip- ment Control Staff is present for all SJ and NC events, so that a high control standard for all events can be upheld.

A new proposal presented to the Equipment Committee was to measure the BMI without shoes. The tendency is to be lighter and on the BMI limit, or use shorter skis, in order to be allowed to be lighter. Taking the shoes away in the measurement would mean that the athletes have to be about 1.5 kg heavier in the future.

5.7. Other Important Reports  Media Services Media Coordinator Silke Tegethof reported on her activities and figures from the 2017/18 season.  Ski Jumping Analysis Race Director Assistant Jan Rune Grave reported on the development of ski jumping performance in the last Olympic period and the effects of the rule changes since then.

6. New Proposals “Funnel System” - Discussion and Decisions

6.1. ICR 515.12 Structure of finish area In the funnel system, all nations replied with yes, with the remark of Austria to phrase the rule “50 to 100 m”. Funnel system: 11 federations were in favour. → The Committee was unanimously in favour.

6.2. World Cup Rules Add Mass Start 10 km to Ruka/Lillehammer Tour 2018 1. Day 1: 1 jump, 5 km Individual Gundersen (all in) 2. Day 2: Mass Start 10 km, 1 jump (all in CC, Top 50 start SJ) 3. Day 3: 1 jump, 10 km Individual Gundersen (Qualification, Top 50 start)

In the funnel system, all nations replied with yes. → The Committee was unanimously in favour.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 8 -

The following remarks were made: - It will be important to take very good care that the commentators understand the format and that the TV product will be good, so that the spectators understand what is going on. - The green laser leader line on the hill has to be used. - To make the product more understandable, the old system with 120 points for the winner of the race and point deductions for the rest of the field will be abandoned. Like in the TRIPLE, the race winner will receive zero points, the rest of the field minus points - The Committee consciously kept the three events separate from each other and only the total number of World Cup points count in the end to keep the distinction to the TRIPLE. - In case of a false start, there should not be a restart and the athlete to go to the back of the field but like in a Gundersen event, the team will be informed and can decide if they let the athlete ski and protest the decision in the end or if they take the athlete out of the race. - In the tight program planned for Lillehammer, it will be important to use the same track as Cross-Country so that cameras don’t need to be changed.

6.3. Continental Cup Rules Revised Team Event - Average points from jumping event (total points divided by 4) - 15 points per minute - Reduce length from 20 to 15 km - CC distances per athlete: 5 km, 2.5 km, 2.5 km, 5 km

Two tests will be held in the upcoming COC season, should be on large and normal hills to see how it works in practise.

In the funnel system, all nations replied with yes with the exception of two countries. → The Committee was unanimously in favour.

6.4. Specifications for Competition Equipment The following changes were made by the Equipment Committee.

Body weight control The Nordic Combined Executive Board supports the proposal for Competition Equipment Ski Jumping and proposes to use these rules also for Nordic Combined, beginning from SGP 2018. → The Committee was unanimously in favour to follow this rule change.

The guidelines are available on the FIS Website

6.5. Junior World Championships 2019 Add Nordic Combined Ladies to the program with one individual event (1 jump, 5 km).

In the funnel system, all nations replied with yes. → The Committee was unanimously in favour.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 9 -

Remarks: - If possible, the timetable should allow ladies to take part in the Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping individual event. - To have the SJ first and then NC would be better from a practical point of view.

6.6. Calendars 2018-2019 The calendars are available on the FIS Website: http://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/document-library/nordic-combined/#deeplink=calendar

 Summer Grand Prix As the first ladies’ event is on schedule in Oberwiesenthal in August, rules for the ladies’ Summer Grand Prix will have to be drafted. Mainly, the rules will mirror the men’s rules. Remarks: The SGP quotas are based on the nations’ rakings for now, how about JWSC and ladies’ quotas? The Committee was of the opinion to keep the SGP open for ladies and just limit the age (same as in COC). A quota proposal should be made to the Sub-Committee for Officials, Rules and Control next spring to adhere to the correct process.

 World Cup The Austrian Ski Federation requested two Individual Gundersen events in Ramsau instead of a Team Sprint.

 Continental Cup Ladies: There has been a discussion about the appropriate hill sizes. There was an event on the HS 111 in Rena also last year, which is a very nice hill with a good profile. It’s on the limit in terms of its size but the Committee felt it’s within the responsibility of the National Ski Associations to send only athletes who can master the offered hill size. Harald Haim added that if these hills are prepared well, it’s possible to jump them with the ladies. If athletes are not able to handle the offered hill size, they need to go to other competition series. There are no other options in terms of organisers. The jury work will be important but is sure that girls train on these hills anyway. They also need a chance to prepare for JWSC, which is held on a normal hill anyway Bill Demong added that for the US organisers it will be very important to know how many nations think they will be able to send girls to the USA. Men: A bigger discussion arose around the exception that was made for Steamboat Springs (USA) last year with their HS 75 hill, which is actually too small for the Continental Cup. Bill Demong presented the US case that two oversees weeks (or even a more compact program with two midweek events and one weekend) in a row are a cost-effective way to come to the USA.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 10 -

He stressed that it was an important step to get the OC in Steamboat Spring back and that last year’s events were still very exciting, with altitude and track difficulty still splitting the field. Even in terms of time differences after the jumping part, differentiations were there. To support the organiser in the future and further the cause of the normal hill reconstruction, he asked the Committee to think strategically and allow one more exception for next winter. The Committee members considered different factors like the sports value and development of athletes in COC, strategically planning for the future and for the normal hill reconstruction in Steamboat Springs and the option to send the ladies along with the men (for who a smaller hill would even be advantageous for now). A vote took place if the HS 75 in Steamboat Springs can be used for one more year as an exception. 11 members voted for yes, 4 for no. The Committee members were clear that there should not be any more events with this hill size come into the COC for the men. The found compromise is valid for one or more two years in this special case to foster the development in the USA but not any longer. Furthermore, the USA was given time until mid-June to come back with more information on the following topics: - Shortening of the competition program to mid-week and weekend - Option for transport from Park City to Steamboat Springs

 FIS Youth Cup Harrachov will be moved to the 5th and 6th January to avoid a clash with Alpencup and will feature one Mass Start.

6.7. Calendar 2019/20 Will be presented in the fall meetings.

7. Proposals to the FIS Council The proposals regarding the Mass Start and the rules for the Ladies’ Summer Grand Prix will go to the FIS Council for approval.

8. Proposals to the FIS Congress GER: Inclusion of Nordic Combined competition for ladies on the programme of the FIS World Ski Championships as from 2021. → The Committee was unanimously in favour.

9. TD Nominations  JWSC 2019 Lahti FIN) TD: Andrea Roggia (ITA) TDA: Faustyna Malik (POL)  YOG Lausanne 2020 Proposals will be done at the FIS Autum Meetings.

10. Other Items Arising The WSC 2023 candidates Planica (SLO) and Trondheim (NOR) presented their bids to the Committee.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 11 -

11. Next Meeting The next meetings will be held during the: - FIS Autumn meetings, Zürich (SUI), 25.-29.09.2018 - FIS Calendar Conference, Cavtat-Dubrovnik (CRO), 29.05.-01.06.2019

12. Closing of the Meeting The Chairman thanked everybody for the past year and the good cooperation. He closed the meeting at 12:30 hrs.

Minutes 79th Meeting Nordic Combined Committee, Costa Navarino (GRE), 16.05.2018 - 12 -