A new direction for Snowboarding - the future is bright!

WSF And TTR Drive All Aspects Of Snowboarding Into Its Next Phase

The results of last months of workgroups and last days of joint sessions between WSF and TTR moves snowboarding forward in an unrivalled way. During their meetings, WSF and TTR agreed to collectively pave the way to create a new governing structure for International Snowboarding. The new organisation will serve Snowboarding on all levels, in a completely neutral way, smashing down walls that have built up over years adding to an already splintered landscape for competition snowboarding. The future will provide a transparent non-confrontational and unified sports system that will be extremely easy for the world to navigate.

With immediate effect, Nations Representatives, Event Organiser Representatives and a Rider Representative will develop necessary structural details under the leadership of TTR President Reto Lamm.

Working Groups and Consultants appointed during the GA contribute and oversee the developments, and reports will be provided to the public on a regular basis.

WCS GmbH, the joint company owned by WSF and TTR, will act as executional body for all commercial matters.

In the near future the final structure will be proposed that combines a global Snowboard Association and a company to serve the changed world of snowboarding.

The leverage on moving with the needs of the industry will have a huge impact on Snowboarding now and in the future.

“Adapting to the current needs of the riders, national associations and industry is our primary goal.” says Meinhard Trojer, President of WSF.

TTR President Reto Lamm concludes: “The way riders and organisers are included gives everyone a clear responsibility, and things will improve even more based on our new ideas.”

Developing Women Snowboarding As Core Competence

The WSF Education Committee held a workshop that gained valuable insights to progress female snowboarding. Results of the workshop will be analysed and published on the WSF website. “Leveraging existing synergies and looking at each host country individually will be key to our growth. The workshop was perceived with great interest, and challenges are ready to be turned into opportunities in Women Snowboarding.” says Miriam Deller who initiated WSF Pro Women within the Education Committee in 2015.

Market Development and Media Trends

Marco Sampaoli, WSF Vice President, provided an overview of the status of the European Winter Sports and Outdoor Market. Current trends imply that collaborations between resorts, tourism institutions, governments and sports federations become increasingly necessary. Looking at relevant data from snowboarding and related sports provided a vivid picture of the recent and coming developments. “More than ever, successful strategies will be based on a combination of deep knowledge of market trends and the ability to swiftly integrate them.’ comments Marco Sampaoli.

Election Results at WSF and TTR General Assemblies

The WSF Board 2016/17 consists of nine members:

President, Meinhard Trojer, Austria

Vice President, Marco Sampaoli, Italy

Vice President, Sacha Giger, Switzerland (newly appointed)

Treasurer, Shigeru Ishihara, Japan

Board Member, Robert Joncas, Canada

Board Member, Paul Krahulec, USA (newly elected)

Board Member, Miriam Deller, China (re-elected)

Board Member, Gian Luca Zanetti, Italy (re-elected)

TTR Representative, to be announced

Highly valued WSF Secretary Anna-Maria Strittmatter moves to a new position and remains a consultant for the World Snowboard Federation until a replacement will be announced.

TTR voted for a new structure for their Board:

President, Reto Lamm, Switzerland

Vice President Maria McNulty, USA

Executive Board Member, Eric Webster, USA

Executive Board Member, Rich Hegarty, Australia

Executive Board Member, Alexander Doerr, Germany

Board Member, Josef Harml, Austria

Board Member, Christian Scheidl, Austria

Board Member, Satu Jarvela, Finland

Board Member, Marc Bajona, Spain

Board Member, Martin Boettger, Germany

WSF Representative, Meinhard Trojer, Austria

About the World Snowboard Federation: The World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is the only international non-profit organisation exclusively dedicated to develop the sport of snowboarding on all levels including competitive snowboarding, education, adaptive snowboarding and developing activities for riders of any age. The Federation became operational end of November 2002 and currently represents a network of 50 National Snowboard Associations (NSAs) who work together at a worldwide level to promote the development of snowboarding. NSA members can find a source of inspiration and support from the WSF for the activities they are conducting within their nation and by working towards the same goal: progression of snowboarding from the ground up. The WSF collaborates with TTR Pro Snowboarding and coordinates events within the World Snowboard Tour. Through this collaboration WSF and the TTR create an environment that fosters the development of competitive snowboarding. In February 2012, the WSF and the TTR hosted the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway, an elite level event to be held every four years in alternating cities around the world.

About TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Tour: TTR Pro Snowboarding strives to promote competitive snowboarding in representing the interests of a professional network of events, athletes, national sport associations and industry partners. A Non-Profit organization, TTR Pro Snowboarding owns the World Snowboard Tour, the World Championships of Snowboarding in partnership with the WSF, and the global ranking system – the World Snowboarding Points Lists (WSPLs). Through TTR’s four-tiered tour structure, it encourages, develops and supports rider progression from rookies to world-class athletes, where the Elite level, WST Pro Series events are the ultimate pinnacle of snowboarding.

To keep up with WSF events & news go here, and see here what TTR/WST are up to.