FIL — International Luge Federation

What is the FIL?

The FIL is the international federation for luge, one of the three sliding sports; bobsleigh and skeleton are governed separately by the IBSF. Article 1.1 of the FIL Statutes, in the edition updated after the 2026 Congress, gives its names as “Fédération Internationale de Luge”, “International Luge Federation” and “Internationaler Rodelverband”, with the abbreviation “FIL in all languages”, and constitutes it as an association under Austrian law.^[1] Its about page states that the FIL “is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world federation of the sport of luge”.^[2]

Article 1.2 sets its objects, among them to “develop the sport of luge worldwide, to supervise it, to promote it, and to direct it” and to “represent the sport of luge in the Olympic Movement”.^[1] Article 1.4.1 names the disciplines it recognises as “artificial track luge and Alpine luge including popular sport”.^[1] Its rules pages are organised the same way, under Luge Artificial Track and Alpine Luge.^[8]

Olympedia, an independent Olympic-history database, lists three presidents: Bert Isatitsch of Austria (1957–1994), Josef Fendt of Germany (1994–2020) and Einars Fogelis of Latvia (since 2020).^[4]

What does the FIL govern?

The FIL writes the sport’s rules in the International Luge Regulations (IRO). The 2026 edition for artificial track is described by the federation as including “the regulations for an orderly staging of all competitions of the sport of luge on artificial tracks including championships and international competitions of the FIL”, and as valid also for the luge competitions at the Olympic Winter Games; a separate 2026 edition covers Alpine Luge, with women’s and men’s singles, doubles and team competitions and formats from the classic World Cup to parallel and eliminator races.^[9][10] The federation also publishes guidelines on safety helmets, luge shoes and neck protection, and requirements for an athlete e-licence.^[9] See equipment regulation.

On anti-doping, Section 9.1 of the statutes makes the FIL Anti-Doping Code binding.^[1] The World Anti-Doping Agency lists the “International Luge Federation (FIL)” among its Code signatories.^[6] See anti-doping.

Disputes run through the federation’s own tribunal first: under the FIL’s Law and Procedure Regulations (4.1.5), “An appeal against the final decisions of the FIL Court of Arbitration can be made at the Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS)”, the French name of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, under the Code of Sports-related Arbitration.^[1] See Court of Arbitration for Sport.

When was the FIL founded and where is it based?

The FIL’s history page dates its founding to 25 January 1957 in Davos, Switzerland, with 13 nations represented at the inaugural congress and Bert Isatitsch of Rottenmann, Austria, as first president.^[3] The statutes state that the FIL “was founded in Davos Switzerland on January 25, 1957.”^[1] Olympedia independently records the FIL as “founded on 25 January 1957, in Davos, Switzerland, with delegates from 13 nations”.^[4]

The history also records earlier bodies: an “Internationaler Schlittensportverband” founded by Austria, Germany and Switzerland in Dresden in 1913, reorganised in 1927, and integrated in 1935 as a “Section de Luge” within the International Bobsleigh Federation (FIBT), itself founded in Paris in 1923.^[3] The FIL as an independent federation dates from 1957.

Olympedia records that in January 2025 the federation’s French name changed from Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course to Fédération Internationale de Luge, while the acronym FIL and the English name stayed the same.^[5][4]

Seat and office are in different countries. The statutes place the headquarters in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria; the FIL’s about page gives the registered office as Oberst-Lepperdinger-Strasse 21, 5071 Wals-Siezenheim, Austria, with the association registry number ZVR 801319517, and the office as Nonntal 10, 83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany.^[1][2] Olympedia gives Berchtesgaden as the head office.^[4]

How is the FIL recognised?

IOC. Article 1.4.2 of the statutes states: “The FIL is the sole luge federation acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with all of its disciplines”, and Article 1.4.3 that “The FIL acknowledges the Olympic Charter which is an integral part of the FIL Statutes”.^[1] The FIL’s history records that at the IOC’s 1957 congress in Sofia, Bulgaria, “the FIL was admitted to the IOC”.^[3] That is the federation’s own account; an international federation is recognised by the IOC rather than admitted as a member of it, and no independent source retrieved gives the 1957 recognition.

The sport’s Olympic status is a separate date. Olympedia records that “At the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Athinai in 1954, luge tobogganing was recognized as an official Olympic sport, replacing skeleton”, that in 1959 luge was approved for the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and that a team mixed relay was added at Sochi 2014.^[5] The FIL’s history records that lugers from 12 nations competed at Innsbruck 1964.^[3] Founding (1957), the FIL’s stated IOC admission (1957), the sport’s recognition (1954) and its Olympic debut (1964) are four different facts.

WADA. WADA lists the “International Luge Federation (FIL)” as a Code signatory in its category “WOF members (Winter Olympic Federations)”.^[6]

What does the FIL organise?

World championships in luge pre-date the FIL. Its history records the “1st World Championships on Artificial Track in Oslo/ Norway at the Holmenkollen with lugers from 8 nations” in 1955, when luge was still a section of the FIBT.^[3] See FIL World Luge Championships.

The most recent completed senior artificial-track edition was the 53rd FIL World Championships in Whistler, Canada, from 6 to 8 February 2025; a further FIL World Championships, listed under Alpine Luge in the FIL’s calendar, was held in Kühtai, Austria, from 17 to 19 January 2025.^[11] The FIL’s results list for the 2025–26 season shows the 57th FIL European Championships in Oberhof and the Olympic luge events in Cortina from 7 to 12 February 2026.^[14] At the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Olympedia records, “the open doubles was split into men’s and women’s doubles for the first time in Olympic history”; the FIL dates the first Olympic women’s doubles race to 11 February 2026 at Cortina’s Pista Eugenio Monti.^[5][13]

The next editions are scheduled for Innsbruck/Igls, Austria: the FIL’s 2026–27 calendar lists the 54th FIL World Championships there from 5 to 7 February 2027, and the 26th FIL Alpine Luge World Championships also at Innsbruck/Igls, with the 42nd FIL Junior World Championships in Winterberg, Germany, from 12 to 14 February 2027.^[12] The Alpine Luge regulations provide for world championships in odd-numbered years and junior world championships in even-numbered years, as well as World Cups, continental championships, junior World Cups and FIL Youth Games.^[10]

Who are its members?

The FIL’s about page gives its membership as 50 national federations; Olympedia records that “As of January 2026, 52 federations are currently members of the FIL”.^[2][4] The two figures come from sources of different dates. The member federations page lists them alphabetically by country with each federation’s president and contact details, without continental groupings.^[7]

The statutes set the membership categories: ordinary members, which are national federations; provisional members; and extraordinary members, including supporting and honorary members. Article 2.1.3 provides that a nation may be represented by only a single national federation.^[1]

The members meet in Congress. The federation reported that its Executive Board would meet in Salzburg on 22 and 23 September 2026, with preparation for an Extraordinary Congress on 12 November 2026 and the schedule for a 2027 Congress, to be held in hybrid format, on its agenda.^[15] The federation’s founding congress of 1957 brought together delegates from 13 nations.^[3] See international federations.