Bert Isatitsch (September 14, 1911 – February 8, 1994) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n educator who later became the first president of the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation ( French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in ...

(FIL), serving from its

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

establishment until his 1994 death.

Education career

Born in

Fürstenfeld Fürstenfeld (; hu, Fölöstöm) is a town and a district in southeastern Austria. It is situated within the Austrian federal state of Styria, near the border of Hungary. According to the 2005 census, Fürstenfeld has 5,986 citizens within its c ...

, Isatitsch became a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

teacher in

Rottenmann Rottenmann (Central Bavarian: ''Rottnmau'') is a town in Styria in Austria, near the Rottenmanner Tauern. Rottenmann was first referred to in a document in 927. It received its town charter in 1279 from King Rudolf von Habsburg. Name The name ' ...

."Luge and Olympism". ''Olympic Review''. December 1983. p. 855. He later became chair for all special education schools in his native

."Obituary: Bert Isatitsch." ''Olympic Review''. May 1994. p. 190. Isatitsch would use his skills as an educator to bring leadership into the growth of luge as an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC)-recognized sport.

Luge career

A lover of

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

, Isatitsch defined the premises of luge when it was part of the "Section de Luge" within the

Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing'' (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as a ...

(

FIBT The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing'' (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as a ...

- International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation) after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Istatisch would serve as section president in the FIBT from 1948 to 1956. By 1952, he became chair of the Austrian Luge Federation, a position he also held until his 1994 death. Isatitsch's leadership would lead to the FIL (

Federation Internationale de Luge de Course The International Luge Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in 19 ...

) being created in 1957 following its split from the FIBT in 1957. Luge replaced skeleton as a

Winter Olympic The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hel ...

discipline in 1954 (Skeleton would return for the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

) and be approved for inclusion at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...

in Innsbruck.FIL-Luge.org history.
- accessed 7 December 2009. Luge was initially approved for inclusion at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, but was postponed until 1964 because of the American Luge Federation's lack of Olympic experience as well as the 1960 Games organizers' unwillingness to construct a

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

track.International Olympic Committee 1960 Winter Olympics Did You Know facts.
- accessed 7 December 2009. Natural track luge world championships would be added in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. He served until his sudden death on February 8, 1994.

Josef Fendt Josef Fendt (born 6 October 1947 in Berchtesgaden) is the immediate past president of the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL), having served from 1994 to 2020. He was a West German-German luger who competed from the mi ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

succeeded Istatisch as president later that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isatitsch, Bert 1911 births 1994 deaths Austrian educators Austrian sportspeople People from Fürstenfeld District Sportspeople from Styria