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
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 ...
and
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
. It acts as an umbrella organization for 14 national bobsleigh and skeleton associations . It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States at the meeting of their first International Congress in Paris, France. In June 2015, it announced a name change from FIBT to IBSF. The federation's headquarters are in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Switzerland.
After the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, the federation suspended the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials. It also suspended the Bobsleigh Federation of Russia until its next Congress in July 2022.
History of bobsleigh
The world's first bobsleigh club was founded in
St. Moritz,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in 1897. By 1904, competitions were taking place on natural ice courses (
Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina). This growth led to the creation of the FIBT in 1923 with inclusion into the
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) the following year. At the
1924 Winter Olympics in
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
, the four-man event took place. In 1930, the first
FIBT World Championships
The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since 1930. Starting with 2002, championships of non-Winter Olympic ...
took place with the four-man event in
Caux-sur-Montreux, Switzerland with the first two-man event taking place in
Oberhof, Germany
Oberhof is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district of Thuringia, Germany. Located in the Thuringian Forest mountain range, it is a winter sports center and health resort. With 1,625 inhabitants (December 2016), it is visited by 144,000 touri ...
the following year. At the
1932 Winter Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...
in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...
, the two-man competition debuted. In 1935, the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV – International Sled Sport Federation in ), a forerunner to the
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 ...
(FIL –
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 ...
in ), was absorbed into the FIBT and a Section de Luge was created. The luge section would be abolished when the FIL was split off in 1957.
Because of the growing weight issue at the
1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...
, the first changes occurred when weight limits were introduced. Since then, configurations to the tracks and the bobsleigh itself would be regulated for both competition and safety reasons. Also, bobsleigh was not included in the
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...
in
Squaw Valley, California for cost reasons in track construction. The development of artificially
refrigerated
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
tracks in the late 1960s and early 1970s would greatly enhance speeds. World Cup competitions were first developed in the 1980s while women's competitions took place in the early 1990s. The 2-woman bobsleigh event had their first World Championships in
Winterberg
Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.
Geography
Winterberg is located in the middle of ...
, Germany, in 2000 and debuted at 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 ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
.
History of skeleton
Skeleton was also founded in Switzerland in 1884 as part of the
Cresta Run
The Cresta Run is a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track in eastern Switzerland. Located in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, the run is one of the few in the world dedicated entirely to skeleton. It was built in 1884 near the haml ...
. It remained a Swiss competition until 1906 when the first competitions outside Switzerland took place in
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 ...
. At the 1926 FIBT World Congress in Paris, it was approved that skeleton was an official
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 ...
sport with competition taking place at the
1928 Winter Olympics
The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...
in St. Moritz. 13 competitors from five nations took part. Twenty years later, skeleton reappeared on the Olympic program when the
1948 Winter Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...
returned to St. Moritz.
At the 1954 IOC meeting in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, skeleton was replaced by
luge
A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...
on the official Olympic program. This caused skeleton to fall into obscurity until the development of a "bobsleigh skeleton" which could be used on any bobsleigh track in 1970. The development of artificial tracks would also help the rebirth of skeleton as a sport.
The first European Championship was held in 1982 at
Königsee
Königsee is a town and a municipality in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated east of Ilmenau, and south of Erfurt. The present municipality was formed on 31 December 2012 by the merger of the former muni ...
,
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 ...
, and the first World Championships were also staged in 1982 at St. Moritz. By 1986, the FIBT started funding skeleton and introduced training schools worldwide to grow the sport. The following year, skeleton European Championships were introduced annually. In 1989, skeleton World Championships were introduced, although the women's championships were not formed until 2000 at
Igls
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a po ...
, Austria. Skeleton was reintroduced in the Winter Olympic program when the IOC allowed competition for the
2002 Games in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, US.
IBSF competitions
The IBSF governs competitions on all bobsleigh and skeleton competitions at the European Championships, World Championships, World Cup, and Winter Olympic level.
Presidents
The following persons have served as president of IBSF:
*
Count Renaud de la Frégeolière
Count Renaud de la Frégeolière (29 April 1886 – 16 April 1981) was a French author, bobsledder and veteran air force officer, who became the first president of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT – Internatio ...
(1886–1981) of France; served 1923–1960
*
Almicare Rotta (1911–1981) of Italy; served 1960–1980
*
Klaus Kotter
Klaus Kotter (27 May 1934 – 13 May 2010) was a West German-German tax consultant who served as the third president of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT – International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation), ...
(1934–2010) from West Germany/Germany; served 1980–1994
*
Robert H. Storey (born 1942) from Canada; served 1994–2010
*
Ivo Ferriani (born 1960) from Italy; served since 2010
Championships
*
IBSF World Championships IBSF World Championship may refer to:
*IBSF World Snooker Championship
*IBSF World Championships (bobsleigh and skeleton)
The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Sk ...
*
IBSF Para Sport World Championship IBSF may refer to:
*International Billiards and Snooker Federation
*International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de ...
*
IBSF European Championships
*
IBSF Junior World Championships
*
Bobsleigh World Cup
The Bobsleigh World Cup is an annual bobsleigh competitions. It has taken place since the 1984 Winter Olympics. Below is a lists of season champions. Each table shows the country and driver only.
Combined men's
Debuted: 1985.
Medal table
Two- ...
*
Skeleton World Cup The Skeleton World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internati ...
*
Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics
*
Skeleton at the Winter Olympics
Skeleton is a winter sport featured in the Winter Olympics where the competitor rides head-first and prone (lying face down) on a flat sled. It is normally run on an ice track that allows the sled to gain speed by gravity. It was first conteste ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Bobsleigh governing bodies
Skeleton governing bodies
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 ...
Sports organizations established in 1923
International sports bodies based in Switzerland