SNOWSPORTS
The Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI) is the most active and well known of Irish winter sports in high performance due to their role and impact on Olympic Games participation.
They are affiliated to the International Governing Bodies of the sports, the Federation Internationale De Ski (FIS) as well as the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF).
They are primarily responsible for the growth and development of cross country and biathlon, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding disciplines and play the key role in supporting Irish athletes to qualify and participate in the Winter Olympic Games.
The Winter Olympics are 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 held in Chamonix, France.
Irish athletes predominately compete in alpine, cross country, freestyle skiing and snowboard. The qualifying standard for the Winter Olympic Games is set by the International Olympic Committee, while selection of athletes is the prerogative of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
Snowsports Athletes have represented Ireland and competed at the last five Winter Olympic Games, in Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018. Ireland also sends teams to the Winter Youth Olympic Games and European Youth Olympic Festival.
National Federation: Snowsports Association of Ireland
International Federation: International Ski Federation