# FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are the biennial world championship for alpine skiing, organized by the [International Ski and Snowboard Federation](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-ski-and-snowboard-federation) (FIS) and contested in the disciplines of downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, the combined, and team events.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First edition | February 19–23, 1931, Mürren, Switzerland; David Zogg of Arosa won the first World Championship gold medal in slalom[1](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/fis-alpine-world-ski-championships) |
| World title status | The 1931 event was retroactively declared a World Championships only in 1937[2](https://www.skiinghistory.org/article/fis-100-looks-future) |
| Women's category | Included in a FIS World Ski Championships for the first time in 1931 in Mürren[3](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/dee1f8f36c/bulletin_2024_final.pdf) |
| Most recent edition | Saalbach, Austria, February 4–16, 2025[4](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/342196ac02/2023_10_25_fis_councilmeetingminutes_summary.pdf) |
| Next editions | Crans-Montana, Switzerland, February 1–14, 2027; Val Gardena, Italy, 2031[4](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/342196ac02/2023_10_25_fis_councilmeetingminutes_summary.pdf) • [5](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/news/2024-25/fis-opens-bid-process-for-2030-and-2031-world-championships) |
| Medal record | Mikaela Shiffrin reached 15 World Championship medals at Saalbach 2025, tying Christl Cranz for the most in history[6](https://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/news/2024-25/saalbach-2025-sunshine-austrian-fanfare-and-swiss-success) |
## Origins
FIS itself was founded on February 2, 1924, at the Hotel Majestic in Chamonix, France, during the first [Winter Olympic Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/winter-olympic-games), when delegates from across Europe created the Fédération Internationale de Ski to put international competition on a firmer footing.[7](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/about-fis/history) The new federation initially regulated the Nordic disciplines of jumping, cross-country, and [Nordic combined](https://www.edgepedia.org/nordic-combined), and only sanctioned alpine racing after efforts by Arnold Lunn, supported by the Swiss skier Walter Amstutz, convinced FIS to recognize downhill and slalom.[2](https://www.skiinghistory.org/article/fis-100-looks-future)
**Mürren 1931.** The first Alpine FIS Championships took place at the Swiss resort of Mürren in the Jungfrau region. A women's category was part of the program from the start, a first for any FIS World Ski Championships.[1](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/fis-alpine-world-ski-championships) • [3](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/dee1f8f36c/bulletin_2024_final.pdf) The event was only retroactively declared a World Championships in 1937, a year after an alpine combined event appeared at the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in [Garmisch-Partenkirchen](https://www.edgepedia.org/garmisch-partenkirchen), where the Olympic competition also served as the FIS World Ski Championships.[2](https://www.skiinghistory.org/article/fis-100-looks-future) • [3](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/dee1f8f36c/bulletin_2024_final.pdf)
**The wartime editions.** A championship held during the Second World War was attended only by Axis nationals and citizens of neutral countries, including Italy, the [German Reich](https://www.edgepedia.org/german-reich), Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Romania, Switzerland, and Hungary. In 1946, FIS canceled the results and deemed those championships unofficial.[1](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/fis-alpine-world-ski-championships)
## Relationship to the World Cup and the Olympics
The championships are separate from the [FIS Alpine Ski World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fis-alpine-ski-world-cup), a season-long series launched in 1967 after the 1966 initiative of French journalist [Serge Lang](https://www.edgepedia.org/serge-lang) and team directors Honoré Bonnet of France and Bob Beattie of the United States.[8](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/a-brief-history-of-alpine-skiing-and-the-fis-alpine-ski-world-cup)
[Alpine skiing](https://www.edgepedia.org/alpine-skiing) entered the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the Olympic events doubled as the FIS World Ski Championships.[3](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/dee1f8f36c/bulletin_2024_final.pdf) The alpine team event, a single-elimination parallel slalom contested by mixed teams of two men and two women, debuted at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2005 before joining the Olympic program in 2018.[9](https://time.com/5158296/new-winter-olympic-events-sports-2018/)
## Eligibility and events
Participation is governed by FIS points, the sport's ranking system. Under the championship rules, a competitor in downhill, super-G, or alpine combined (with downhill) may start with a maximum of 80 FIS points in the event according to the valid FIS points list, and the rules also set the maximum number of participants from each nation.[10](https://medias3.fis-ski.com/pdf/2023/AL/5062/2023AL5062PROG.pdf)
The program has expanded in recent years. At Saalbach 2025, FIS introduced the Team Combined, a two-run event pairing a downhill run with a slalom run by same-gender duos, with each country allowed up to four non-mixed pairs.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/11/mikaela-shiffrin-et-breezy-johnson-premieres-championnes-du-monde-du-combine-par-equipes-de-ski-alpin_6542165_3242.html) The event was also added to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic program.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/11/mikaela-shiffrin-et-breezy-johnson-premieres-championnes-du-monde-du-combine-par-equipes-de-ski-alpin_6542165_3242.html)
## Saalbach 2025
The 48th championships ran in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, from February 4 to 16, 2025.[4](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/342196ac02/2023_10_25_fis_councilmeetingminutes_summary.pdf) Swiss skiers dominated the medal table: [Marco Odermatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/marco-odermatt) won the super-G, [Franjo von Allmen](https://www.edgepedia.org/franjo-von-allmen) the downhill, the men's team combined title went to Switzerland, and Camille Rast completed the run with gold in the women's slalom, ahead of compatriot [Wendy Holdener](https://www.edgepedia.org/wendy-holdener) and Austria's Katharina Liensberger.[12](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/15/la-suissesse-camille-rast-skieuse-touche-a-tout-sacree-championne-du-monde-de-slalom_6548111_3242.html) Switzerland's eight medals were its second-best championships total, behind only the 13 medals, including eight golds, won at Crans-Montana in 1987.[13](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/2025-fis-alpine-world-ski-championships-in-saalbach-that-s-a-wrap)
Loic Meillard, with two gold medals and one silver, finished as the most successful athlete of the championships.[14](https://salzburg.orf.at/stories/3293513/) In the debut of the women's Team Combined on February 11, [Mikaela Shiffrin](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikaela-shiffrin) and [Breezy Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/breezy-johnson) of the United States beat the Swiss pair Wendy Holdener and [Lara Gut-Behrami](https://www.edgepedia.org/lara-gut-behrami) by 0.39 seconds and the Austrian pair Stephanie Venier and Katharina Truppe by 0.53 seconds; the gold gave Shiffrin her 15th World Championship medal, tying the German Christl Cranz for the most in history.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/11/mikaela-shiffrin-et-breezy-johnson-premieres-championnes-du-monde-du-combine-par-equipes-de-ski-alpin_6542165_3242.html) • [6](https://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/news/2024-25/saalbach-2025-sunshine-austrian-fanfare-and-swiss-success) Shiffrin did not medal in the slalom, her seventh championships, and so did not claim the outright record of 16 medals.[12](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/15/la-suissesse-camille-rast-skieuse-touche-a-tout-sacree-championne-du-monde-de-slalom_6548111_3242.html)
## Hosting and future editions
Hosts are elected by the FIS Council. The 2027 edition was awarded to [Crans-Montana](https://www.edgepedia.org/crans-montana), Switzerland, scheduled for February 1–14, 2027, and the 2031 edition to Val Gardena, Italy, decided at the 2024 FIS Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland.[4](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/342196ac02/2023_10_25_fis_councilmeetingminutes_summary.pdf) • [5](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/news/2024-25/fis-opens-bid-process-for-2030-and-2031-world-championships) In January 2025, FIS opened the bid process for the 2030 and 2031 World Championships across its disciplines, with host elections set for the 2026 FIS Congress in Belgrade; the alpine 2031 race had already been decided, so the alpine championships were not part of that round.[5](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/news/2024-25/fis-opens-bid-process-for-2030-and-2031-world-championships)
Several resorts have hosted the championships repeatedly. Bormio, Italy, hosted the alpine worlds in 1985 and 2005, and Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted the 2021 edition; both venues were subsequently used for alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[15](https://apnews.com/article/0ae1f095510a625362ac9a28dd34be4e)
## References
1. [The Evolution of Alpine World Ski Championships: A Brief History, Alpine Ski World Cup](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/fis-alpine-world-ski-championships)
2. [FIS at 100 Looks to the Future, Skiing History](https://www.skiinghistory.org/article/fis-100-looks-future)
3. [FIS Bulletin 2024: Milestones from 1924–1973, FIS](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/dee1f8f36c/bulletin_2024_final.pdf)
4. [FIS Council Meeting Minutes, October 2023, FIS](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/342196ac02/2023_10_25_fis_councilmeetingminutes_summary.pdf)
5. [FIS opens bid process for 2030 and 2031 World Championships, FIS](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/news/2024-25/fis-opens-bid-process-for-2030-and-2031-world-championships)
6. [Austrian fans, electric skiing and Swiss success lights up Saalbach 2025, FIS](https://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/news/2024-25/saalbach-2025-sunshine-austrian-fanfare-and-swiss-success)
7. [History, FIS](https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/about-fis/history)
8. [The Evolution of Alpine Skiing and the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Alpine Ski World Cup](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/a-brief-history-of-alpine-skiing-and-the-fis-alpine-ski-world-cup)
9. [These Are the New Events on the Winter Olympics Sports Lineup This Year, Time](https://time.com/5158296/new-winter-olympic-events-sports-2018/)
10. [FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Rules, FIS](https://medias3.fis-ski.com/pdf/2023/AL/5062/2023AL5062PROG.pdf)
11. [Mikaela Shiffrin et Breezy Johnson premières championnes du monde du combiné par équipes, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/11/mikaela-shiffrin-et-breezy-johnson-premieres-championnes-du-monde-du-combine-par-equipes-de-ski-alpin_6542165_3242.html)
12. [La Suissesse Camille Rast sacrée championne du monde de slalom, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/02/15/la-suissesse-camille-rast-skieuse-touche-a-tout-sacree-championne-du-monde-de-slalom_6548111_3242.html)
13. [2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach. That's a Wrap!, Alpine Ski World Cup](https://www.alpineskiworldcup.com/post/2025-fis-alpine-world-ski-championships-in-saalbach-that-s-a-wrap)
14. [Erfolgreiche Bilanz nach Saalbach 2025, ORF Salzburg](https://salzburg.orf.at/stories/3293513/)
15. [The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are 1 year away, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/0ae1f095510a625362ac9a28dd34be4e)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Alpine skiing › FIS Alpine World Ski Championships*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license