FISI celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this week ©FISI

The Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) has celebrated its 100th anniversary, taking place at Hangar Biococca in Milan, with some of the biggest names in Italian snow events in attendance.

As part of FISI Media Day, President Flavio Roda was joined by Alpine skiers Dominik Paris, Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia, biathlete Dorothea Wierer, cross-country skier Federico Pellegrino and snowboarder Michela Moioli.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice-president and chief executive of tyre company Pirelli, hosted the event and was followed by Massimo Galli in the the processions.

Galli is the director of the infectious diseases department of the Sacco Hospital in Milan.

A publication called the "Book of the Centenary" was presented, showcasing some of the most prestigious names in Italian winter sport history.

A commemorative stamp of the federal centenary and the Ski Pass Fair, scheduled to take place in Modena from October 29 to November 1, were also present.

Six of Italy's top winter sport athletes were given new Audi cars as part of their achievements over the last 12 months ©FISI
Six of Italy's top winter sport athletes were given new Audi cars as part of their achievements over the last 12 months ©FISI

There was also a meeting with the Cortina 2021 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships Organising Committee, receiving updates on the progress made so far, with Cortina 2021 President Alessandro Benetton letting the media know of its approach for the competition.

Roda acknowledged the difficult period for all those in the COVID-19 pandemic, following the suspension of activity from late February to the start of June, but now states that everyone is ready to bounce back.

"We are preparing a health protocol together with the FISI Medical Commission that will allow us to compete and train safely, we still have a few weeks to understand how the situation will evolve, but we have laid the foundations to that all our teams can train," said Roda.

"Our partner Techdow has begun a sensitisation for the use of masks, we want to be confident for the recovery."

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup winner for 2020, Brignone, stated that she believed many athletes would not be race fit for the opening leg of the 2020-2021 season in Sölden in Austria which is scheduled for October 17 and 18.

However, she is confident that her team will produce results over what will be a "long season".

In the afternoon, Audi and FISI also delivered 30 new cars to the most successful champions of winter sports, including the six in attendance.