Former FIL secretary general Fogelis, who became only the third FIL President in history at a remote Congress in 2020, has been confirmed as the only candidate for the role.

His predecessor Josef Fendt, who served as FIL President for 26 years, had declared the Latvian official as his preferred candidate to succeed him in 2020.

Nominations have now closed for the elections at the 70^th FIL Congress in the Austrian town of Hall in Tirol, with only Fogelis standing for the Presidential position.

Fogelis is presently completing Fendt's term, so is set to be returned for a full four years.

Fogelis is also a member of the Latvian Olympic Committee's Executive Committee, and has been President of the Latvian Sports Federations Council since 2014.

As secretary general of the FIL, Fogelis was instrumental in the development of the Slide 2026 strategic plan, adopted at the Congress in 2020.

The Executive Board met in Reichenau an der Rax this weekend to discuss and approve implementation measures related to Slide 2026.

Changes to FIL statutes including provisions for "public sledding" and gender equality are among the measures that will be recommended for approval at the Congress on June 18 and 19.

insidethegames understands that potential new sanctions against the Russian Luge Federation were discussed by the Executive Board.

The FIL leadership has received praise for taking what is viewed as one of the firmest stances against Russia among International Federations since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

It sought to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus, but last month the FIL Court of Arbitration annulled these measures following an appeal from the Russian Luge Federation (FSSR).

The ban was deemed to be against FIL rules.

However, the Executive Board vowed to explore new ways to stop Russia from competing, describing the verdict as an "unsatisfactory situation".

Any change to the organisation's statutes would require a two-thirds majority at the Congress to be passed.

A motion to expel the FSSR at the FIL's first-ever Extraordinary Congress on April 8 fell short of the super majority needed, although Russian officials were excluded from their FIL positions, including FSSR President Natalia Gart from the Executive Board.

This too is being appealed by the FSSR.

The Luge World Cup race calendar for the 2022-2023 season was also finalised at the Executive Board meeting this weekend.

The season is due to begin with a doubleheader in Innsbruck from November 25 to 27 and December 2 to 4, the first of those events including a sprint and the second a team relay.

The circuit is then set to head to North America for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whistler from December 8 to 10 is the third scheduled World Cup stop, followed by a return to Park City for the first time since 2016.

The first scheduled event of 2023 is in Sigulda from January 6 to 8, followed by Lillehammer from January 13 to 15 which will double as the European Championships.

This is to be followed by the FIL World Championships in Oberhof from January 27 to 29.

Back-to-back World Cups in Germany are also pencilled in for February 3 to 5 in Altenburg and February 10 to 12 in Winterberg.

The ninth and final World Cup of the season is due to be staged in St Moritz on February 17 to 19, the third year in a row the Swiss resort will have held the finale.