FIS Vice-President Janez Kocijančič has died after a long illness at the age of 78, Kocijancic served on the FIS Council since 1981 and was elected Vice President in 2010.

Kocijančič, who was also active in politics and business, was the president of the Slovenian Olympic Committee between 1991 and 2014, and headed the European Olympic Committees since 2017.

Born in 1941, he graduated in law in 1965 and earned a master's and a doctoral degree in the same field, while he also entered politics at a young age, presiding over the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia in 1968-1971.

Since then, he was active in business, including as the chief executive of the flag carrier Adria Airways between 1982 and 1993.

Kocijančič returned to politics in the late 1980s, and in 1993, two years after Slovenia gained independence, he became the leader of the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD), the precursor of today's Social Democrats (SD). In the same year, he became a member of the National Assembly and stayed at the helm of the ZLSD until the end of his MP term in 1997.

But Kocijančič will be most remembered by his work in sports, where he has left an indelible mark, especially in skiing, while also serving at important international posts.

First, he headed the Ski Association of Slovenia (1974-1984) and Yugoslavia (1984-1988), before in 1991 after Slovenia became an independent nation, he led the creation of the Ski Association of Slovenia which became one of the most active FIS member nations.

Janez Kocijančič was also elected the first president of the Slovenian Olympic Committee and served at the post for more than 23 years. Since 2005, he was also a member of the executive committee of the European Olympic Committees, becoming the organization's Vice-President in 2013 and its President in 2017.

In 1981, Kocijančič was elected a member of the Council of the International Ski Federation (FIS), and served as vice president since 2010. During his outstanding service for FIS, Kocijančič began as a member of the Legal and Safety Committee. Alongside his role as FIS Vice-President, he also chaired the Marc Hodler Foundation Board and FIS Marketing Ltd.

He is the recipient of the Bloudek Award (1985), Slovenia's most prestigious sports accolade, and of the Norwegian King Olav Trophy (2014) for his global promotion of skiing.

FIS President Gian Franco Kasper said of Kocijančič, “FIS and the world of sport has lost a true friend. Janez Kocijančič was a dedicated member of the Council who served FIS and the sport with distinction and wisdom. His wonderful sense of humour will also be warmly remembered. It is with a heavy heart that I express the deepest condolences of FIS to his wife Andrea and their family, the Ski Association of Slovenia community and his many friends all over the world.”

Release courtesy of FIS

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is working closely with several domestic ski areas, including Mt. Bachelor and Official Training Site Timberline Lodge & Ski Area, to coordinate summer on-snow training camp opportunities for its national teams. 

All sanctioned U.S. Ski & Snowboard training camps will be subject to a rigorous set of criteria adhering to local, state and federal public health orders as well as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) return to training guidelines to ensure the safety of its athletes and staff.

“We are thankful to our resort partners for providing our athletes an opportunity to get back on snow as they prepare for the 2020-21 season,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “This opportunity provides them not only crucial training time, but the opportunity to test new equipment, work on new technique and tricks, and mentally prepare themselves for athletic competition under the ‘new normal.’”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned training camp attendance is optional. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes and staff should not feel pressure to travel to train. All sanctioned training camp policies and protocols are subject to change based on local, state and federal public health orders, updated guidance from the USOPC or updated U.S. Ski & Snowboard policies.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will be more connected than ever, announcing today its newest technology partner, Domo (Nasdaq: DOMO). Domo, a Utah-based software company, will serve as the organization’s Official Business Cloud Partner for the next three years and will be instrumental in the lead up to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games 2022.  

Domo makes it easy for organizations to leverage thousands of their data sources, making them more accessible, consumable and actionable for everyone across the company. As a result, business processes that traditionally took weeks, months or longer, can now be done in a fraction of the time, allowing teams and entire organizations to go fast, go big and go bold. 

“The goal of partnering with Domo is to identify our business’ strengths and weaknesses through our data, and implement targeted solutions,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief Technology Officer Mark Schneider. “Our organization is dedicated to the dreams of American ski and snowboard athletes in pursuit of excellence. By using the Domo platform, we mirror that excellence in our business practices by making informed decisions based on what the data tells us. In unifying our data and segmenting it properly we can better interact with our stakeholders, from our athletes to our staff, media and sponsors, donors and supporters.”


“Domo helps organizations of all sizes modernize and mobilize business processes through shining a light on dark data and empowering everyone - from the C-suite to the frontline -  in record time with the intelligence they need to optimize performance,” said Jay Heglar, Domo’s Chief Business Officer. “We’re thrilled to partner with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard and help them put their data to work for the benefit of the U.S. athletes and all of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s constituents.”

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About Domo
Domo is the Business Cloud, empowering organizations of all sizes with BI leverage at cloud scale, in record time. With Domo, BI-critical processes that took weeks, months or more can now be done on-the-fly, in minutes or seconds, at unbelievable scale.  For more information about how Domo (Nasdaq: DOMO) helps its customers go fast, go big and go bold, visit www.domo.com. You can also follow Domo on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Domo, Domo Business Cloud and Domo is the Business Cloud are registered trademarks of Domo, Inc.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2020, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org

Howard Peterson, an influential leader of the U.S. Ski Association and later the Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation, passed away Monday (May 11) in Heber City, Utah. His four decades of service to skiing and snowboarding was marked with a keen focus on providing support to athletes at every turn.

He cared deeply for the teams and was extremely passionate about our sports. He was always quiet and thoughtful, but never without an opinion.
- Tiger Shaw, President & CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Peterson was a pivotal figure in pushing a legacy concept that resulted in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the resultant venues for athlete training. He was a key individual in the movements to bring freestyle and snowboarding into the Olympics. And he single-handedly pioneered cash prizes for athletes through his exertion of international influence.

“As an athlete on the U.S. Ski Team (in the early ‘90s), I remember Howard toting around his huge leather handbag full of papers,” recalled U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “He was always there for us if we had questions, concerns, or problems. He cared deeply for the teams and was extremely passionate about our sports. He was always quiet and thoughtful, but never without an opinion.”

A noted rock climber and cross country skier from Maine, Peterson was a founder of the National Ski Touring Association (now Cross Country Ski Areas Association) before moving to a role with the U.S. Ski Association (USSA) in 1978 that would change the face of the sport globally over the next decades. 

In his early days with USSA, Peterson worked out of the organization’s Brattleboro, Vt. office, developing programs like the Great American Ski Chase and Bill Koch Youth Ski League. He raised the level of member programs through clever marketing and corporate partnership. In 1984 he was tapped to head the organization, helping USSA out of a deep financial hole and to a period of prosperity.

In 1988, Peterson engineered a deal to bring together the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Ski Association into one entity, moving the organization from its base at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to Park City.

As secretary general of USSA in the late 1980s, Peterson pushed the U.S. Olympic Committee to select a candidate city based on its willingness to develop legacy facilities for athletes. His efforts resulted in Salt Lake City winning over Anchorage in 1989 by two votes and venues that continue to serve athletes and the public today.

In his longtime engagement with the International Ski Federation (FIS), he advocated for integration of adaptive skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding into the Olympic and Paralympic programs. He also pioneered cash prizes for athletes in 1990. Peterson was also a vanguard of ethics in sport, boldly tackling the issue with both the U.S. Olympic Committee and FIS. He served for many years as the head of the FIS Advertising Matters Committee where he took on the seemingly uninteresting task of writing rules with an eye on how commercial marking parameters could be used to help fund athletes.

Peterson retired from the USSA in 1994. Five years later, he led an initiative to form the Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation. The venue proved to be one of the most engaging of all the 2002 sites. Its legacy resulted in training facilities for athletes used yet today, as well as a regional outdoor recreation center that continues to thrive. He retired from that role in 2014.

Soldier Hollow became his pride and joy, helping raise $1-million to build the Day Lodge, starting the Soldier Hollow Charter School in 2002 and bringing events like the Sheepdog Classic to the region, generating millions in economic impact to Wasatch County.

“He was a loyal soldier for the USSA and FIS, making a difference for both organizations,” said former U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Bill Marolt.  “He was always a positive proponent.”

“We will miss Howard as a friend, a colleague and a leader,” said Luke Bodensteiner, now chief of sport development for the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation and general manager of Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. “He was steadfast in his vision that the Olympics in Utah would leave a legacy for winter sport for generations to come. And we continue to enjoy the impact of his tireless efforts today, particularly at Soldier Hollow, which became so near and dear to him, and into which he invested so much of himself.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard awarded Peterson its highest honor, the Julius Blegen Award, in 2004. He also received the Bud & Mary Little Award for service to FIS and USOC in 1999. Just two years ago he was recognized by Utah Ski Archives with its S.J. Quinney Award for contribution to sport in the state. Cross Country Ski Areas Association gave him its Founders Award in 2018.

Peterson, who was 69, died after a long illness. His wife, Susan, passed in 2016. The two met ice climbing on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington in 1976. They were married in 1989, enjoying a life of travel and adventure - visiting 80 countries together. Peterson was also a noted climber, pioneering many first ascents. Family and friends will plan an appropriate tribute when conditions are appropriate in the future.

Editor's Note: U.S. Ski & Snowboard is honoring its Annual Award Winners through June 1, beginning with the Julius Blegen Award for lifetime service to the organization. Upcoming award announcements will include Athletes of the Year, Clubs of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Athlete Service Awards recognizing those who have taken snow sports to new heights.

Dexter Paine was the consummate leader of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, serving as its chairman from 2006 to 2019. Paine was elected by his peers as the 74th recipient of the Julius Blegen Award, the highest organizational recognition, dating back to 1946.

“To be one of those people who is recognized for the passion that they have for the sport, well, I just really appreciate it.”
– Dexter Paine

Paine’s volunteer leadership benefitted the entire organization, from grassroots clubs to Olympic champions. As a vice president of the International Ski Federation, he continues to support the USA as a respected global player. Despite running a global agribusiness, he made U.S. Ski & Snowboard his priority, attending every Olympics and nearly all World Championships over a 17-year span - accounting for 53 Olympic medals.

The award recognizes established history of distinguished service and a lasting contribution to U.S. Ski & Snowboard and its membership. It is named in honor of Julius Blegen, a key leader of the National Ski Association in the 1930s.

Like many U.S. Ski & Snowboard volunteers, Paine’s passion came from his parents. Growing up in New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Valley, he began going to the ski area at two and took lessons from the Hannes Schneider Ski School. “My dad was a TD (technical delegate), my mom made lunches and was a gatekeeper,” he recalled. Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, he had local heroes like Terry and Tyler Palmer, and Abbi Fisher.

While he attended dozens of Olympic, World Championship and World Cup events, Paine’s greatest thrill was handing out annual awards at the spring U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress.

“The great thing about the awards ceremony is that it’s about the volunteers and the athletes,” he said. “It’s about the people who make our organization successful. I don’t think we step back and appreciate those people as much as we should.”

Paine recounted his youth when there would be 50 parents on the ski hill to make it happen - be it -10 and blowing, or 34 and pouring rain. “You still had these same volunteers - the same ones who met every month to raise money and do all the things to help the club be successful.” 

As chairman, Paine had the honor of giving out the Blegen Award 13 times - a diverse group who all share the same passion. “These Blegen winners share a love for seeing our athletes being successful -  whether that’s a town race or a World Cup. It’s seeing those athletes coming up through our program - who have that chance because of our volunteers,” he said.

“To be one of those people who is recognized for the passion that they have for the sport, well, I just really appreciate it.”

Paine continues to serve in his leadership role on the FIS Council, as well as on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors and its foundation. He is also on the board for US Biathlon.