--- title: "FIS lifts special controls: Russians and Belarusians to return to ski tournaments in the 2026/27 season" description: "The FIS Council, at its meeting in Thun, abolished the special checks for athletes from Russia and Belarus. From the 2026/27 season, they will be able to compete in neutral status across all disciplines after signing a declaration of neutrality." date: 2026-09-02T11:46:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/fis-lifts-restrictions-russians-and-belarusians-return-to-ski-tournaments tags: [fis, skiing, russia, belarus, neutral-status, cas, winter-sports] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # FIS lifts special controls: Russians and Belarusians to return to ski tournaments in the 2026/27 season ![FIS flag against a blue sky — the International Ski and Snowboard Federation lifted special controls for Russians and Belarusians in the 2026/27 season](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/02/fis-snyala-ogranicheniya-rossiyane-i-belorusy-vernutsya-v-lyzhnye-turniry/fis-snyala-ogranicheniya-rossiyane-i-belorusy-vernutsya-v-lyzhnye-turniry-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - At its meeting in Thun, FIS abolished individual checks and allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete in neutral status in the 2026/27 season. - The sole formal condition for admission has become signing a declaration of neutrality. - The decision was taken after the CAS, in December 2025, ordered FIS to admit representatives from Russia. - IBU and FIDE have maintained the suspension of Russia and Belarus, so admission remains the prerogative of each federation. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has officially lifted the special restrictions on athletes from Russia and Belarus. As reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the federation's official website, at the FIS Council meeting in Thun, Switzerland, the officials fully revised the requirements for athletes from these countries and permitted their return to international tournaments as early as the 2026/27 season. ### The Council's decision in Thun Previously, admission to competitions was possible only for individual athletes and only after a thorough review of their personal stance on the war. Under the new rules, these individual checks have been abolished: Russians and Belarusians have been granted the right to compete in neutral status across all key disciplines under the FIS umbrella. The sole formal condition for participation has become signing a declaration of neutrality. ### From individual review to a unified format Thus, the federation has effectively unified the admission procedure: instead of a case-by-case review of each athlete's position, a single formal criterion has been introduced. This means that the national teams of Russia and Belarus will be able to enter athletes for the World Cup and other FIS competitions without an additional administrative filter, limited to the standard procedure of signing a document on neutral status. ### The role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport The Council's decision was the outcome of prolonged pressure from athletes and their representatives. As early as December 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered FIS to admit representatives from Russia, even though the federation's council had systematically voted to extend the ban list. In effect, the arbitral ruling created a precedent that the federation has now implemented through the revision of the regulations at the meeting in Thun. ### Not all winter sports have followed this path It is important to emphasize that the FIS decision is not universal for all of winter sports. The International Biathlon Union (IBU), for example, has maintained the full suspension of Russia and Belarus, adopted at the outset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Similarly, according to available data, FIDE did not admit the Russian teams to the 2026 Chess Olympiad. Thus, the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus remains a matter decided by each federation independently. ### Contradictory data There is a nuance in how different outlets have presented the material. The official FIS position, cited by Sport RBC.UA, emphasizes the lifting of restrictions and points to the declaration of neutrality as the sole formal requirement. At the same time, a number of Russian sources describe the same decision as the introduction of "additional conditions" for the admission of Russian skiers. In substance, these formulations do not contradict each other — the declaration of neutrality is precisely that condition — however, the emphasis in the headlines differs: one source highlights liberalization, the other — the retention of a formal requirement. Readers should take both presentations into account when assessing the scale of the changes. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Only a minimal condition remains: Russians and Belarusians returned to ski sports competitions](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/othersport/lishilas-minimalna-umova-rosiyan-ta-bilorusiv-1788349381.html) - Основной источник: совет FIS в Туне пересмотрел требования, отменил индивидуальные проверки, оставил декларацию о нейтральности; упоминается решение CAS от декабря 2025 и контраст с IBU/ФИДЕ. - [FIS introduced additional conditions for the admission of Russian skiers to international competitions](https://www.sport.ru/lyjnye_gonki/v-fis-vveli-dopolnitelnye-usloviya-dlya-dopuska-rossiyskih-lyjnikov-na-/article657827/) - Подтверждает факт изменения порядка допуска, однако в заголовке акцент на «дополнительных условиях», что отличается по подаче от формулировки «снятие ограничений» основного источника; противоречия по существу нет. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What must a Russian or Belarusian skier do to participate in FIS tournaments in the 2026/27 season? **A:** Sign a declaration of neutrality. The individual review of the athlete's stance on the war has been abolished. ### Q: In what status will athletes from Russia and Belarus compete? **A:** In neutral status across all key disciplines under the FIS umbrella. ### Q: Why did FIS change the rules? **A:** The decision was the result of pressure and a prior ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in December 2025, which ordered the federation to admit representatives from Russia. ### Q: Does this decision apply to all winter sports? **A:** No. For example, IBU has maintained the full suspension of Russia and Belarus, and FIDE did not admit the Russian teams to the 2026 Chess Olympiad.