Fédération Internationale de Luge

The Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL) was founded on 25 January 1957, in Davos, Switzerland, with delegates from 13 nations. In January 2025, the organization’s name was changed to the current Fédération Internationale de Luge. The acronym FIL and the English name, International Luge Federation, did not change, however.

As of January 2026, 52 federations are currently members of the FIL. The federation’s head office is located in Berchtesgaden, Germany, and its current president is Latvia’s Einars Fogelis.

Prior to the creation of the FIL, luge, bobsleigh, and skeleton were governed by the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV). The ISSV was founded in 1913 and staged European championships in all three sports. With Germany and Austria being isolated after World War I, this organization would be ignored when the Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing (FIBT) was established to oversee governance of bobsleigh and skeleton. The ISSV was gradually absorbed into the FIBT and finally disbanded in 1935.

Two years before the establishment of the FIL, the first World Championships on Artificial Track for men and women were held in Oslo, Norway, under the auspices of the FIBT. The first World championships staged under the wing of the FIL would happen in its foundation year, at Davos 1957. Luge would have its Olympic début (both genders) only at Innsbruck 1964. The first World Championships on Natural Track would be staged later, in 1979, in Inzing, Austria.

Luge has also been part of the programme of the Winter Youth Olympics since its inception, at Innsbruck 2012.