FIS and Dainese have signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate the potential application of air bag technology to top-level Alpine Skiing. Both FIS and Dainese consider the safety and protection of athletes their highest priority. The new cooperation underscores the long-standing efforts to provide the athletes with state-of-the-art protection using latest technologies, in this case Dainese’s head-to-toe safety and intelligent protection systems that have shown their effectiveness in motorcycling. The project, which started in late 2010, is currently in a first data collection phase. Testers are fitted with a data-recording system based on an inertial platform that can record the dynamics involved in ski racing. Information collected during this phase will be used to determine the activation algorithm for the launch of the airbag, which is specially designed for Alpine Skiing. The project will continue for the next two years, until 2013. “The new partnership with Dainese is the latest step in the FIS Injury Surveillance System which began five years ago. It benefits from the findings and data collected during the last four seasons and ideally complements the other current projects underway at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center and the University of Salzburg”, commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “Protecting people in sport is a corporate “mission” that has seen us engaged in a ceaseless process of research and innovation since 1972. It’s a process that started with motorcycling and brought us an immense wealth of knowledge that we are proud to now apply to Alpine Skiing. Our commitment to the enthusiasts and champions of this sport began in the nineties, when we introduced the back protector, and continues with the D-Air® intelligent protection system today. We are therefore honoured to partner the prestigious International Ski Federation with its longstanding dedication to sports safety”, declared Lino Dainese, Chairman of Dainese S.p.A. More information will be provided by FIS and Dainese in due course. About FIS Founded in 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France, the International Ski Federation (FIS) aims to promote the sport of skiing and snowboarding and directs the development of all ski and snowboarding activities world-wide. FIS administers the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. With the help of its 112 member nations (one currently suspended), it stages more than 6’000 ski and snowboard competitions annually. FIS also makes recommendations for recreational skiing and snowboarding in the interest of all and promotes play in the snow as a healthy leisure activity for children and the youth. For more information, please visit www.fis-ski.com. About Dainese “Providing people with head-to-toe protection in dynamic sports” has been the corporate mission since it was founded in 1972 by its current CEO Lino Dainese, in this way making Dainese itself a company in continuous movement in every new application.”