ESPN reported yesterday that a proposed shared-judges system for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi has been rejected. The decision was made at the FIS's biannual Congress in South Korea last week. The system intended to cut costs by means of sharing judges between freeskiing and snowboarding events.

Athletes and governing bodies from both the freeskiing and snowboarding world
strongly protested the use of shared judges and many adversaries were on hand in Korea to provide a voice for the opposition. The FIS's decision comes as a relief to many who feared that use of shared judges would inevitably raise concerns about the legitimacy of scoring in Sochi.

David Wise competes at the 2011/12 Grand Prix at Copper Mountain. Photo by Brian Walker.

In addition to ruling on the judging system, the FIS released its World Cup schedule for the 2012/13 season. Scheduling conflicts between FIS World Cup events and non-FIS events including the X Games and the Winter Dew Tour are minimal for the time being. However the Association of Freeskiing Professionals has yet to release its complete tour schedule.

While the FIS hosted only two skiing World Cups last season—both in the U.S.—it will host eight this season in seven different countries. Prior to the Congress, it was speculated that the addition of more World Cup events to the competition roster may result in overlap with non-FIS events. Time will tell how many conflicts we'll see in total.

The FIS event schedule for 2012/13 includes a World Cup event in Sochi in February—this allows skiers the opportunity to test the venues prior to the Olympics. For a full listing of 2013 FIS World Cup events, click here.