International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation

The Fédération internationale de bobsleigh et de tobogganing (FIBT) was founded on 23 November 1923 by delegates of Great Britain, France, and Switzerland (and representatives of Canada and the United States) at an international congress in Paris, France, to govern the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton. Men’s bobsleigh had its Olympic début the following year, at the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics, and the first FIBT World Championships for the discipline would be held in 1930, in Montreux, Switzerland.

Prior to the creation of the FIBT, bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge 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 FIBT was established. The ISSV was gradually absorbed into the FIBT and finally disbanded in 1935.

Men’s skeleton would first be part of the Olympic Winter Programme at St. Moritz 1928. With only one track in the world back then, men’s skeleton did not appear again at the Olympics until 20 years later, in 1948, when the Games returned to St. Moritz, and the début at the FIBT World Championships would only happen in 1982, once again in the Swiss resort town.

Women first appeared at the World Championships in 2000, with a bobsleigh event in Winterberg, Germany, and a skeleton event in Igls, Austria. When men’s skeleton returned to the Winter Games at Salt Lake City 2002, women finally had their first bobsleigh and skeleton Olympic events.

At a congress in Ghent, Belgium, in 2015, the federation was rebranded to its current name, International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), as the old name was seen as an obstacle for the marketing of skeleton. As of January 2026, the IBSF has 74 national federations as members. The organization’s headquarters is located in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its current President is Italy’s Ivo Ferriani.

Bobsleigh and skeleton have also been part of the Youth Winter Olympics programme since its inaugural edition at Innsbruck 2012, with events for boys and girls in both disciplines.

The federation also governs the disciplines of Para bobsleigh and Para skeleton since the formation of the IBSF Para Sport Committee in 2010. Although they are yet to appear at the Winter Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) granted the IBSF the status of IPC-recognized international federation for both disciplines. The first official Para World Cup competitions were held during the 2014/2015 season, and the first combined World Championships (Para athletes and able-bodied athletes) happened in 2023, again in St. Moritz.