Early beginnings The first
luge competition took place on February 12, 1883, on a four-kilometer course between
Davos and
Klosters, Switzerland, with the co-winners from Australia and Switzerland having a time of 9 minutes, 15 seconds. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland founded the
Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV – International Sled Sport Federation ) in 1913 in
Dresden, Germany. The first
European Luge Championships took place in
Reichenberg,
Bohemia (now
Liberec,
Czech Republic) in 1914.
World War I in Europe caused the ISSV operations to be suspended and prevented any additional competitions until 1927.
Rebirth and merging into FIBT In 1927, the ISSV was reestablished with the second European Luge Championships taking place in
Schreiberhau, Germany (now
Szklarska Poręba, Poland) the following year with a women's competition included. The ISSV was absorbed into the
Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT – International Bobsleigh and Tobagganing Federation ) in 1935 and was part of the "Section de Luge" until the early 1950s.
Independence from FIBT At a 1954
International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Athens, Greece, it was determined that luge would replace
skeleton as a
Winter Olympic discipline. Skeleton, which had been a sport both at the
1928 and
1948 Winter Olympics, would not return as an Olympic sport until the
2002 Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake City. In 1955, the first
World Luge Championships were held at
Holmenkollen near
Oslo,
Norway. The FIL was established in Switzerland in 1957 with membership granted into the IOC at their congress in
Sofia,
Bulgaria that same year.
Bert Isatitsch of Austria was elected President of the FIL.
FIL growth At the 1959 IOC meeting in
Munich,
West Germany, luge was approved for inclusion into the
1964 Winter Olympics in
Innsbruck with competitions taking place in neighboring
Igls. 12 nations took part in the first Winter Olympic luge competitions with timing taking place in 1/100ths of a second. Following a tie in the men's doubles competition between
East Germany and
Italy at the
1972 Winter Olympics in
Sapporo, Japan, the FIL began timing all of their competition in 1/1000ths of a second, a practice that continues as of 2009. The first
natural track European championships took place in
Kapfenberg, Austria in 1970 while the first
natural track World Championships took place in
Inzing, Austria in 1979. The first Junior World Championships on artificial track took place at
Lake Placid, New York,
United States three years later.
FIL today Isatitich died suddenly on February 8, 1994, and then Vice-President for Sport
Josef Fendt took over as Acting President. Fendt would be named president at the FIL congress in Rome, Italy later that year, a position he held until 2020. In 2025, the federation's French name changed from to . == FIL events ==