On November 19, participants from all around Europe gathered online for an online webinar in connection with the European Winter Week of Sport (EWWS) 2026. After the successful first pilot edition of 2025, in 2026 the EWWS returns between February 1 and 8 to promote winter sports beyond competitive circuits, to create a link between winter sports and sustainability while making sport more inclusive and accessible for everyone.

As part of the project, co-funded by the European Union, the initiative is led by 9 organisations from 8 different countries working together to surpass the numbers of the 2025 edition when 36 events were organized in more than 10 countries, with more than 2100 participants.

The webinar kicked off by general presentation, introduction of the project and its aims, done by Paolo Mesescardi from L'Orma.

After the introduction, Andrej Pisl from the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and its Institute, together with Mojca Rupert from the University of Ljubljana, presented some of the joint events organised in 2025 as a good practice example. They also shared the goals for the 2026 edition of the campaign - to increase the number of events and locations, engage with new partners and enhance promotion and dissemination of the campaign. The upcoming European Universities Winter Sports Championships, to be held in Val di Zoldo next month, is already a good example of that.

Philipp Bruggen represented Ice Dippers Berlin, promoting ice bathing and the importance of breathing techniques. Their events are held every weekend during winter, where people can embrace the cold together and enjoy a community experience.

The representatives of Ski Club Rijeka, Natalija Sikic and Sebastian Brigovic introduced their breathing workshop and sail&ski event, where participants from all ages engaged in versatile winter activities, also trying to lower their environmental impact.

During the webinar there was also a promotion of the Best Sustainable Practice Award, with the aim of sharing best practices on how to make winter sports more sustainable. Laura Vinals from Kilian Jornet Foundation explained the steps and requirements to apply for the award. The award is exclusively open to official EWWS event organisers, who register their events and complete the Post-Event Form afterwards. The 5 dimensions of the evaluation will be: impact, creativity, scalability, relevance and evidence.

Matias Pagura from European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) shared how the event organisers will receive additional visibility support through the #ActiveWinter campaign on the social media and website of EWWS. He also shared the toolkit and communication materials to be used.

Christian Porstner, representing NGO NEST Berlin, talked about the educational materials, the toolkits and guides available to support local organisers. He emphasised the importance of sustainability and how to apply the different fields of action in organising an EWWS event.

In the end, the process and steps of becoming an event organiser were explained, along with the key deadlines. The simple form can be found on the website of the European Week of Winter Sport, specifically on this link. This is an excellent chance for any clubs, schools, universities, municipalities or local organisers to be part of the European Week of Winter Sport, to promote winter sport activities, be part of a pan–European movement and enjoy all the advantages the project offers!

For more information, please see www.wintersportweek.com.