On October 8, an international webinar of the European Week of Winter Sport (EWWS) took place online, ahaed of the 2025-26 winter season, with more than 100 participants attending.

The European Week of Winter Sport will be held between February 1 and 8, aiming to promote participation in winter sports, making sport more accessible and inclusive, and raising awareness on climate change and sustainability. 

In the pilot edition of EWWS, held in February 2025, more than 2100 people participated in 36 events in more than 10 countries. In 2026, there will be also contests where event organizers can participate in: the Top 5 Best promotional videos and photos contest and the Best sustainable practice Award.

After the introduction of the webinar, Juan Martorell and Reka Veress talked about the European Week of Sport in 2025 in Spain and Hungary, respectively. The European Week of Sport celebrated its 10th edition in 2025, and it was highlighted that the European Week of Winter Sport is a great addition to maintain the #BeActive message throughout the year.

Sebastian Brigovic, an Olympic athlete in alpine skiing, gave some perspectives on winter sports. He emphasized the financial, social, and environmental sustainability issues of winter sports and the importance of overcoming the obstacles. 

As a strategic partner of the project and campaign, the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and its Institute EUSA, examples of the events organized in 2025 were presented by Mojca Rupert. Apart of an online webinar, there was a cross-country skiing course in Planica and an ice skating activity in Tivoli, Ljubljana. Both were successful, but there are some new goals for the next edition of EWWS: expanding the number of events and locations, involving the local communities more, enhancing promotion, and measuring the impact.

Philipp Bruggen from the Ice Dippers Berlin introduced their activity, which is to go ice bathing together from the beginning of November until the end of the cold weather, to learn some breathing techniques, and to learn to embrace the cold.

The organizers also explained the advantages and expectations of becoming an Official Partner or an event organizer of EWWS. Official Partners gain visibility on the national and European level and a connection with the partner network of EWWS. This is a great opportunity to enhance existing events and participate in international promotion. The Official Partners need to promote the EWWS movement by engaging their community and activating people locally. The deadline for applying to be an Official Partner is October 31.

During the webinar, Anna and Miriam Gonzalez from the Federation of Hiking Entities of Catalunya talked about their main pillars of being an Official Partner of the EWWS. Their main goal is to protect the national environment, especially the mountains of Catalunya, and to make winter sports accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.

Any clubs or schools with an idea about a winter sport activity can apply to be an event organizer. The event organizers receive an enhancement of the events approved, they are presented on the map of all the activities in connection with EWWS and on social media as well, and they get the opportunity to participate in the EWWS Award, where they could win the Best Practice Award of the year. The deadline for applications to be an event organizer is December 31.

Prior to the European Week of Winter Sports in February, EUSA is hosting end of this year the European Universities Winter Sports Championships in Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding and Snow Volleyball, alongside the EUSA Winter Forum. The event will be held in Val di Zoldo, Italy between December 15 and 20, with registration deadline being October 15, 2025.

The details of the European Week of Winter Sports can be found at https://wintersportweek.com