"The main thing is that the team is united": under what name will the Russian team of skiers perform at the World Cup

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has decided under what name the Russian national team will perform at the World Championships in Oberstdorf from February 22 to March 7.

The team will be officially presented as the "Russian Ski Federation".

This name will be used in competitions by participants in cross-country skiing, ski jumpers and representatives of Nordic combined.

Domestic athletes are required to perform in a neutral status due to the sanctions against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, therefore they will not be able to formally represent their country and perform with national symbols.

To designate the team, the FIS flag, which is a white canvas with the organization's logo, will be used, and its anthem will sound at the award ceremonies if the Russians win.

The question of choosing a name for the Russian team was not easy - athletes from three different ski disciplines and two independent national federations will compete at the World Championships.

The skiers could not be called the "National Team of the Russian Ski Racing Federation" by analogy with the "National Team of the Russian Handball Federation" precisely because representatives of the Federation of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined of Russia will also be announced for the competition.

To solve this problem, FIS considered “National Athletes of Russia” or “Neutral Athletes of Russia” as the initial versions, but settled on the version “Russian Ski Federation”.

At the same time, such an organization does not exist in the country - FIS members from Russia are united by the Association of Ski Sports of Russia.

According to TASS, the FIS is considering an option in which the "Federation" in the name of a neutral team will still be renamed to "Association".

But then the international organization will have a new problem - the English abbreviation of the renamed Russian team will be written as RSA, and this code is used to designate the South African team.

According to the Olympic champion Anfisa Reztsova, the name of the team at the World Championship does not really matter.

She remembered how she herself performed under the Olympic flag in 1992 and how she felt about it.

“In 1992, we competed at the Olympic Games and did not pay attention to the flag, especially since its five rings symbolize the unification of the five continents and their athletes.

There was nothing wrong.

Nevertheless, we won, and that was the main thing.

I would like skiers and biathletes to do the same.

Since such a situation has happened, the main thing for us under any flag and anthem is Russia's victories and that the team is cohesive and has no disagreements, "Reztsova said in an interview with RT.

The former athlete urged fans to be more calm about the situation in which the Russian athletes found themselves, and not to put additional pressure on them.

“Fans are often so amateurs, they express their opinion without hesitation, and this negatively affects the athletes.

If you are sick at heart, then be sick and support, and do not express your opinion, which is not interesting at all.

Often they just act disgustingly, and this puts pressure on the athletes psychologically.

Let there be only real support, so that the guys gather their will into a fist and prove that we are the strongest country, ”Reztsova added.

In the meantime, for the Russian national biathlon team, the criteria for performing in a neutral status have not yet been determined, which it will have to observe at the World Championships starting on February 10 in Pokljuka.

President of the Russian Biathlon Union Viktor Maygurov noted that negotiations with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) have already passed and a final decision on the symbolism will be made in the near future.

“We have had two meetings with the IBU, have reached certain agreements, and are awaiting an official response from the IBU early next week.

We will find a compromise on the use of our symbols at the World Championships.

We will follow the criteria set by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for all winter sports.

We will not use the flag and coat of arms, "Maygurov told Match TV on the last day of the World Cup in Anterselva.

However, the famous biathlon commentator Dmitry Guberniev already has his own version of the Russian team.

He proposed to name the team after the song about biathlon he himself performed.

"And biathletes should be called like this:" The wind of biathlon from Russia! "

- wrote Guberniev in his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

Reztsova, however, believes that the team will not be allowed to choose such a non-standard option, and the biathlon team will be called about the same as the ski racing team.

This still should not affect the mood of the athletes, the Olympic champion recalled.

“It seems to me that biathletes will also come up with something similar, like skiers.

At least one power.

Here, purely psychologically, there is no strain.

The main thing is to tune in to good results.

Let there be no victories, like skiers in 2018 at the Olympics.

They brought many medals, performed with dignity, Elena Vyalbe fought them off and defended them.

The guys did not lose heart, and now I want to wish them the same, ”said Reztsova.