At the Extraordinary Plenary Assembly of the ISMC (UIAA Ski-mountaineering) on February 27th 2008 in Champéry, Switzerland, it was unanimously decided to take the first step in the process to work towards Unit membership of the UIAA. This new category of UIAA membership was created in October 2007 at the GA in Matsumoto and has been specifically developed to meet the needs of the competition sports in the UIAA. For this purpose, a separate legal entity was created: the ISMF (International Ski-Mountaineering Federation).
The day before, the Management Committee of UIAA- ISMC had already started the process for application for Unit membership of the UIAA. UIAA President Mike Mortimer addressed the Assembly and congratulated the ISMC on the great success of the 4th World-championship. He also congratulated the ISMC on the decision to start the process to work towards Unit membership. He said this partnership will bring great advantages to both parties. In the months ahead, both the UIAA and the new legal entity ISMF will take further steps, working together towards the acceptance of the ISMF as a Unit member of the UIAA at the UIAA General Assembly in October 2008 in Teheran.
