The non-profit organization Swiss Snowsports Initiative appointed Virginie Faivre as its vice president at the start of May. She has replaced Pierre Pfefferlé, who was instrumental in the development of the initiative’s website, GoSnow.ch. A native of Lausanne, Faivre is a former world freestyle ski champion and now sits on the boards of the Swiss Foundation for Sports Aid and other sports organizations. She presided over the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, held in her hometown, and will also be presiding over the next edition, scheduled for 2024 in the South Korean province of Gangwon. Pandemic restrictions precluded any snowsports camps in winter 2020/21, but the initiative was able to book 13,000 reservations for some 258 such camps in the preceding few months, from April to October 2020. Had they been held, these camps would have amounted to a rise in participation of 15 percent year-on-year. In lieu of the camps, the initiative was able to sporadically hold snowsports days. Still, the cancellations resulted in a loss of 4 million Swiss francs (€3.6m-$4.5m) and more than 52,000 overnight stays. The initiative has since opened up reservations for 60 summer camps at 20 locations. These will offer vacationing students a number of turnkey options in cycling, hiking, climbing, clean-up days, fauna hikes, Foxtrails and other activities. Reservations may be canceled up to four weeks before a camp’s start date. Reservations for winter 2021/22 are also open, on GoSnow.ch. Group transport is available for an additional fee of CHF 10 (€9.12-$11.17) per person.

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