Contact information from different ski manufacturers will be available through the FIS website’s members section, and they will be able to provide tailored fittings for boots.

All equipment supplied by SRS will be approved to be used in World Cup, European Cup and FIS races at a reduced rate, and is now available to order for qualifying athletes with sufficient FIS points in the Alpine, Nordic and freestyle disciplines.

Johan Eliasch was elected as the FIS President in June, and says the development is an important milestone in the International Federation’s attempts to support lesser developed ski nations.

"Coming to FIS with a background within the ski industry and FIS World Cup racing, one of my first goals was to develop a platform for developing nations and aspiring athletes to obtain top-level equipment at affordable cost," Eliasch said.

"This is a major step towards growing our FIS disciplines globally."

"Fostering a direct link between the ski manufacturers and FIS member nations is a win-win.

"It will have far reaching implications in the further development of our athletes and teams globally."

The chairman of SRS, Michael Schineis, added that the new agreement will help broaden skiing’s global appeal.

"We are pleased that the platform is now up and running," he said.

"We believe that access to top equipment is important to bring more young athletes to our beautiful sport and we share the vision with FIS to make our sport even more global and more attractive.

"It also shows the great cooperation between FIS and the Ski Racing Supplier Association."