In mid-March, the first national meeting of the Ski Club of Austrian Journalists (SCÖJ) took place in St. Johann/Pongau at the invitation of Snow Space Salzburg.
An exciting event took place on March 14 and 15, 2025, at the Snow Space Salzburg ski resort, one of the country's leading ski regions: The Ski Club of Austrian Journalists (SCÖJ) met at the magnificent Hotel Sonnhof in St. Johann/Pongau to not only enjoy skiing but also exchange ideas about current developments in the winter sports industry. Snow Space Salzburg hosted the event, which also serves as the official SCÖJ founding event, with the support of Allianz Zukunft Winter.
After warming up at Snow Space, host and Snow Space CEO Wolfgang Hettegger spoke about the ski area and the importance of the environment, climate, and biodiversity for the area, as well as the measures being taken to sustainably reduce CO2 emissions. Another program item was dedicated to the topic of natural snow and artificial snowmaking in the context of climate change. SCÖJ member Sigi Kämmerer, Head of Public Relations at the Raiffeisen Association Salzburg, also spoke about the role and responsibility of Salzburg's largest regional bank in tourism as a ski area and hotel owner.
The next day, we went early bird skiing with Wolfgang Hettegger on untouched, freshly snowed slopes – a special and by no means everyday experience. At the subsequent stop at the rustic Straßalm hut, SCÖJ founders Günter Fritz and Fred Fettner (also of Ski Guide Austria) informed the assembled members about the ski club's future plans and reported on the international meeting of the International Ski Journalists' Association (SCIJ) in Bardoneccia at the end of January. They received support from Ulli Brünger, the president of the German Ski Journalists' Association, who spoke about the history and global activities of SCIJ as a guest. He was also delighted that the SCÖJ had been founded the previous year and accepted into the SCIJ in Bardoneccia: "I can't stress enough how important it is, also from an international perspective, to have an Austrian ski club of journalists, and thus the largest and most important skiing nation, on board again. Welcome back to the SCIJ family!"
Overall, it was a very successful event, with a focus not only on socializing, exchanging ideas among colleagues, and skiing together, but also on the sociopolitical mission that the SCÖJ has taken on. A mission that Allianz Zukunft Winter spokesperson Franz Schenner aptly outlined in his welcoming message and clarified why the Winter Network supports the SCÖJ: "The winter sports and tourism industry needs the support of quality media and journalists. This isn't about favors, but rather critical, yet fact-based reporting. It's not about "buddy journalism."“, but rather an exchange of opinions or, better, a dialogue that does not ignore the challenges posed by climate change and demographic developments, but addresses them and reports on them.