A tangled ball as a new logo

Of course, I would like to say this right away before I turn my attention to the next very complicated, if not complex, topic: There can still be a lot of debate about taste. And it will probably always stay that way, because every point of view has its own dynamics. And so I look with interest at the new logo of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV). That's what it used to be called. Today “Ski Austria”. Just like “Swiss-Ski” among the Swiss, who have recently usurped the glory in winter sports that once only Austria was allowed to claim. In men's biathlon, for example, where the Swiss even managed fifth place in the national rankings and thus received six starting places for the next season.

Well, no one at the association's Innsbruck headquarters cares about that now. Biathlon is a fringe sport. It has always been the case in the white-red self-image. But in the “Skifoan”, i.e. the only real ski sport, the alpine swing in the white snow, the Swiss drove you to the wall. There were still a few good results left for the men, mainly in the much-loved downhill area. But there is sadness among the women, and what's more, the era of a Mikaela Shiffrin from the USA is currently taking place. There is also Petra Vilhova from Slovakia. And the Italians cannot be stopped either. Even a German slalom runner (Lena Dürr) is now world class. Meanwhile, Austria's female elite just looks on in amazement.

Get out of the small world Of course this had to come to an end. A quick one above all. And because this cannot be changed from one day to the next, the new management of the ÖSV - pardon "Ski-Austria" - has first fine-tuned its appearance. A new logo is intended to document that no stone is left unturned. The fact that it was presented in Vienna, where winter sports are only at home on the Semmering, can be seen as a small faux pas, because the Tyrolean capital Innsbruck is actually the center that is supposed to bring skiing back to its former glory. But, this should certainly be documented, people now really want to finally get out of the small, narrow world that was ruled by Peter Schröcksnadel for decades. At that time, the association couldn't even order pencils or erasers without the consent of the former president. And sponsorship contracts for the athletes were of course only concluded through the in-house agency in order to guarantee a certain amount of money back.

Roswitha Stadlober is in charge at Ski Austria. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

The power of Schröcksnadel, his general secretary Klaus Leistner and sports director Hans Pum was irrefutable. Now everyone is retired and the new management around Roswitha Stadlober wants to set new and completely different accents with the new appearance. How exactly this is supposed to work is not immediately clear, at least from the new logo. It gives the impression of a rather confusing situation. You'd think someone had spilled a barrel of red ink. It's a blob with lots of lines.

It could also be a drawing that someone stole from a kindergarten. Or the confused scribblings on a beer mat after the foaming splendor in the glass has already been consumed. Well, it's an eye-catcher. It would have suited Picasso well, or even more so Joan Miró, whose early works, based on Catalan folk art, show influences from Cubism and Fauvism. WOW. That's a logo. If you printed more of them on a cloth, you could make beautiful curtains out of it. By the way, I actually once had some with a Miró pattern. The idea behind it is gradually becoming clear to me. The competition will be shocked at first, ask questions, be surprised and perhaps even attest to the Austrian winter sports leadership having a courageous approach to the future.

Lots of lines that cross each other However, you have to be careful, because if you stare at the new logo for too long with unblinking eyes, you can become dizzy with all the linear chaos in which you are supposed to see an “A” like “Austria”. And the many lines are, according to the explanation, the different disciplines that are bundled together at “Ski-Austria” and complement and even cross each other. At some point a certain order should be recognizable. The crux of the matter is, of course, easily summed up: no one will immediately recognize these lines as a reference to what was once a large winter sports association. A logo that requires a lengthy explanation creates more confusion than a clear message.

Hundreds attended the presentation. © APA / GEORG HOCHMUTH

I'm just imagining that this idea, drawn in red pen, perhaps even derived from a cave drawing, will adorn the athletes' future ski suits. From the top left of the shoulders diagonally down the back to the base of the ski boots. The zebra look that German racing drivers have worn over their steeled bodies since time immemorial would become a boring onesie. Austria's new clothes would be haute couture. In any case, Innsbruck, the winter control center, is now apparently being cleared out a lot. Activism is the need of the hour. Attention should be generated in order to finally pour the past into the drawers of oblivion. This is perhaps an understandable but also dangerous philosophy, because the successes from the great times with colorful personalities are still fundamentally the basis of the present and the benchmark for the future.

Self-experiment desirable You can probably tell from my text today that I looked at the new logo for a very long time and very intensively. I ask for your understanding, but I would also like to encourage all readers to try things out for themselves, followed by intensive reflection. You will be surprised.

About the author: Sigi Heinrich

The award-winning sports journalist and TV commentator (including the German Television Prize, the Bavarian Sports Prize, the Biathlon Award and the World Sports Trophy) dedicates his column “Sigi's Peaks” to the entire diversity of sport and also enjoys poaching in foreign regions . Sometimes with a smile and a wink, sometimes dead serious or deliberately provocative. There should be something for everyone.

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