.ski Pre-Register Domain - .ski Domain Information

.ski is a new gTLD created for the community that is directly or indirectly involved in the sport of skiing in its broadest sense and those who practice this sport on a professional level or as a leisure activity.

The ski community is made up of two types of groups:
- Professionals and companies that are active in the ski industry;
- Individuals who practice or/and have a real interest for the sport of skiing in its broadest sense.

Companies in the ski industry range from small businesses to big corporations, active, in particular, in the following business segments:
- Travel industry (including travel agencies, transportation);
- Ski resorts;
- Hotel business;
- Catering;
- Ski equipment industry (including, manufacturing and retail);
- Sporting events (e.g. competitions);
- Ski schools;
- Press/Media.

Professionals involved in the ski industry range from ski instructors to Ski Industry PR Professionals (SIPP). There are indeed many different professions that can be practiced in the ski industry.

Furthermore, the ski community is made up of and lives off millions of ski enthusiasts, passionate about the sport of skiing.

Globally recognized as the descriptive term for millions of skiers, hundreds of thousands of businesses, thousands of locations and hundreds of brands and organizations passionate about the sport of skiing, the .ski gTLD will quickly become the de facto identifier for skiers to share their passion online.

The fundamental goal of the .ski gTLD is to provide Internet users with a clear and unambiguous identifier that is directly linked to the sport of skiing, and increase consumer trust with dedicated spaces, promote free and healthy competition across associated businesses and deliver choice to consumers currently involved or intending to promote an Internet presence devoted to this sport.

i) Goal of the .ski gTLD

The sport of skiing is practiced in approximately 80 countries. Among these countries, roughly 70 offer open-air ski areas, the balance having indoor facilities, but all have a passionate ski sports community. There maybe many more snow fields around the world but just counting ski resorts with at least 5 ski lifts, there are currently around 2,000 ski resorts. Over the last years, worldwide skier visits have been estimated to reach a figure of 400 million, the most significant industry players being (according to the 2011 International report on mountain tourism): United States of America (59m skier visits), France (56m skier visits), Austria (53m skier visits), Japan (40m skier visits), Italy (27m skier visits), Switzerland (27m skier visits), Canada (19m skier visits), Germany (12m skier visits), Sweden (8m skier visits), Norway (6m skier visits), Spain (6m skier visits), South Korea (6m skier visits), China (5m skier visits), Russia (3m skier visits).

The Alps are the biggest ski destination in the world, capturing 46% of the skier visits. The second biggest destination is America (mostly North America), accounting for 23% of skier visits worldwide.

There are a number of other small players in the ski industry, spread over the globe, e.g. Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Lesotho, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey and Ukraine.

Thanks to the construction of ski resorts in fast growing economies the ski industry is entering into a second phase of development. It is likely that Eastern European and Asian markets will expand their skier visits figures over the next decade. Worldwide skier visits are forecast to reach over 420 million by the year 2020.

Into this important and growing industry, the .ski gTLD will deliver more consumer choice, promote free and healthy competition and offer businesses the ability to expand their reach and increase consumer trust.

ii) Key differentiation factors brought by the .ski new gTLD

The .ski gTLD will add a layer of user and navigational simplicity across the ski sports world bringing participants, organizations, businesses and brands that are involved in the sport of skiing closer together.

The word "ski" is a universally accepted term that is clear and unambiguous. Hence, the .ski gTLD has the potential to provide for a focused name space that:
- Invokes predictable and reliable content and online activities, but - on the other hand -
- Is also of little value to those that are not necessarily interested in the sport of skiing.
As a common identifier, the .ski gTLD will also promote a sense of community identity within the ski industry.
Ski participants and organizations have embraced many new technologies including Internet and Starting Dot sees adoption of the .ski gTLD to be swift and innovative.
Starting Dot is confident that the .ski gTLD will gain international acceptance among the ski community within a short space of time.

Starting Dot has identified at least 600,000 organizations that are eligible to register a domain name under the .ski gTLD and expects to achieve a market penetration of 3.5% after 3 years of operation of the proposed gTLD (which equals about 21,000 domain name registrations).

iii) Goals of the .ski gTLD in terms of user experience

BENEFITS OF THE .SKI GTLD FOR THE SKI INDUSTRY

The sport of skiing has become a real and efficient travel generator. The tourism industry has been among the first to capitalize on new technology. Because it is an information-rich industry, it depends on finding and developing new means to distribute travel and hospitality products and services, marketing information to consumers, and providing comfort and convenience to travelers.

The .ski gTLD will provide the ski industry with a new and unique platform to promote their goods and services, and thereby improve linkages between the industry and the consumers.

Due to the scarcity of space within the existing domain name system, many established and newly established ski-related businesses have been unable to register the domain name they initially wanted.

The .ski gTLD will resolve this problem by opening a new pool of domain names that are available for registration.

Finally, Starting Dot expects the .ski gTLD to increase the number of ski related domain name registration, and thereby raise awareness of Internet usage and technology application among the ski community.

BENEFITS OF THE SKI GTLD FOR CONSUMERS AND SUPPORTERS

The .ski gTLD will also serve consumers and supporters of the ski community.
In March 2012, Google AdWords Keyword Tool has registered around 46 million requests for the word "ski", which demonstrates a real appetite for ski related online content.

Due to the large amount of ski-related information on the Internet (213 million URLs contain the word "ski" according to Google), it is still very difficult to locate detailed and accurate online ski content.

The .ski gTLD will relieve the daily frustration of consumers and supporters of the ski industry struggling in their quest to locate ski-related goods and services on the Internet.
In fact, the .ski gTLD will offer consumers the unique ability to tie ski-related content with relevant domain name strings.

Starting Dot is therefore convinced that this seamless vision will deliver a confident, safer and more relevant user experience to consumers and supporters of the ski community.

The .ski gTLD will also provide a new method for ski participants to share their activities and their passion through the registration of .ski domain names. Participants in the growing social nature of the Internet will be able to enjoy their Internet presence in one seamless experience.

iv) .ski intended registration policies

In the operation of its proposed .ski gTLD, Starting Dot intends to implement all current and future ICANN policies.

Accordingly, Starting Dot will follow ICANN's policies with respect to dispute resolution, including the adoption of the Uniform Dispute resolution Policy, as the same may be amended from time to time.

In addition, Starting Dot will design a specific dispute resolution procedure to address situations in which there is objectively clear abuse of:
- a company name;
- a personal name;
- a professional name;
- a name with national or geographic significance.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants for a .ski domain name will have to be verifiable members of the ski community and each name applied for will have to be a name to which there is a right that has been established through rights registration or use. Such rights can consist of, but are not necessarily limited to, registered or unregistered trademarks, trade names, company names, business identifiers, etc. insofar and to the extent protected by the laws of the country in which the applicant for the .ski domain name resides, has been established or conducts business activities.

Participation in the ski community will have to be certified at the time the registrant applies for or register the domain name, which implies the acceptance of the domain name registration policies.

Verifiable members of the ski community must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Having a business activity or a profession that is related to the sport of skiing in its broadest sense;
- Having a real interest for the sport of skiing and devote the domain name registered under the .ski gTLD to the sport of skiing in its broadest sense.
- Starting Dot believes that these eligibility requirements will be a key impediment for registrants who are seeking to engage in abusive registrations and cyber-squatting.

Starting Dot has also defined a list of reserved and prohibited domain names under the .ski gTLD. Reserved names are domain names reserved for special use or for special organizations. Prohibited names are names that may not be registered under the .ski gTLD.

RESERVED NAMES

Unless agreed upon otherwise in writing with ICANN, Starting Dot will comply with the restrictions on registration of character strings set forth at specification 5 of the Registry Operator Agreement.

Starting Dot also intends to define and control a list of domain names that have a value for the entire ski community, in order to delegate them to those registrants who are committing to use these in order to support the community for which the .ski gTLD is initially intended.

Hence, one character labels and a list of generic names will be reserved by Starting Dot and only released at its sole discretion.

PROHIBITED NAMES

The list of prohibited names under the .ski gTLD includes, in particular:
- Abusive terms;
- Racist terms;
- Obscene terms;
- Terms relating to crime or offenses.

THIRD-LEVEL NAMES

Starting Dot does not intend to allow third-level name registrations under the .ski gTLD.

ILLEGAL USE AND COMPLIANCE

Use of a domain name that is barred or prohibited by law or legal proceeding in any jurisdiction, or is considered to be defamatory will permit Starting Dot to revoke the domain name. Policies to this end will be developed by the registry and published in due time following ICANN's delegation of the .ski gTLD to Starting Dot.

ENFORCEMENT

The .ski domain name registration policies will contain the following enforcement procedures and processes, in addition to those procedures that have been established in accordance with Consensus Policies such as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy:
- Verification of entitlement of the registrant at the time of registration of a domain name, and this on a sample basis; and
- Ongoing verification throughout the term of the domain name registration.

In principle, Starting Dot will conduct quarterly random controls on a sample basis of .ski domain name registrants. Starting Dot will verify whether a registrant meets the eligibility requirements and/or domain name restrictions on the basis of public information, such as the information displayed on the registrant's website, as well as other sources (on the Internet or otherwise). When in doubt, the registry will put the domain name on hold, and contact the registrant and the registrar with the request to provide proof that the registrant is meeting such requirements within a reasonable timeframe (e.g copy of ski sports instructor certificate, copy of membership in a ski association).

If no or insufficient proof is provided by the registrant, Starting Dot shall be entitled to revoke the domain name and inform the public that the domain name has been previously used contrary to its registration policies.

Furthermore, Starting Dot's Complaints Point of Contact will handle any complaints in relation to a .ski domain name registration, including where the complainant alleges that a particular registrant does not meet the eligibility requirements or domain name restrictions.

v) Measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants

Starting Dot is committed to being a responsible participant in the efforts of the Internet community to balance the need for data privacy with the need to provide access to records that allow the public to identify and contact domain name holders. To that end, Starting Dot will strive to maintain open access to registrant information to the extent compatible with applicable privacy laws.

In the operation of the .ski gTLD, Starting Dot will offer a thick WHOIS service as set forth in Specification 4 of Registry Operator Agreement. Providing true, current, complete and accurate contact information will be a condition of domain name registration under the .ski gTLD. The use of proxy domain name registration will be prohibited.

The data collected by registrars during domain name registration will be published in the .ski gTLD WHOIS database. This information will provide the public with the ability to get in touch with the domain name holder for any reason that requires actions to be taken. In this operation, Starting Dot will be compliant with applicable privacy laws.

In addition, Starting Dot will require registrars to post privacy policies that provide clear and complete notice to registrants of the type of data that will be collected and maintained by Starting Dot, the use of such data in operating the registry service (including display through the WHOIS service), and the registrant's right to access and correct data maintained by Starting Dot. Clear consent to such data practices will be a prerequisite to the submission of a domain name registration request.

Starting Dot will take reasonable steps to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction. Starting Dot will prevent the abuse of data through the .ski domain name registration policies and by implementing technical restrictions set forth in our response to question 26 of this application.

Starting Dot will not use or authorize the use of personal data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrants and registrars.

vi) Marketing and communications strategy to promote the .ski new gTLD

Starting Dot's goal is to introduce the .ski gTLD as a "must-have" for all ski related companies, associations and individuals that already have a presence or want a presence on the Internet.

To achieve its goal, Starting Dot will build awareness of the .ski gTLD on a global basis and educate the community about the benefits of the .ski gTLD.
Starting Dot intends to promote and implement the new .ski gTLD in all key markets through a dedicated marketing department, managed by a prominent TLD marketing figure.

Starting Dot's priority target for the marketing of its .ski gTLD are web-savvy business users, defined as business organizations having one (or more than one) domain name registration in an existing top-level domain. Inside its priority target, Starting Dot has identified three specific segments:
- Top 100 ski equipment brands;
- Small and medium businesses unsatisfied with their current Internet domain name;
- Newly established companies facing the unavailability of the domain name corresponding to their name, brand or trade name in existing TLDs.

Through its co-operative marketing plan, Starting Dot will encourage registrars to promote the gTLD in their local markets.
Starting Dot also intends to involve supporting ski organizations in the promotion and marketing of the new .ski gTLD.

Finally, a massive awareness campaign via online media (e.g. display advertising, interactive and email marketing) and event marketing (e.g. exhibitions) will establish the credibility of the .ski gTLD in the marketplace.

Regardless of the marketing or communication vehicle, the messaging will always be consistent: the .ski gTLD will deliver more consumer choice, promote free and healthy competition and offer businesses the ability to expand their reach and increase consumer trust.

i) Multiple applications resolution policies

The .ski gTLD Sunrise period will be conducted in compliance with ICANN's specifications. The proposed Sunrise Eligibility Requirements will conform to the following qualification derived from numerous past TLD Sunrise programs: applicants will have to prove ownership of a qualifying mark, as set forth in question 29 of this application.

Multiple applications for the same domain name, were they to occur, will be resolved by auction, however always bearing in mind that all candidate registrants must meet the eligibility criteria defined in the .ski registration policies. In any case, domain names in the .ski extension will only be awarded eligible applicants / registrants.
The Sunrise period will be followed by a Landrush period during which applications may be submitted for any available .ski domain name. The Landrush period will be strictly reserved to:
- Verifiable members of the ski community;
- Local governments that wish to register codes for the names of their subdivisions contained on the ISO 3166-2 list in English, French, German or Spanish (as set forth in question 22 of this application).

Multiple applications for the same name, may they to occur, will be resolved by auction, except in the event of a contention between a verifiable member of the ski community and a local government. In such case the domain name will we awarded to the local government.

During the General Availability period, verifiable members of the ski community will have the opportunity to apply for a .ski domain name, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Reserved domain names may be allocated by Starting Dot as the latter deems fit.

ii) Cost strategy among registrants

Domain name registration fees will be higher during the Sunrise and the Landrush period as registration will be open to fewer applicants.

Reserved names will be subject to a different pricing policy.

Starting Dot also reserves the right to set up promotional offers, limited in time and under predefined conditions.

iii) Commitments to registrars regarding the magnitude of price escalation.

Starting Dot understands that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years.

We also understand that the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increase.

Starting Dot will adhere to these provisions.

Domain name registration price under the .ski gTLD might increase in the event of:
- Inflation in the Euro area;
- Increase of fees charged by ICANN.

The .ski gTLD will be reserved to the community that is directly or indirectly involved in the sport of skiing in its broadest sense and those who practice this sport on a professional level or as a leisure activity. The word "ski" is a universally accepted term that is commonly used to describe: - A narrow strip of wood, plastic, metal or combination thereof, worn underfoot to glide over snow; - The sport of skiing, which is the action of using skis to glide over snow. It is believed that skiing evolved from snowshoeing in Northern Europe and Asia. Skiing evolved thousands of years ago, as the oldest skis found in France and Switzerland were estimated to be about 5,000 years old. Skiing was then mainly a way of transportation. Skiing popularity grew more in the early 1900's, as woodcarvers introduced lighter, thinner and cambered skis. The Alpine skiing disciplines of downhill and slalom came about with this new equipment. As alpine skiing became a popular European pastime during the 1930's, first resorts were developed in Switzerland and Austria to receive everyone who wanted to experience this sport. Many other resorts were built in Europe and in America, where the sport of skiing became also very popular. Ski resort construction triggered the development of ski schools, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, ski equipment factories and many other business segments. Ski is therefore more than a sport and leisure activity, it is a well structured and flourishing industry. The sport of skiing is practiced in approximately 80 countries. Among these countries, roughly 70 offer open-air ski areas, the balance having indoor facilities, but all have a passionate ski sports community. There maybe many more snow fields around the world but just counting ski resorts with at least 5 ski lifts, there are currently around 2,000 ski resorts. Over the last years, worldwide skier visits have been estimated to reach a figure of 400 million, the most significant industry players being (according to 2011 International report on mountain tourism): United States of America (59m skier visits), France (56m skier visits), Austria (53m skier visits), Japan (40m skier visits), Italy (27m skier visits), Switzerland (27m skier visits), Canada (19m skier visits), Germany (12m skier visits), Sweden (8m skier visits), Norway (6m skier visits), Spain (6m skier visits), South Korea (6m skier visits), China (5m skier visits), Russia (3m skier visits). The Alps are the biggest ski destination in the world, attracting 46% of skier visits. America is the second biggest destination (North America in particular), accounting for 23% of skier visits. There are a number of other small players in the ski industry, spread over the globe, e.g. Algeria, Argentina, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa. Thanks to fast growing ski resorts, Eastern European and Asian countries are expected to have an increased number of skier visits over the next decade. The sport of skiing has ultimately evolved to an important and growing industry. The ski community is made up of two types of groups: - Professionals and companies that are active in the ski industry; - Individuals who practice or/and have a real interest for the sport of skiing in its broadest sense. Companies in the ski industry range from small businesses to big corporations, active, in particular, in the following business segments: - Travel industry (including travel agencies, transportation); - Ski resorts; - Hotel business; - Catering; - Ski equipment industry (including, manufacturing and retail); - Sporting events (e.g. competitions); - Ski schools; - Press/Media. Professionals involved in the ski industry range from ski instructors to Ski Industry PR Professionals (SIPP). There are indeed many different professions that can be practiced in the ski industry. Furthermore, the ski community is made up of and lives off millions of ski enthusiasts, passionate about the sport of skiing. The .ski gTLD will serve each one of these companies, professionals and individuals.

The United States and France account both for 47% of the biggest ski resorts in the world. Both countries are also leaders in terms of skier visits, which is used as a reference indicator in the ski industry. Accordingly, France and the USA are two of the most important countries in the ski industry, in terms of size and economic growth. Starting Dot's founders, Mr. Godefroy Jordan and Mr. Guillaume Buffet, are both ski enthusiasts and have been able to build close relationships with the ski community, in particular in France and in the USA. Mr. Guillaume Buffet is an expert skier (e.g. Freeride, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing) and has been skiing with international ski competitors for over 30 years. He has also worked as a marketing consultant for major ski industry players (e.g. ZagSkis, Salomon, X-games, Gîte de France, Atout France) and has been able to build close relationships with major French ski areas (e.g. Val d'Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs, Val Thorens, Courchevel). Accordingly, Starting Dot was able to receive following endorsements for the .ski gTLD application: - Leading French ski resort (Tignes); - National Ski area association (Domaines Skiables de France); - Local authority (The Department of Savoie). Tignes is served by the large well-linked ski area called LʹEspace Killy. Tignes shares the LʹEspace Killy with Val dʹIsere and with over 300km (190 miles) of ski slopes 150 shops, 115 bars, numerous ski schools, 1500 and more staff. Tignes has therefore become one of Europeʹs premier resorts. Due to its altitude, Tignes has a very reliable snow record, which, after recent seasons of reduced snowfall, has encouraged people to choose higher mountain resorts. According to ʹThe good Ski & Snowboarding Guideʹ Tignes/Val dʹIsere is one of only two ski areas in France listed as ʹSnow-sure resortsʹ. Tignes boasts a fast and efficient lift system, 97 lifts including 2 high-speed underground trains (funicular railways) one of which transports visitors from Tignes Val Claret to the ʹPanoramic Restaurantʹ on the Grand Motte Glacier. All standards are catered for with ʹ5 free lifts for beginners. LʹEspace Killy is also known for its incredible off-pistes with good lift access. Tignes produces more than 1.5 million ski visits per year and caters for visitors predominantly in self-catering apartments, although there are a plenty of 2 to 4 star hotels and catered chalets to choose from. Most accommodation in Tignes have very convenient access to slopes. Tignes offers also plenty of other activities like ice diving, dog sledding, hang gliding, skidoo riding, ice climbing, parascending, ski-joring (being pulled along by horses), skating, snowshoeing, indoor tennis, heli-skiing. In terms of skier visits, international reach, economic growth, Tignes is one of the most representative ski resorts in the world. The Domaines Skiables de France, founded in 1938 under the name of Syndicat National des Téléphériques de France (SNTF - National Association of French cable cars), is a French Professional Chamber. From 15 initial members, it has grown to encompass 387 members. Members of the Domaines Skiables de France are ski lift operators, ski resorts, contractors, professional training centers and manufacturers. The history of the Chamber is directly to linked to the continued development of ski resorts. The Domaines Skiables de France main missions are: - Developing professional standards; - Promoting sustainable development; - Ensuring ski-area security. The mountainous department of Savoie is famed for its skiing; containing some of the world's most prestigious resorts. Savoie contains the fashionable pistes of Courchevel 1850, which achieved global fame. It is situated at the eastern end of the Trois Vallee's, which is the worlds largest ski area, also containing the renowned resorts of Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens, Europe's highest ski resort. Courchevel is composed of five separate base stations, each known by their altitudes. Courchevel 1850 is the largest and highest, although its highest point is actually only 1747m. Courchevel is one of the ‘big-four' French ski resorts, whose prestige comes from their size, nightlife and the quality of their skiing. Two of the other three, Val d'Isere and Méribel, are also located in Savoie, while Chamonix is in neighboring Haute-Savoie. Extreme sports enthusiasts can get their thrills in Savoie through rock-climbing, paragliding, parachuting and white-water rafting on the river Isère. The department of Savoie, due to the management of major ski resorts, has extensive knowledge of the ski community and its perfectly aware of its needs in terms of technology application. It is therefore well suited to endorse Starting Dot's .ski gTLD application and to take part in this new gTLD Policy Advisory Committee. Starting Dot will be managing the .ski gTLD in partnership with Adrenaline Top-Level Domain Inc., an American company based in New York City. Adrenaline TLD has been working on the .ski gTLD application for one year and has dedicated a website to the proposed gTLD. One of the founders of Adrenaline TLD, Mr. Robert Rozicki has been both a passionate skier and snowboarder for over 30 years. His passion for ski has taken him across the globe, interacting with skiing communities in Europe, North America and Australasia. Mr. Robert Rozicki has spent the last year evangelizing the value of a .ski gTLD and the ICANN New gTLD program to the ski sports communities in over 20 North American ski areas and globally through digital and social media channels. Additionally, he is a domain name industry veteran with over 12 years of experience in the domain name registrar and online brand protection industries as well as extension digital marketing experience. Starting Dot holds 35% of Adrenaline TLD's shares and will appoint Adrenaline TLD as the exclusive marketing agent for the promotion of the .ski gTLD in the USA, following ICANN's delegation of the .ski gTLD. As defined in consultation with supporting organizations and Adrenaline TLD, the .ski gTLD will: - Deliver a secure and restricted domain name space, dedicated to verifiable members of the ski community; - Promote collaboration and networking within the ski community; - Promote free and healthy competition, based on principles of transparency and fairness. Starting Dot intends to achieve these goals by defining specific eligibility requirements and by establishing a Policy Advisory Committee that will include members of the ski community.

The United States and France account both for 47% of the biggest ski resorts in the world. Both countries are also leaders in terms of skier visits, which is used as a reference indicator in the ski industry. Accordingly, France and the USA are two of the most important countries in the ski industry, in terms of size and economic growth. Starting Dot's founders, Mr. Godefroy Jordan and Mr. Guillaume Buffet, are both ski enthusiasts and have been able to build close relationships with the ski community, in particular in France and in the USA. Mr. Guillaume Buffet is an expert skier (e.g. Freeride, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing) and has been skiing with international ski competitors for over 30 years. He has also worked as a marketing consultant for major ski industry players (e.g. ZagSkis, Salomon, X-games, Gîte de France, Atout France) and has been able to build close relationships with major French ski areas (e.g. Val d'Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs, Val Thorens, Courchevel). Accordingly, Starting Dot was able to receive following endorsements for the .ski gTLD application: - Leading French ski resort (Tignes); - National Ski area association (Domaines Skiables de France); - Local authority (The Department of Savoie). Tignes is served by the large well-linked ski area called LʹEspace Killy. Tignes shares the LʹEspace Killy with Val dʹIsere and with over 300km (190 miles) of ski slopes 150 shops, 115 bars, numerous ski schools, 1500 and more staff. Tignes has therefore become one of Europeʹs premier resorts. Due to its altitude, Tignes has a very reliable snow record, which, after recent seasons of reduced snowfall, has encouraged people to choose higher mountain resorts. According to ʹThe good Ski & Snowboarding Guideʹ Tignes/Val dʹIsere is one of only two ski areas in France listed as ʹSnow-sure resortsʹ. Tignes boasts a fast and efficient lift system, 97 lifts including 2 high-speed underground trains (funicular railways) one of which transports visitors from Tignes Val Claret to the ʹPanoramic Restaurantʹ on the Grand Motte Glacier. All standards are catered for with ʹ5 free lifts for beginners. LʹEspace Killy is also known for its incredible off-pistes with good lift access. Tignes produces more than 1.5 million ski visits per year and caters for visitors predominantly in self-catering apartments, although there are a plenty of 2 to 4 star hotels and catered chalets to choose from. Most accommodation in Tignes have very convenient access to slopes. Tignes offers also plenty of other activities like ice diving, dog sledding, hang gliding, skidoo riding, ice climbing, parascending, ski-joring (being pulled along by horses), skating, snowshoeing, indoor tennis, heli-skiing. In terms of skier visits, international reach, economic growth, Tignes is one of the most representative ski resorts in the world. The Domaines Skiables de France, founded in 1938 under the name of Syndicat National des Téléphériques de France (SNTF - National Association of French cable cars), is a French Professional Chamber. From 15 initial members, it has grown to encompass 387 members. Members of the Domaines Skiables de France are ski lift operators, ski resorts, contractors, professional training centers and manufacturers. The history of the Chamber is directly to linked to the continued development of ski resorts. The Domaines Skiables de France main missions are: - Developing professional standards; - Promoting sustainable development; - Ensuring ski-area security. The mountainous department of Savoie is famed for its skiing; containing some of the world's most prestigious resorts. Savoie contains the fashionable pistes of Courchevel 1850, which achieved global fame. It is situated at the eastern end of the Trois Vallee's, which is the worlds largest ski area, also containing the renowned resorts of Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens, Europe's highest ski resort. Courchevel is composed of five separate base stations, each known by their altitudes. Courchevel 1850 is the largest and highest, although its highest point is actually only 1747m. Courchevel is one of the ‘big-four' French ski resorts, whose prestige comes from their size, nightlife and the quality of their skiing. Two of the other three, Val d'Isere and Méribel, are also located in Savoie, while Chamonix is in neighboring Haute-Savoie. Extreme sports enthusiasts can get their thrills in Savoie through rock-climbing, paragliding, parachuting and white-water rafting on the river Isère. The department of Savoie, due to the management of major ski resorts, has extensive knowledge of the ski community and its perfectly aware of its needs in terms of technology application. It is therefore well suited to endorse Starting Dot's .ski gTLD application and to take part in this new gTLD Policy Advisory Committee. Starting Dot will be managing the .ski gTLD in partnership with Adrenaline Top-Level Domain Inc., an American company based in New York City. Adrenaline TLD has been working on the .ski gTLD application for one year and has dedicated a website to the proposed gTLD. One of the founders of Adrenaline TLD, Mr. Robert Rozicki has been both a passionate skier and snowboarder for over 30 years. His passion for ski has taken him across the globe, interacting with skiing communities in Europe, North America and Australasia. Mr. Robert Rozicki has spent the last year evangelizing the value of a .ski gTLD and the ICANN New gTLD program to the ski sports communities in over 20 North American ski areas and globally through digital and social media channels. Additionally, he is a domain name industry veteran with over 12 years of experience in the domain name registrar and online brand protection industries as well as extension digital marketing experience. Starting Dot holds 35% of Adrenaline TLD's shares and will appoint Adrenaline TLD as the exclusive marketing agent for the promotion of the .ski gTLD in the USA, following ICANN's delegation of the .ski gTLD. As defined in consultation with supporting organizations and Adrenaline TLD, the .ski gTLD will: - Deliver a secure and restricted domain name space, dedicated to verifiable members of the ski community; - Promote collaboration and networking within the ski community; - Promote free and healthy competition, based on principles of transparency and fairness. Starting Dot intends to achieve these goals by defining specific eligibility requirements and by establishing a Policy Advisory Committee that will include members of the ski community.

The word "ski" goes back to the Old Norse word skíð meaning ʺa stick of woodʺ. It is now a universally accepted term that is used in most languages in the world. Languages like English and French use the original spelling ʺskiʺ, and modify the pronunciation. Languages like Italian pronounce it exactly as in Norwegian, and modify the spelling: ʺsciʺ. German and Spanish adapt the word to their linguistic rules. "Ski" is definitely the most suited word for a gTLD intended to serve the ski community. Many companies and professionals that work in the ski industry have registered a trademark that includes the term "ski": Community Trademarks (CTM) - SKI ALPINE; - Ski amade; - Ski Republic; - Ski & Surf Company. United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - SKI TREKKER; - SKI SUNDRIES & SUPPLIES; - SKISYNC; - SKI THE THREES; In March 2012, Google Adwords Keyword has also registered around 46 million requests for the word "ski". Industry players and ski enthusiasts have clearly adopted "ski" as the most representative word for their community. Starting Dot is therefore confident that the .ski gTLD will gain international acceptance and impose itself as a lasting communication vehicle for the ski community.

Starting Dot will manage the .ski gTLD for the benefit of the entire ski community. Benefits attainment of a restricted TLD will require equitable and substantive evaluation of domain name requests to weed-out non-eligible applicants while ensuing the availability of the TLD for its intended registrants. Thanks to the expertise of its founding directors and to their relationship to the ski community Starting Dot is perfectly suited to endorse this responsibility. Two main mechanisms will ensure stakeholders that the .ski gTLD will be managed in the community's best interests: - The establishment of a Policy Advisory Committee including members of the ski community; - Restrictive eligibility policies defined in collaboration with the ski community. The Policy Advisory Committee will serve as a channel for the community to provide Starting Dot input into how policies have been implemented, the experience of registrants with these policies, the effectiveness of procedures (both technical and non technical) and opportunities to improve support and services. For transparency's sake, minutes of the committee's bi-annual meetings will be posted on the .ski gTLD's main website. Furthermore, Starting Dot intends to enforce the community-based purpose of the .ski gTLD through following registration policies. In the operation of its proposed .ski gTLD, Starting Dot intends to implement all current and future ICANN policies. Accordingly, Starting Dot will follow ICANN's policies with respect to dispute resolution, including the adoption of the Uniform Dispute resolution Policy, as the same may be amended from time to time. In addition, Starting Dot will design a specific dispute resolution procedure to address situations in which there is objectively clear abuse of: - A company name; - A personal name; - A professional name; - A name with national or geographic significance ELIGIBILITY Applicants of a .ski domain name will have to be verifiable members of the ski community and each name applied for will have to be a name to which there is a right that has been established through rights registration or use. Such rights can consist of, but are not necessarily limited to, registered or unregistered trademarks, trade names, company names, business identifiers, etc. insofar and to the extent protected by the laws of the country in which the applicant for the .ski domain name resides, has been established or conducts business activities. Participation in the ski community will have to be certified at the time the registrant applies for or registers the domain name, which implies the acceptance of the domain name registration policies. Verifiable members of the ski community must meet at least one of the following criteria: - Having a business activity or a profession that is related to the sport of skiing in its broadest sense; - Having a real interest for the sport of skiing and devote the domain name registered under the .ski gTLD to the sport of skiing in its broadest sense. Starting Dot believes that these eligibility requirements will be a key impediment for registrants who are seeking to engage in abusive registrations and cyber-squatting. Starting Dot has also defined a list of reserved and prohibited domain names under the .ski gTLD. Reserved names are domain names reserved for special use or for special organizations. Prohibited names are names that may not be registered under the .ski gTLD. RESERVED NAMES Unless agreed upon otherwise in writing with ICANN, Starting Dot will comply with the restrictions on registration of character strings set forth at Specification 5 of the Registry Operator Agreement. Starting Dot also intends to define and control a list of domain names that have a value for the entire ski community, in order to delegate them to those registrants who are committing to use these in order to support the community for which the .ski gTLD is initially intended. Hence, one character labels and a list of generic names will be reserved by Starting Dot and only released at its sole discretion. PROHIBITED NAMES The list of prohibited names under the .ski gTLD includes, in particular: - Abusive terms; - Racist terms; - Obscene terms; - Terms relating to crime or offenses. THIRD-LEVEL NAMES Starting Dot does not intend to allow third-level name registrations under the .ski gTLD. ILLEGAL USE AND COMPLIANCE Use of a domain name that is barred or prohibited by law or legal proceeding in any jurisdiction, or is considered to be defamatory will permit Starting Dot to revoke the domain name. Policies to this end will be developed by the registry and published in due time following ICANN's delegation of the .ski gTLD to Starting Dot. ENFORCEMENT The .ski domain name registration policies will contain the following enforcement procedures and processes, in addition to those procedures that have been established in accordance with Consensus Policies such as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy: - Verification of entitlement of the registrant at the time of registration of a domain name, and this on a sample basis; and - Ongoing verification throughout the term of the domain name registration. In principle, Starting Dot will conduct quarterly random controls on a sample basis of .ski domain name registrants. Starting Dot will verify whether a registrant meets the eligibility requirements and/or domain name restrictions on the basis of public information, such as the information displayed on the registrant's website, as well as other sources (on the Internet or otherwise). When in doubt, the registry will put the domain name on hold, and contact the registrant and the registrar with the request to provide proof that the registrant is meeting such requirements within a reasonable timeframe (e.g copy of ski sports instructor certificate, copy of membership in a ski association). If no or insufficient proof is provided by the registrant, Starting Dot shall be entitled to revoke the domain name and inform the public that the domain name has been previously used contrary to its registration policies. Furthermore, Starting Dot's Complaints Point of Contact will handle any complaints in relation to a .ski domain name registration, including where the complainant alleges that a particular registrant does not meet the eligibility requirements or domain name restrictions.

As requested by ICANN and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), Starting Dot will reserve, within its proposed .ski gTLD, names formed with the following labels from initial registration:

a. Two-character labels. All two characters labels will be initially reserved. The reservation of a two-character label string may be released if Starting Dot reached an agreement with the relevant government or country code manager. Starting Dot may also propose release of these reservations if measures have been implemented to avoid confusion with corresponding country codes.

b. Country and Territory Names. The country and territory names contained in the following internationally recognized lists:

i) The short form in English of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166- 1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union;
ii) The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and
iii) The list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Starting Dot may only release these reservations if it has reached an agreement with the corresponding government or if the release proposal has been subjected to GAC's review and has received ICANN's approval.

Given the fact that with the .ski gTLD, Starting Dot is reaching out to the international architectural scene, it has a vested interest in giving its registrants and Internet users a clear and predictable naming scheme in the .ski gTLD. Since various stakeholders may be looking for certain architectural achievements on the basis of their geographic location or destination, Starting Dot will control registration of domain names that contain geographic names other than the ones listed in Specification 5 of Registry Operator Agreement:

i) Codes for the names of the principal subdivisions (e.g. provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1 contained on the ISO 3166-2 list, in English, French, German and Spanish, will also be reserved from initial registration within the .ski gTLD. Local governments will be given the opportunity to register these subdivision names during the Landrush period. In case a local government falls into the eligibility criteria defined in the .ski domain registration policies, it will be allowed to actually use the domain name, otherwise the domain name will only be blocked. Starting Dot will inform corresponding local governments of this opportunity, via email, 3 month prior to the launch of the Landrush period. If a local government fails to register its subdivision names, Starting Dot will release these names for registration under the .ski gTLD.

ii) Starting Dot will also design a specific dispute resolution procedure to address situations in which there is objectively clear abuse of names with national or geographic significance at the second level of the new .ski gTLD.
In any case the registration, delegation and use of domain names corresponding to geographic names will at all times be done in the best interest of the country, region or city, including their respective interests concerning tourism, architecture and art, and in order to directly and indirectly promote their activities, products and services in the geographic locations of which the name has been registered.