Comment: The Ski Association must find a top-tier talent for the new position – relevant candidates are quickly emerging

As the sun quickly melts away the wintry conditions, the Finnish Ski Association remains in the media spotlight due to various recruitment endeavors.

On Wednesday, Yle Sports reported how former executive director, dismissed last year, Ismo Hämäläinen, is seeking substantial compensation through legal channels for what he deems to be wrongful termination.

On Thursday, the Ski Association released a press statement announcing they are looking to recruit a high-performance sports director as part of their strategic overhaul.

This type of position would have suited Ismo Hämäläinen significantly better than his abrupt managerial dismissal.

Currently, the coordination of high-performance sports within the association has been managed by sport coordinators Jarmo Riski in cross-country skiing and Mika Kojonkoski in ski jumping and Nordic combined. The new hire will collect the entire joyful sports family onto their shoulders.

The motivation behind the Ski Association's recent image and financial improvements is clear: the success in the 2029 World Championships in Lahti will make or break the organization. Finding a top-tier expert for this new position is a matter of crucial importance for the Ski Association.

As this thought develops, it is evident that the last competitive World Championships for notable athletes, such as Iivo Niskanen, will primarily be marketed as cross-country skiing events to Finnish audiences. For other disciplines, optimistically, they hope for the best.

The association's chairperson Sirpa Korkatti mentions in the recruitment news that within the next few years, the national ski team is expected to mean more than just emitting 16 consecutive letters.

The new director must create an environment where all the best athletes find the commitment to national team training worth pursuing. This will be revisited later. The new director will be chosen by executive director Marleena Valtasola, certainly after consulting more qualified individuals regarding the matter.

The unfortunate camp resources of the past few years have understandably led some star skiers to leave the national team gradually. Athletes preparing for major competitions and World Cups have been gathered from disparate locales.

Particularly disappointing has been the situation regarding the rapidly deteriorating women's national team due to the passage of time.

A Major Issue on the Table

The long-trained Kerttu Niskanen raised a significant issue at the Lahti World Cup when Yle Sports inquired as to why the national training camp did not entice the leading star.

Niskanen implied that she is not yet holding her breath for the moment the training offered by the association once again provides her a competitive advantage in the international arena.

With the new high-performance director aiming to rebuild a severely eroded national team culture, it might be wise to keep two Niskanen's and Krista Pärmäkoski out of this equation entirely.

Their mission at the twilight of their careers is merely to succeed in the way they deem best – and by doing so, generate resources, meaning money, for the cultural transformation of the association.

For instance, the coach Olli Ohtonen, who has evaluated Iivo Niskanen more than 200 times, no longer requires the insights gained from training camps regarding his current performance capabilities.

The Ski Association, struggling through cash crises in recent years, has primarily taken steps to ensure the costly competition season runs smoothly at the cost of the number and quality of training camps. Now, the operations are set to change completely if one is to believe the terms set for the new high-performance director. Funds must be sourced from anywhere.

A Healthy Generation Succession

One does not need to go far back in history when the national team thrived during a period of healthy generational succession.

The prominent skiers mentioned above have each extinguished their lights during national camps trailing legends like Matti Heikkinen, Sami Jauhojärvi, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Virpi Kuitunen (now Sarasvuo), Riitta-Liisa Roponen, or Pirjo Muranen.

Similarly, this ruthless knowledge regarding the world's elite positioning has been abundantly provided to younger generations by the trio in their training camps.

Former head coach Magnar Dalen stated during the Trondheim World Championships that he could not fathom how the vital operations for the development of the youth and the vitality of high-level sports have been permitted to reach such a state in Finland.

It is hardly coincidence that the significantly younger Norwegian head coach Erik Torneus-Kulstad does not observe any allowances for lax assemblies for elite national competition. 100% commitment is a requirement to belong to the team or not at all.

Many Finnish skiing enthusiasts have watched the documentary series on Norway's men’s national team on Viaplay. Commitment, internal competition, and team spirit have this shown in a goosebumps-inducing manner. While this certainly represents just one possibility and ideal for a competitive society, it is worth striving toward as best as one can.

Who Is This Wonder Person?

Who would this wonder person be that the Ski Association seeks? First of all, Finnish: the candidate must possess good Finnish language skills. The rest can be read in the fact box below:

When the criteria are fulfilled, one does not need to book a large auditorium as a means of uniting an entire credible Finnish sports group in the eyes of athletes.

Former combined head coach Petter Kukkonen admitted on Thursday to Yle Sports that the position is of interest. As a realist, he assumed, however, that it is likely to be filled by someone from the cross-country scheme.

Because Ismo Hämäläinen and equally unfortunate fate in the Olympic committee experienced Matti Heikkinen are unlikely to be considered, the small group remaining is indeed exceptionally brief. From that group, Toni Roponen, Reijo Jylhä, and Sami Jauhojärvi on Thursday stated thank you but no.

The role could safely be filled by Olli Ohtonen, but due to his other engaging job commitments, he is not seen as a probable applicant.

This leaves behind Jarmo Riski, who fulfills the demands posed by the Ski Association 100 percent. He did not respond to questions regarding the subject on Thursday.