Finnish Ski Association Introduces Athlete Contributions for World Cup Participation

The Finnish Ski Association has announced that athletes on the national team will be required to contribute up to 500 euros for each World Cup weekend during the upcoming season. This new policy affects all athletes selected for these prestigious competitions.

Following a troubling financial report released last spring, the Ski Association implemented a crisis program aimed at stabilizing its finances. As part of this initiative, elite athletes are also expected to partake in cost-saving measures. Their training camps have predominantly shifted to domestic locations in line with the association’s strategy to save costs.

While the contribution is capped at 500 euros, Sirpa Korkatti, the newly elected chairperson of the Ski Association, indicated that this amount might not be reached. Korkatti emphasized, "Ensuring funding for international competition requires taking such measures."

In the past, there have been similar financial arrangements within the Ski Association. However, top athletes who received separate funding from the Olympic Committee were generally exempt from these contributions. It is noteworthy that, although high-performance sports are essential for the association’s funding and core activities, they incur significant expenses.

Korkatti added, "The general trend is that organizing high-performance sports is becoming increasingly expensive across all sports." Additionally, while the Ski Association will cover travel expenses for athletes coming from the Helsinki area, those traveling from other regions will need to pay for their own transportation to and from the capital.