Millions Blown Away by Winds – The Finnish Ski Association Suffers Huge Revenue Losses Due to Unpredictable Winds

The ski jumping event in Ruka, which contributed to the Nordic skiing weekend, concluded on Sunday evening but was unable to complete due to unfavorable wind conditions.

The competition only managed to jump one round before the competition director, Sandro Pertile, decided to halt the event. While the athletes did receive their World Cup points and prize money in full, the delay represented a notable financial hit for the Finnish Ski Association, which missed out on a significant revenue stream from television broadcasting agreements.

According to Marleena Valtasola, the acting executive director of the Finnish Ski Association, this situation was unfortunate but not catastrophic. However, she did not disclose the specific amounts involved due to confidentiality agreements.

Although the expected losses were not specified, historical data indicates that the ski jumping television agreement is more lucrative than that of cross-country skiing combined. An example from 2015 indicated that wind-related cancellations had caused a loss of €675,000 to the ski association from canceled events during that weekend, with ski jumping alone accounting for over half a million in losses.

The Finnish Ski Association held discussions on the matter in the years following that catastrophic year, ultimately reducing its financial burden when a ski event was interrupted.

Thus far, the Finnish Ski Association has shouldered the financial responsibility for 106 World Cup ski jumping competitions in this millennium, with 11 concluded at only the first round due to issues like the recent unfavorable winds.

Although delayed competitions resulted in significantly reduced payouts, ski jumping events shifted from large to smaller hills retained the same TV compensation as they could be rescheduled appropriately. In total, the association has faced financial setbacks in 23 ski jumping events, with estimated losses totaling around three million euros, a situation described likened to blowing away into the wind.

Interestingly, the Finnish Ski Association previously sought insurance for event cancellations, but the high costs, reportedly exceeding €100,000 for a single weekend in Ruka, led to the decision against its procurement.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) is pursuing efforts to adjust the funding model for World Cup events, with national associations holding ownership rights to the events and negotiating their TV and marketing contracts independently. A new centralized model proposed transferring these rights to FIS, though it has faced legal challenges from the German and Austrian ski associations. Kulmala sees potential in this centralized model for risk management for national federations, assuming FIS will also bear significant risks as large revenue recipients in future.

In summary, the impact of unpredictable weather conditions on ski events extends beyond the competition itself, significantly affecting the financial landscape of the Finnish Ski Association and the broader ski community.