Turmoil in British ski racing
Friday August 14, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

It’s been an open secret in the ski world for the past few months that the organisation has serious financial problems. It is thought to be £300,000 in debt.

Several of Britain’s Olympic athletes have told PlanetSKI they have had reduced funding and they can not complete their full summer training schedules.

Other organisations in the ski world have told us that Snowsport GB simply doesn't have enough funds left.

Some administrative staff have been made redundant and now it has emerged that some coaching staff have not been paid either.

Many of the athletes have had to fund their own summer training programmes ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics  and one of Britain's medal hopes, Chemmy Alcott, has voiced serious concerns.

Chemmy training indoors this summer"I've spent the last 12 years of my life preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is the most important season of my career. I'm at the prime age and I don't need these kind of distractions. It is the worst timing ever and isn't going to help my Olympic preparation," she says.

Snowsport GB is based in Edinburgh and has already had 2 chief executives in the past 5 years. Now it is looking for another one.

It follows the discovery of what the organisation calls "financial irregularities" and it says a rescue package has been put in place and will be finalised in the next few days.

“The organisation has come through a challenging few months in the middle of a difficult wider economic period but we are now very pleased to be in a position where we can continue with our preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in February 2010,” says Robin Kellen, Snowsport GB’s interim Chief Executive Officer.

For the full text of a statement sent to PlanetSKI by Snowsport GB see below.

Drake coaches The KandaharBritain's best skier, Ed Drake, has been coaching children from the Kandahar Ski Club at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead to raise funds, though he used to race with The Club so it is not purely about the money.

Drake is also raising funds with this competition at The Snow Centre.

The Scotsman newspaper quotes the former British Olympic skier Lesley Beck as saying the situation is disasterous.

"Other teams have had a number of weeks on skis and testing equipment. We have missed important training. It's hard to recover in a really competitive arena. This is a failure by Snowsport GB and they have let the athletes down."

"It has been badly managed," said a source. "We have people coming in from firms that have no idea about the sport. They've failed to get sponsorship and their administrative skills have not been up to the task."

The organisation has had some success in recent years with British skiers and snowboarders improving their positions and it has helped develop some medal contenders for the Vancouver Olympics.

Baxter speaking to PlanetSKI shortly after retirementThe ex-racer, Alain Baxter, went out of his way to praise Snowsport GB when he retired at the end of last winter.

"It's had it's ups and downs but, wow, what a time. Snowsport GB have been wonderful and I owe thanks to them all for their help over the last 15 years," he said at the time.

The Snowsport GB, is made up of 7 constituent member groups, including the Home Nation Governing Bodies plus a number of other organisations who collectively manage British snowsports from grass roots to elite competitive level.

The role of Snowsport GB is primarily the management and promotion of Britain’s top international snowsports competitors.

Full statement from Snowsport GB

At the end of the 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season, SnowsportGB undertook a major review of both its finances and its operating procedures following the identification of some internal irregularities.

As a consequence, the contract of the Chief Executive was terminated and following a rapid further review, the scale of the financial difficulties faced by the organisation became clear. 

Following a period of intensive activity, a refinancing package involving a small number of supporters of the sport was agreed and is now being finalised to support the organisation in moving forward over the next four years.  

Robin Kellen, SnowsportGB’s interim Chief Executive Officer commented: “The organisation has come through a challenging few months in the middle of a difficult wider economic period but we are now very pleased to be in a position where we can continue with our preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in February 2010”. 

“Due to the priority focus on resolving the financial matters, the commencement of our new season training programmes was delayed, however our coaching programmes have now started and our full training programmes will be delivered for Vancouver 2010 and beyond”.

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