After 20 years of successful partnership with many emotional highlights, overcome sporting low blows and impressive successes, Swisscom and the Swiss Ski Association Swiss-Ski will go their separate ways from the 2022/23 season. This opens up new possibilities for both partners.
The commitment to Swiss-Ski has always been a matter close to Swisscom's heart for over 20 years. Overnight, in 2001, following the grounding of Swissair, Swisscom took over the function of the then general sponsor of the Ski Association and supported Swiss skiing in a difficult phase. Swisscom remained committed as the main sponsor and reliable partner of the Ski Association in good, but also less good times. In addition to some sporting low blows, the way back to the top of the world was all the more gratifying for the athletes, the federation and the whole of ski-loving Switzerland. During the successful partnership, the Swiss snow sportsmen and women won 44 Olympic medals and, most recently, the World Cup nations classification in alpine skiing twice in a row. Swisscom, as a long-standing partner of Swiss-Ski, is very proud of this.
From the 2022/23 season, Swisscom and the Swiss Ski Association will go their separate ways and will not renew the contract, which expires in April 2022. Swisscom recognises the association's need for increasingly high investment requirements to secure its leading position in skiing in the long term. However, the leading Swiss telecommunications company does not want to substantially increase its commitment to snow sports and does not want to commit itself again in the long term, but will in future become more involved in the broad spectrum along its brand promise.
The Swiss snow sports family is very grateful to Swisscom for its two decades of commitment. "Together, we have succeeded in sustainably developing Swiss snow sports at various levels. We can look back on extremely successful years – thank you very much for the extraordinary partnership. The agreed and expected services have always been provided by both sides since the beginning of the cooperation in 2002," says Swiss-Ski President Urs Lehmann.
For Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi, it is clear: "Swisscom is keeping its fingers crossed for all Swiss-Ski athletes for the 2021/22 season and beyond. I would like to thank the athletes, the entire snow sports family, the association and all swiss-ski employees for the always excellent partnership and mutual support."
But it is not yet time to say goodbye. Swisscom and Swiss-Ski are looking forward to the upcoming snow sports season 2021/22, in which the Olympic Games in Beijing are a major highlight and in which the athletes will hopefully be able to celebrate great, unforgettable moments again.