The news that UK Sport decided to remove their funding for the Alpine World Cup programme hit the athletes, management and all involved with the team exceptionally hard. It was hard to understand for fans of the Redrow British Alpine Ski Team why this was happening: This happening after a season that had seen a first World Cup win ever, six British athletes scoring World Cup points, this was in short, the most successful British Alpine season ever. Yet results that are the parameter that UK Sport use, Olympic results, the best being a 13th by Dave Ryding in the Slalom had not been what they were after.
UK Sport are a tough taskmaster. Medals at the Olympics are what they want and what directs their thinking when talking funding. Of the £11.9 million awarded to GB Snowsport, a limited sum was ring fenced for the Men's World Cup Slalom team. This would not even cover his coaches and support team expenses. The Men's World Cup Slalom team, Ryding, Laurie Taylor and Billy Major, have a support staff of Tristan Glasse-Davis, Alain Baxter, Jai Geyer and ski tech Ryan Farrow plus a physio that is on hand when needed. This is a far cry to the team being Ryding and Glasse-Davis when he won the Europa Cup tour in 2013 with Ryding doing his own skis!
Rather than going into their shells, the five GB Snowsport team athletes on the team programme, have got together and worked out how they can solve this crisis. Yes it is a crisis. They have been let down by others and as the saying says, 'If you want something done properly, do it yourself.'
The team have set up a Go Fund Me campaign (the link is https://gofund.me/9cdee4bd.
The team, in their joint statement have said that they "have been blown away by the support that came in," adding "we hope the will give us a small chunk of security to focus on our training ahead of this winter, as well as give our key coaches and technicians the job security that will keep them standing by us and supporting us."
As well as being athletes, they are now having to be businessmen, PR agents, Sponsorship agents and more. It is a brutal situation they should not be in. It is a situation however that most parents find themselves in as they try to fund their children's early careers. But this is the creme de la creme of British Alpine ski racers. The athletes should not have to be doing the work that those being paid vast sums of money have been brought in to do. The recriminations could have a book written on it. For now though, the athletes are uniting as one and looking to solve a nasty situation.
This is not a new situation in ski racing internationally. 2010 saw Snowsport GB go bust days before the Vancouver Olympics, the Italian Ski Federation went bust in 2011 and were only saved by many of the coaches being employed by the Italian Military and thus able to continue supporting the athletes.
So what are the implications of the funding removal? The Europa Cup programme has been mothballed. British Overall Champion from last season, Ed Guigonnet, has been told to find his own training for this season and has been picked up by Team Evolution, where Alex Tilley, the sixth member of the World Cup team already trains, and Owen Vinter will train alongside the Norwegian Europa Cup Speed team. Having had a more technical based programme last year, this could benefit him.
The one athlete that has seen his programme left completely up in the air is Rob Poth, the current and two time British Slalom Champion who is just outside the World Cup qualifying criteria.
On the women's programme, the lack of the GB Snowsport programme over the last few years has meant all the girls that have been doing Europa Cup races, Reece Bell, Victoria Palla, Sarah Woodward and Jess Anderson (the last two have also competed in the 2021 and 2019 World Championships respectively while Bell made her World Cup debut in Lienz last winter), they are all on programmes away from the clutches of GB Snowsport.
Lower down the tree there are other immensely talented athletes that could jump the GB Snowsport flag and race for another nation that they are qualified for. This is a huge worry for the future success of the sport.
So what of the sponsors from last year? Negotiations have already started with Redrow with a decision hoped for by the end of September and Paul Trayner from GB Snowsport has explained to Racer Ready that they are "close" with a number of other headline sponsors.
With a full World Cup programme costing in the region of £850,000, any help that can be found, is more than welcome. The Go Fund Me programme has at the time of writing over £18,000 donated.
The reliance on UK Sport for funding and the tightrope of qualifying criteria has been the downfall of many other British sports, just ask British Bobsleigh who went from medal prospects (and winners after drug cheats were exposed) in 2014 to no funding after the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. Good results in 2022 saw them back in the mix for the next round of funding.
There is an appeal going into UK Sport at the end of September but there is no guarantee that this will be a success so that work that the athletes themselves are spearheading has got the ball rolling and the commercial world turning.
If you or your company can get involved then do not wait, please contact Paul Trayner at Paul.trayner@gbsnowsport.com
With a whole host of opportunities and advantages for your company, the positivity these athletes bring is incredible! Get involved!