PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Junior skiers in Norway write in a letter to their association that the slopes are too tough.
It’s not something Ebba Andersson relates to.
– I probably wouldn’t have signed up for that list, she says at a press conference.
The controversies succeed each other in the Norwegian Skiing Association. They have major financial problems, and according to VG they are expected to go back by 13 million Norwegian kroner this year, which is approximately 12.3 million Swedish kroner. The union has also had a large staff turnover recently, with several testifying to an unhealthy working environment.
The Kläbo conflict
The biggest attention of all has the conflict with Johannes Hösflot Kläbo got. The star skater and the federation have not managed to agree on a new agreement, and Kläbo has stayed out of the national team since last season.
Reports in Norway state that a signature is approaching and that the parties will come together. If not, Kläbo will not be allowed to participate in the World Cup on behalf of Norway.
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In mid-October came the next blow for the Norwegian Skiing Association. Five female junior skaters, all 19 years old, sent a letter to the federation.
There, the girls criticize the tough slopes on which they compete and train, as well as the Norwegian federation’s “one-sided and harsh profile”. The girls believe that all of this can lead to eating disorders among athletes and that young skaters give up the sport early.
“Many people think that the only solution to mastering the slopes is to lose weight, and it is no secret that today there are many girls at a younger age who struggle with food and their bodies,” they write according to VG.
Andersson fights back
The letter writers also write that they see Sweden as an example in junior environments. And that Norway lags behind Swedish ski training in, among other things, tactical training and melee when it comes to sprint training.
“It is very important for us to emphasize that both hard and long courses are part of cross-country skiing, but it is problematic when this is the reality of every single Norwegian Cup race,” the girls write.
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When Ebba Andersson gets wind of the letter, she finds it very difficult to relate to the Norwegians.
– Maybe it doesn’t really concern us (Swedish skaters), but if I’m just talking to myself – when I was a junior, I would have liked to have even tougher tracks. So I probably hadn’t signed up for that list. I wouldn’t have done that, if I have to look back at little junior Ebba.
– That’s how I liked it as a junior, but as I said it must be more for me then than for them, Andersson says at a press conference.
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