Kerttu Niskanen and Perttu Hyvärinen are missing from the starting lists of the Vantaa SC skiing, even though participation in the SC is part of the obligations of the athlete contract. Niskanen was also absent from last winter’s Tampere WC, and both Niskanen and Hyvärinen have been selected for the team that will go on the North American tour of the World Cup next week.
Sports expert From Ville Nousiainen there is understanding for both absentees and the displeasure of the race organizers.
– The situation is difficult, especially for skiers who ski the entire World Cup. The Championship weekend brings the only training break in the middle of the season, Nousiainen reminds.
– The training break is important for an athlete because it allows him to ski the World Cup at the end of the winter. And the World Cup is, however, the most important task for the skiers of the national team.
Finland and Norway have a system according to which the country’s championships are skied on the weekends between the World Cups. In Sweden, the championships are again awarded after the World Cup season.
In Nousiainen’s opinion, the Finnish system is good, because it guarantees important and high-level competitions in the home country throughout the winter and at the same time creates good visibility for skiing. In the fast-paced competition season, you also have to prepare for the absence of the top players in domestic competitions.
The spine can break without a break
Executive Director of the Ski Association Ismo Hämäläinen told In an interview with Sanoma, that the absence of the national team skiers from the SC is possible due to an additional condition in the contract. The whole is looked at with coaching, and there may be a health, workload or coaching barrier to participation.
Nousiainen estimates that in the case of Niskanen – and why not Hyvärinen as well – all three obstacles could come into question, that’s how heavy the load they have been since the beginning of the season.
– Traveling creates a challenge for participating in competitions. For example, if Kerttu lived in Helsinki, he would probably go skiing in Vantaa for some distance, and it would be for practice. But since he lives a little further away, there must be a lot of different things at stake.
Nousiainen reminds that an athlete’s condition simply cannot withstand continuous competition without recovery and training time. Traveling always eats up its share of this load. As rumba continues from November to April, the athlete’s spine can break at some point if he doesn’t take a break.
– I also understand the side of the competition organizers, and that’s why the competition agreements were made. It adds value to the competitions that the best skiers in Finland respect the competition and are there, says Nousiainen.
– However, I don’t think that this will cause any kind of dispute between the Ski Association and the skiers. The federation certainly has an understanding of the situation and maybe even the coaching management wishes that those going to the World Cup would not ski an awful lot of distances in the WC.
A trip to North America should always be considered
The World Cup continues after the WC in Canmore, Canada and Minneapolis, USA. Five male and five female skiers from Finland will go to these games.
Nousiainen reminds that Finland has never sent a full team to North America before. The trip should take a good couple of weeks and costs 4–5 times the amount compared to, for example, the trip to the World Cup in Goms.
– I think you always have to go there with consideration when you don’t have the money to spend as much as you like.
The selection of the team is then a separate matter, and in Nousiainen’s opinion, the selection criteria can be twisted even more. He reminds that it is good for some athletes to see if there are really good competitions available for them on the trip or if it would be better to have a training period.
If there are better competitions later in the spring, Nousiainen thinks the athlete should rather invest in them then.
– A trip to North America can be very stressful, especially if it starts with a small win. At the same time, there will be a good training period.
“Not an optimal situation”
The ski association’s financial discipline has been in the headlines for a long time, and Hämäläinen admitted in an interview with Urheilu that cross-country skiing, as the association’s largest sport group, has not kept up with the budget set before the season.
Nousiainen hopes that, at some point, the Ski Federation would reach a situation where outsiders would not always have to worry about the financial situation of the federation.
– It’s not an optimal situation to constantly have to think about whether there is money to do things or whether we can offer top athletes good training conditions.
However, if the association’s finances continue to be weak, and the association cannot afford to offer, for example, camping for the summer, Nousiainen thinks the athletes should be told well in advance.
– If we drag on until June-July, we’re already late. In good time, only information, and if there is nothing to offer, then surely the athletes will handle the situation themselves, Nousiainen assures.
Skiing Championship in Vantaa 2.–4. February. shows the races on its channels. You can find shipping information here.