Economy must be economical

The organisers of the FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Cup, which was supposed to be held in Swedish Falun in November, announced the cancellation of the competition due to... an increase in energy prices and high inflation

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) should consider the issue of admission (or non-admission) to international competitions of athletes from Russia and Belarus on October 22nd. After FIS Secretary General Michel Vion admitted in an interview that the return of Russians and Belarusians could take place in December (albeit without a flag and an anthem), many different speculations were devoted to this topic. Vion himself hastened to clarify that ‘FIS will definitely not make this decision without a clear recommendation from the IOC,  but this did not stop the interested parties in any way, and now we are already reading, not without curiosity, about the position of the Norwegians, and about the indignation of the Russians, and about a possible boycott with sides of the Swedes. At the same time, the international federation certainly understands that the stages of the World Cup and the World Championship, in which there will be no Russian skiers or, for example, Belarusian freestylers, are just worthless. Neither the audience nor the sponsors will certainly believe in such a semblance of a spectacle.
It is just right to cancel the stages of the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, not even because of the nightmarishly increased energy prices, but simply because of inexpediency: only a few full-fledged teams took part in them even at the best of times, and without the teams of Belarus, Russia and, possibly, China (where they will not end the policy of zero tolerance for the coronavirus with all the ensuing restrictions), they even begin to look like profanity.

Ski cross, which they wanted to host in Falun, is a race from the mountain over bumps. Nonetheless, the organisers will ride the bumps instead of the athletes in the coming months.

However, as you know, any problem can be viewed from different points of view. So the situation in world sports that has developed after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, including the events related to the removal of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the international calendar, should also be considered as a whole. And from this complex it clearly follows that the parade of sanctions has already contributed to the creation of an energy crisis, and will soon lead to another organisational one. The cancellation of the Falun World Cup is a shot across the bow for those who want to hear it.
“Due to the current world situation, we don’t have the funds together. The concern is prompting companies to review their operations, which in turn is impacting events like this. We cannot risk our business in this situation,” says Swedish Ski Association Manager Stefan Karlsson.
“How much money are you missing?” asked a Swedish television correspondent.
— Several million [Swedish kroner], which we don’t know where to get.
— Nonetheless, FIS can’t help?
— We asked for support, but obviously, the gap between what we could support and what we lack is too big.
— What are your feelings?
— The fuse comes out a little. But it still seems like a wise decision to take a step back this year and look forward. We knew time was short when we started training in the spring. Nevertheless, Sweden hasn’t hosted the FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Cup event for ten years, and we’re keen to see the Falun World Cup as a regular event for another decade.


By Sergei Gordienko