Three Yukon skiers are seeking funding to compete globally on Canada’s national cross-country skiing team.
Three prominent Yukon cross-country skiers aim to represent Canada in prestigious events such as the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, but lack adequate funding to cover costs. .
With the right financial support, Yukoners can compete on the world stage with top-ranked skiers from Norway, Sweden and Finland. The trio is confident they can enhance Canada’s reputation in the ski world if given the chance.
Sonja Schmidt, Derek Dueling and Sasha Masson have started a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of the FIS World Cup. With support from the National Sports Trust Fund, managed by Sport Yukon, these players on Team Canada are working towards securing additional funding from the people of Yukon to compete internationally. There is.
“I think this fund comes from the idea that if we can reduce costs, we can compete with the best countries,” Masson said.
Masson and Schmidt are preparing to compete in the first FIS Cross Country World Cup of the 2024-25 season, to be held in Ruka, Finland, from November 29th to December 1st. Masson also revealed to the news outlet that he plans to travel to the World Cup. Next week I’ll be in the Swiss Alps in Davos, Switzerland, further honing my skills for the next event in Ruka.
Elite skiers can experience total expenses of up to $50,000 during a FIS World Cup season, Masson said. This includes travel expenses, race fees, hotels, payments to coaches and wax staff, and other expenses incurred throughout the year.
“By the time the end of April comes around, I think I’ll have about $50,000 saved up to compete on behalf of Canada. So it’s a bit of a sad story, but in this difficult time we’ve come together and won the Yukon World Cup. We also need to generate ideas like we did with the foundation,” Masson said.
This fund is in its early stages. Initially, the aim is to support Schmidt, Dühring and Masson, who will be representing Canada. But ultimately they hope it will help other elite skiers qualify for international competitions.
“For the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve had Yukon athletes compete in the World Cup, so this shows our young athletes that our community is close-knit, and our young athletes We want to really motivate people to stay in this sport,” Schmidt said.
Federal grants have supported Masson, including grants from the Athlete Assistance Program and the Yukon government. But he and Mr. Schmidt also paid thousands of dollars out of their own pockets to represent Canada on the world stage.
Each player received $38,680 last year through grants, sponsorships and out-of-pocket contributions, according to a presentation of potential sponsors provided by Schmidt.
They hope the fund will help strengthen Canada’s presence on the world stage of competitive cross-country skiing.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com.
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