Betostolen (Nitavisen): – They run a slightly different line than the Snowboarding Association does. I’m happy that I’m in the right connection, honestly, Tarjei Bø tells Nettavisen.
It talks about the struggles that have characterized the Norwegian Ski Association for a long time. Because while the atmosphere between the athletes and the Norwegian Biathlon Federation seems harmonious, the situation is different in the Ski Federation.
Johannes Hosflot Klaebo’s cross-country team and the alpine skiers, led by Lukas Bräthen and Alexander Aamodt Kjeld, have long been in heated conflict with the Norwegian Ski Association over market rights and a national team agreement.
The conflict is mainly over the extent to which the performers themselves deserve their image rights. In recent months, the conflicts have made headlines in the media.
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– It’s not good
Taraji Poe has learned that. He does not believe that conflicts are beneficial to any of the people involved.
– Things seem chaotic there. In the end, you have to remember that we are exercising. You should focus on enabling your athletes to perform. Now there are a lot of unsporting things, which are not in the interest of the people involved or those around or who are in the same team. The biathlete says it affects everyone involved.
Bø is supported by his teammate Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen in the national biathlon team.
-I really feel sorry for both parties. It’s a lose-lose situation, especially for athletes given the energy leakage they experience. We can only be glad that our union is proactive. “We feel lucky and special because things are so smooth in terms of management and organization around us,” he says to Netafsen.
Background of the conflict between athletes and the Ski Federation:
- The conflict concerns the agreement that the athletes have with the Alpine national team and the Norwegian Ski Federation.
- It all started several years ago, but the big turning point came in the winter of 2022. In a statement issued by the legislative committee of the Norwegian Ski Federation, it turned out that the athletes had won the battle for image rights.
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The statement states that athletes and NSF together must agree on the extent to which NSF will be permitted to use athlete image rights in the association’s commercial agreements. Athletes thus gain greater influence and influence when the federation negotiates with sponsors.
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Lawyer Pall Kleven, who represents the athletes, was waiting for the Norwegian Skiing Association (NSF) to contact him so that they could negotiate a new agreement with the association in line with the new rules drawn up by the legislative committee.
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In May of this year, the Ski Board adopted a new agreement for the national team. The athletes’ attorney referred to the decision as “completely one-sided without listening to the athletes at all.”
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The athletes believe that the agreement conflicts with the committee’s decision, and have submitted the national team agreement as an order to the Norwegian Ski Federation’s monitoring committee.
Conflicts in the Ski Association also had serious consequences. Nearly two weeks ago, Lucas Brathen made the surprise announcement that he was retiring from playing at the age of 23. He said that the conflicts made him lose the joy of skiing.
Brathen’s announcement of his resignation came as a bombshell to most people, including Taraji Poe.
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– Biggest surprise since Yohag
Bowe says he hasn’t seen such major shocking news in the sporting world since Therese Goghough was arrested on doping charges in 2016.
Lucas’s resignation came as a shock to everyone. The previous big surprise was when Therese Gohauge was arrested on doping charges. Then you had to log into the online newspapers and thought, ‘Wow, I wasn’t expecting that,'” says Poe.
The 35-year-old believes the Clutches case shows that something is not as it should be in the skating association.
– Obviously it was very difficult for him, and when he makes such a difficult decision, someone has to interfere with the system a little bit. He says they may have to look inward a little and not just outward.
Sjestad Christiansen believes that the Ski Association must become better at adapting to the times we live in now.
– How much has this decade changed since the development of technology from 2010 to now? I don’t think that’s a lot. A lot has changed. He says: It seems that they are not adapting to the situation we are living in.
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Want to talk together?
The General Secretary of the Ski Federation, Arne Baumann, told Nettavisen last week that he wants more dialogue in order to reach good solutions with athletes and partners in the future.
Clutches is among the people Bauman would like to sit down and talk to face-to-face.
– I think it’s important that all of us in the Ski Association understand this story well. “I sincerely hope he reaches out to us,” Bowman said.
The importance of being able to talk together highlights the most important reason why the relationship between the Biathlon Union and the athletes is so good.
– We enter the meeting room, close the door, and then agree. We discuss our way to solutions that everyone can be satisfied with. “So speaking is something we’re good at,” Poe says.
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