Year-long dispute in the ski association over – the national team skiers’ new agreement approved

This is stated by the association in a press release on Friday.

The content of the updated national team agreement has been discussed and drawn up by a committee which, among other things, has consisted of athletes, sports managers, union representatives and partners.

– The Ski Board has concluded that the committee has done a thorough and very good job. The new national team agreement, the will for good cooperation and good communication also in the future are crucial for Norwegian skiing to develop as we want, says ski president Tove Moe Dyrhaug.

– The committee is focused on preserving the Norwegian national team model and letting it be a basis for further development at the top and breadth of all our branches in the Ski Association, says committee chairman and general secretary Arne Baumann.

– Understanding and acceptance

The Ski Association further writes that the revised national team agreement provides “better predictability and clarity for everyone”.

– Not least in terms of understanding and acceptance when it comes to our image rights, which has been crucial for us performers. This provides a good basis for the further process, and we have a good dialogue with the Ski Association’s management, says alpine star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.

He has been part of the work following he initially declined the opportunity.

– The committee’s work has provided better insight and understanding, also with regard to challenges and dilemmas that arise. The goal is to facilitate better cooperation and dialogue in the future, says union representative in cross-country skiing Pål Golberg in a statement.

There is agreement to preserve the aforementioned committee as a “development arena” going forward. The committee will meet every spring before the ski board adopts the national team agreement for a new season, and now this autumn to discuss the experiences of establishing the commercial manuals in the branches.

The Braathen Case

The dispute between the skiing stars and the association has been regarding the athletes’ image rights and how the athletes’ property rights to these affect the association’s right to enter into sponsorship agreements.

– The Skiing Association has a genuine desire to comply with the athletes’ sincere message regarding the development of the national team agreement, but we have lacked a clear process to resolve the situation, and the matter has dragged on for too long. We are now properly addressing that, said general secretary Baumann in November following Lucas Braathen said goodbye to alpine skiing.

Braathen later made a comeback, but then for Brazil.

Recently, it became known that the ski association is assisting the athletes in paying expenses they have incurred for lawyers related to the conflict surrounding the national team agreement.

It was VG who received confirmation from the union that the athletes get help paying the bill from the law firm “Kleven & Kristensen”. It will reportedly amount to around one million kroner.