FIS Female Ski Leaders Of Tomorrow Seminar Takes Place In Oslo

Last weekend, the Equinor “Ski Leaders of Tomorrow” Seminar took place in Holmenkollen, Oslo (NOR) with 75 participants from 21 nations. A number of high-profile speakers attended the meeting and passed on their experiences to the younger generation.

“Equinor has collaborated with the Norwegian Ski Association in the area of talent development for many years, and we believe that in order to recruit and develop young talent we need good role models. We need good leaders, both women and men. That Equinor can help sharing their knowledge of leadership enable participation in a programme with mentors is very valuable,” said Cathrine Instebø of Equinor.

Norwegian Ski Association President Erik Røste summed up: “The programme ‘Ski Leaders of Tomorrow’ is part of a larger effort to improve the gender balance in Norwegian snow sports. As a major winter sports nation, we want to contribute to the international community. Things can be improved through openness and exchange of experience. And that was the goal of this weekend”.

The seminar, which was also meeting point between the 25 Norwegian participants of the Equinor programme and their international counterparts in coaching and sports administration, started on Friday with a social evening and a short introduction by Stiliani Chroni, Professor of Sports Psychology and a FIS Alpine Technical Delegate.

On Saturday a full programme with leaders and personalities from sports world was delivered to the participants. The day started with presentations by Marius Arnesen, former Alpine head coach of the Norwegian men's team and legendary Cross-Country athlete Marit Bjørgen about the so-called "we culture" and why this has been so important for their success. The presentations were followed by an open session in which the participants could ask questions.

The afternoon session started with presentations by FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis, Erik Røste, Kristin Kloster Aasen (IOC Member) and Alexander Stöckl (Ski Jumping Men Head Coach Norway) on their personal development and their lessons learned for the participants, again followed by an open question session.

The seminar finished on Sunday with presentations by Stiliani Chroni and Sarah Lewis. Lewis, who informed the participants about the actions taken by FIS to achieve more gender equality and summed up: "It was tremendous to experience the engagement and enthusiasm of all the participants at the Ski Leaders of Tomorrow Seminar at Holmenkollen, Oslo. The Norwegian Ski Association has supported FIS actions to improve gender equity in snow sports internationally and are leading the way with their national programme. By opening the Seminar to all nations, we hope that other National Ski Associations will also undertake similar positive activities to encourage and create pathways for female coaches, managers and leaders in their nations."