Funds Shortage Ends USA Nordic's Norway Partnership

A funds shortage has hot USA Nordic's partnershbip with Norway. They say:

"It is with a heavy heart that we must convey some difficult news regarding the funding of our Nordic Combined teams and partnership with the Norwegian Nordic Combined Federation.

In April 2024, the Executive Committee and Sports Committee of USA Nordic Sports (USANS) provided a directive to the ski jumping and Nordic combined disciplines outlining the necessity for each to engage in fundraising efforts to secure a minimum of $150,000 toward expenses for continued engagement of the Norwegian Federation for their respective sport. The directive was necessitated by the realities of the growing financial challenges faced by USANS and an acute cash flow situation and was approved by the Board of Directors (the Board).

The $150,000 was intended to only cover a portion of the applicable expenses for the upcoming season with the expectation of a commitment by May 30, 2024, and full funding by June 30, 2024. The May 30th deadline was necessary to inform the Norwegian Federation in June of our ability, or inability, to continue funding the partnership for each discipline so that they would be able to make appropriate and timely staffing decisions.

Unfortunately, despite best efforts by the community to raise the initial $150,000 for Nordic combined by May 30th, the endeavor fell well short of the target. As a result, we have informed the Norwegian Federation that we are unable to continue our Nordic Combined partnership for the 2024-2025 period due to insufficient funding. This decision was reached after considerable deliberation. While various alternative funding strategies were explored, it became evident that our financial constraints mandated this course of action.

The Board understands the profound impact of this decision on our Nordic combined athletes and the broader community. We have initiated discussions with the athletes and remain committed to assisting them during this transition. As the national governing body for the sport, U.S. Ski & Snowboard will continue to recognize and support start rights to international events, in addition to providing additional non-financial support.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support during this challenging time."