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Three prominent Yukon cross-country skiers aim to compete in prestigious events like the FIS Cross-Country World Cup with Canada’s national team, but they lack proper funding to cover expenses.
With the right financial support, Yukoners could compete against top-ranked skiers from Norway, Sweden and Finland on the world stage. The trio is confident that, given the opportunity, they can enhance Canada’s reputation in skiing.
Sonjaa Schmidt, Derek Deuling and Sasha Masson have launched a fundraising initiative to cover expenses for the FIS World Cup. With the support of the National Sport Trust Fund run by Sport Yukon, these athletes from Canada’s national team are striving to compete at international events by securing additional funding from Yukoners.
“I think this fund sort of comes with the idea that if we can eliminate costs, we can compete with the best nations,” Masson said.
Masson and Schmidt are gearing up to compete in the first FIS Cross-Country World Cup event of the 2024-25 season in Ruka, Finland from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. Masson also shared with the News that he will be heading to the Swiss Alps in Davos, Switzerland, next week to further hone his skills for the upcoming event in Ruka.
Elite skiers can experience expenses totalling up to $50,000 for the FIS World Cup season, Masson said. This includes costs for travel, race expenses, hotels, paying the coaches and the wax staff, and other expenses incurred throughout the year.
“By the time the end of April comes around, I think we’ll have accumulated around a $50,000 bill to compete for Canada. So, it’s a little bit of a saddening story, but we also need to come together during these hard times and come up with an idea like we’ve done with the Yukon World Cup fund,” Masson said.
The fund is in its early stages. Initially, it aims to support Schmidt, Deuling and Masson in competing for Canada. However, they hope it will eventually help other elite skiers enter international competitions.
“We have had Yukon athletes racing in the World Cup for the past 10 to 15 years, and so we just want this to really motivate younger athletes to show them that our community is tight knit and that it’ll drive those younger athletes to stay in the sport,” Schmidt said.
Federal grants, including those from the Athlete Assistance Program and the Yukon government, have supported Masson. However, he and Schmidt have also paid thousands out of their own pockets to represent Canada on the world stage.
A presentation for possible sponsors provided by Schmidt states that each of the athletes received $38,680 through grants, sponsorships and out-of-pocket contributions last year.
They hope the fund will help them 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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