Norway appoints new alpine committee leadership

The Norwegian Ski Federation has seen unprecedented turnover in its alpine committee leadership this year with two chairmans resigning in less than six months. This instability is due, in part, to the tumultuous lawsuit that has the organization fighting its own athlete Henrik Kristoffersen over sponsorship rights.

Fans may recall that Kristoffersen has been very vocal, objecting to rules put in place by the federation that force all national team athletes aside from Aksel Lund Svindal to represent head sponsor Telenor. Kristoffersen would prefer to put RedBull in that prime real estate just like Svindal. The past two chairmans who have resigned claim a lack of budgetary management skills and internal disputes within the alpine committee led them to step down.

In the midst of all of this, the federation has appointed a new chairman, Ola Evjen, and vice chairman, Dagfinn Neteland. Evjen brings extensive experience in skiing and management to the organization. He was formerly the chairman of an elite alpine ski academy and served as chairman of a regional alpine committee for 10 years. Neteland has experience as a coach, manager, and ski racing dad, and in his full-time job, he serves as CEO of a ferry company.

These constant changes did not stop the federation from selection a location for its 2019 national championships, which will be hosted at Hemsedal. The venue has hosted the event before, most recently in 2014.

Release courtesy of the Norwegian Ski Federation