The Norwegian Ski Association (NSF) is reorganizing, and as a result, national team director Åge Skinstad will change jobs and titles. He is now the cross country team director, an entirely new position in the organization.
“There will be three different divisions under the cross country team director: The national teams, depth/recruiting, and marketing. Additionally, we are also considering a communications position,” Hermod Bjørkestøl said, the chair of the NSF cross country committee.
The reorganization will better take care of the entire sport in Norway, and considers all aspects of cross-country skiing. The new organization will put marketing and depth/recruitment at the same level as the national teams, the press release stated.
“I am really excited to start this process. At the same time, I am also happy that we have determined and defined the overall direction of the new organization. I think the new organization will serve the sport well in that it puts equal emphasis and importance on citizen racing and recreation as on national teams,” Skinstad said.
Bjørkestøl explained that the NSF started talking about how to reorganize the cross-country division for the future already last fall. In January, the cross-country committee started discussing specific models, and it didn’t take long to agree on the new model, he said.
The cross country committee chair denied that NSF’s main sponsor, Aker, has had any influence on the hiring process in NSF-Cross Country. However, Bjørkestøl said there have been interesting conversations with several of the sponsors about how NSF-Cross Country can capitalize on the amazing results from the past season and the 2011 World Championships.
The cross country director will work closely with the cross country committee to further shape the new positions in the organization. The cross country committee will honor and respect current contracts.
Press release from the Norwegian Ski Association, April 5, 2011. Translation by Inge Scheve
Inge Scheve
Inge is FasterSkier's international reporter, born and bred in Norway. A cross-country ski racer and mountain runner, she also dabbles on two wheels in the offseason. If it's steep and long, she loves it. Follow her on Twitter: @IngeScheve.
