Although winter sports hold a very special place in the hearts of Norwegians, there are still unfair aspects to the highlight of the winter season. As in almost every other sport, it has been a tradition that male athletes are prioritised - and end up with the highest earnings, whether it comes to salary, sponsorship agreements or cash prizes.
Despite the fact that female cross-country skiers have enjoyed the same prize amounts as male skiers for a while now, male ski jumping and Nordic combined skiers have continued to earn more for their performance than their female counterparts. No more.
The Equal Opportunities project initiated by the sports agency NPG Sport & Communication aims to provide better parameters for female athletes. The initiative brings together business professionals who earmark sponsorship funds for projects that help ensure that female athletes enjoy the same parameters as male athletes.
Photo: Tadeusz Mieczynski
Socially responsible partners
Thon Hotels supports the Equal Opportunities initiative.
"Norwegian sponsors can facilitate opportunities that enable sports to benefit society. At Thon Hotels, we want to contribute to this," says Stian Bergerud, Head of Collaboration and Innovation at Thon Hotels.
When the Nordic World Ski Championships organisation in Trondheim decided to introduce the same prize money for women and men in ski jumping and Nordic combined despite the fact that this was not the intention when drawing up the budgets, Equal Opportunities and Thon Hotels sprung into action to solve the financial challenges this would present.
They brought with them Nordic World Ski Championships sponsor Coop, which in turn involved the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Together, these partners solved the budget challenges that the new award introduction had created for the World Ski Championships project.
“This would not have been possible without socially responsible sponsors and sports partners such as Thon Hotels,” says Marianne Aasland, Director of Equal Opportunities.
Stian Bergerud at Thon Hotels considers the initiative part of social development as a whole.
“The 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim are a beacon for sports officials and show that discrimination in sports is about to become history,” he says.
Photo: Tadeusz Mieczynski
Pushing the boundaries of the future
It also turns out that the 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim have started a snowball that continues to roll. The FIS has now decided that the equality approach will be part of all future Nordic World Ski Championships. The FIS will cover the bill.
"We want to support projects that dare to make tough decisions, such as the 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim. Norway and Trondheim have helped end discrimination in future Nordic World Ski Championships. Community supporters like Thon Hotels are crucial to making this possible," says Marianne Aasland of Equal Opportunities.
Åge Skinstad, head of the 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, greatly appreciates the support of its sponsors.
"These contributions show how important the business community is for the sport and how sponsors and the sport can work together to push boundaries when it comes to equality in international sports. Such contributions also mean that we are more likely to be able to finance grassroots sports after the championships," says Skinstad.