The case in summary • VisitFonna, which runs the ski center at Folgefonna, has declared bankruptcy. It causes concern in the skiing community, also with regard to the recruitment of young athletes.• The ski center has been an important training arena for several national teams. Norway’s national team manager believes the loss will have international consequences.• Folgefonna has been an important training arena for many international athletes, including three-time Olympic athlete Ludvig Fjällström.• Former Norwegian champion and World Cup athlete in alpine, Bjørnar Neteland, expresses concern about what the loss of the ski center will mean for westerners the opportunity to reach the national team.• VisitFonna explains the bankruptcy with financial problems, and highlights climate change and glacier melting as burdensome for operations.• Neteland will find solutions. He himself is considering taking up the legacy of his grandfather, who opened the first ski lift at Folgefonna. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Folgefonna has been an important training arena for us and other national teams. Now I’m really worried about the young people, says Michael Sutti Rottensteiner. Rottensteiner leads the Norwegian men’s alpine national team. Last summer, he was at Folgefonna with national team athletes. Monday’s news that VisitFonna AS is going bankrupt and the ski center at Folgefonna is consequently closing down, therefore came as a shock. – I was already planning meetings for 2025. I hope this has not been finally decided, says the national team manager. Michael Sutti Rottensteiner is coach for the men’s national alpine team. Photo: The men’s national team in alpine skiing – Will have international consequences Rottensteiner says that Folgefonna has long attracted the national teams of Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Austria. – For years it has been widely known that Folgefonna is among Europe’s best summer ski centres, says Rottensteiner and states: – The loss will have international consequences. The entire skiing world will notice this. The Norwegian World Cup alpine team for 2019-2020, meeting at Folgefonna. Photo: The national alpine team There is something three-time Olympic athlete and bronze medalist in the 2021 World Cup, Ludvig Fjällström, is signing up to. – I got fed up. Fonna is where I have been the most in my entire career, so it is extra close to my heart, says Swede Fjällström. The Swede himself has recently given up his career as a shot putter, but is now a coach for Sweden’s national shot put team. Swedish Ludvig Fjällström has trained at Folgefonna for a number of years. Here from 2016. Photo: Ludvig Fjällström Collections at Folgefonna have been self-written for the Swedish national team for at least 20 years, says Fjällström. – New gatherings at Fonna had already been added to the calendar for 2025. – What about the young people? The Norwegian national team manager Rottensteiner is now worried about what the bankruptcy means for recruitment. – The national team has alternatives such as the Galdhøpiggen Summer Ski Center and the indoor ski center Snø Oslo, but it does not have younger athletes, says Rottensteiner and asks himself: – What will we do when there are now even fewer places to train and become good at skiing, especially for those at Westland? Should get more Westerners on the national team Former Norwegian champion and WC athlete in alpine, Bjørnar Neteland, recently moved home to Bergen and the job as alpine coach in Fana IL. It was with one goal in mind: Get more Bergens in the national team. – Bergens and westerners must be able to reach the national team, but the threshold will be even higher without Folgefonna, says Neteland. He believes the importance of having a summer ski center two hours away from Bergen cannot be underestimated. – The few westerners who have reached the national team have much to thank Folgefonna for. I am not alone in having spent 40-50 days there a year, says Neteland and adds: – The alternative is Eastern Norway, but it will be more expensive and therefore exclusionary for many. Bjørnar Neteland at Folgefonna in August 2017. Photo: Privat Neteland: – Call me VisitFonna explains the bankruptcy with financial problems, and highlights climate change and glacier melting as burdensome for operations. – The climate changes are clear when you look at photos from Folgefonna just a few years ago, says Bjørnar Neteland. He still believes that it is not time to give up. – My grandfather opened the first ski lift at Folgefonna. It was a tug of war, and several years before VisitFonna came into place. Maybe I should take up the inheritance. – Is it something you are considering? – Yes, so if people have ideas and the will to find out: Call me. Folgefonna means a lot to many people, and must be saved. Hi! Do you have any tips for this, or other matters? Feel free to send me an e-mail: [email protected] Published 26.11.2024, at 18.27 Updated 26.11.2024, at 18.49
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– The loss will have international consequences – news Vestland
