SnowsportGB, the governing body for skiing and snowboarding in Britain, is £300,000 in debt due, according to acting chief executive Robin Kellen, overspending on a number of budgets over the last two years and the sacking of the previous chief executive Mark Simmers.
“We are not going bankrupt. We have secured a financial restructuring where we have had support from a number of individuals and UK sports agencies who are backing the organisation,” Kellen told BBC Sport. “It allows us to trade effectively, certainly for the next year and on for the next four years.”
Britain's top skier Chemmy Alcott added that the cash crisis is jeopardising her chances of winning an alpine ski medal at next year's Winter Olympics: “I've spent the last 12 years of my life preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is the most important season of my career. I'm at the prime age and I don't need these kind of distractions. It is the worst timing ever and isn't going to help my Olympic preparation. It has come out of the blue and I should not be stressing about funding.”
Some British skiers have had to use their own money to fund summer training camps in New Zealand and Chile, and performance staff, including head coach Mark Tilston, have been on half-pay since the funding gap was exposed in April.
Kellen said that a refinancing package to resolve the problem would be finalised in the next few days.
