In a letter submitted to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, almost 200 athletes from various sports—including overall World Cup champions Mikaela Shiffrin, Federica Brignone, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde—demand action on climate change.
The letter was delivered during the skiing world championships after warm weather and a lack of snow cancelled nearly a month of competition at the beginning of this season.
Preseason training on melting European glaciers that are on the verge of extinction and the impact of climate change on the schedule were both evident even in January.
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“After earning a silver medal in the downhill on Sunday,”. Kilde said. “It’s about time to address a really important topic. We see that the world is changing. We see also the impact of our sport. … I want the future generations to experience winter and to be able to do what I do.”
In the letter written by Julian Schütter, an advocate for the non-profit group Protect Our Winters (POW), and a downhill skier from Austria, the athletes said, “We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in our everyday lives and our profession.
“The public opinion about skiing is shifting towards unjustifiability. … We need progressive organizational action. We are aware of the current sustainability efforts of FIS and rate them as insufficient.”
Olympic cross-country skiing champion Jessie Diggins, as well as champions of the Freeride World Tour Arianna Tricomi and Xavier de le Rue, also signed the letter.
“This is our most important race, let’s win it together,” the athletes said.
Story was adapted from VOA.
