The Great Britain men's slalom team has an annual budget equal to what the average Premier League footballer earns in a week. Credit: Dave Riding
Few British sports executives sleep in a hired car while on duty, much less on a freezing night in the Alps. But that's exactly what Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsport, did on a recent trip to St. Moritz. After their plane from Manchester was delayed, she and her head coach Pat Sharples arrived at the Swiss resort at 1.30am and found themselves locked in the hotel.
Waking up the athletes, some of whom were competing the next morning, she said, was “out of the question.” And the only other hotel available at this hour cost a minimum of CHF 1,000 (£881) per night. So they took advantage of a bad situation. “It wasn't the most comfortable night's sleep,” Gosling laughs. “We couldn't even move the seats back because it was a cheap rental car and we had the equipment in the back. But we didn’t want to take money from the program, so there was nothing else for her to do.”
Such sacrifices do not go unnoticed by athletes. “It’s a team effort,” says veteran skier Dave Riding. “We all invest money. And our team has a relentless approach. But it makes you wonder: what could we do with proper funding?
That's fair.
It may have escaped your notice, but Riding, 37, along with teammates Billy Major and Laurie Taylor, finished last season ranked sixth in the world in the men's slalom, ahead of powerhouses Italy, the United States and Canada . Individually, Riding finished seventh in the FIS rankings, a rather staggering achievement considering the GB men's slalom team receives just £82,000 in funding per year. Yes, you read that correctly. The average Premier League footballer's weekly salary is expected to cover the costs of training camp, airfare, food, equipment, hotels and staff for the entire season.
In fact, it is estimated that £82,000 will be ringfenced by Riding as he is the only athlete on the GB Alpine ski team whom British Sport considers worthy of funding (the rest of Alpine was written off as “uninvestable” after the disappointing Beijing tournament) . games from two years ago). But Riding prefers to share his pot.
“They [his teammates] are as important to me as I am to them,” he notes during a video call with Gosling and coach Alain Baxter. “Billy and Laurie push me every day. Personally, I don't know if I could do what I do without them. But we need more money. Somehow we managed to pull it off this year. But now we are looking at a dead end…”
Dave Riding decided to share his financial fund with his team. friends because he “couldn't do it without them”;
Riding is not exaggerating. The current plan is to return to action in June and hold the team's first training camp on snow. But no one is quite sure whether there will be funding to cover it. The outside sponsorship they had stopped. They have a small donation from Skyscanner, but the Americans have just poached Riding head coach Tristan Glass-Davies because Gosling couldn't guarantee his salary. “It's a blow, but he has a family,” Gosling says. “There are no hard feelings. He'll be paid well. Fair play to him.”
“Now we're robbing Peter to pay Paul”
Baxter, who like Riding has gone on to far exceed his achievements in his career, famously winning a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, which he then had to give up after the controversial use of the Vicks inhaler in the States, which, as he did not suspect contained a prohibited drug. Essentially, he stays, but there is no money for salaries. There is no chef or nutritionist on the team. They can barely afford to pay for three vans that serve as mobile storage units during the season. And they certainly don’t have drivers for these vans.
“It's funny, but it's not funny,” says Gosling, a former RAF group captain who went on to captain the 2016 Invictus Games. “I'm delighted with them. When you talk to guys like Alain and they're like, “Oh, I waxed my skis until 1 a.m. last night and then, you know, I'm back on the hill at 7 a.m….” And I'm like, “Like hell, you are eating? And cook? And everyone else has a nutritionist or a pillow fluffer.
“It literally got to the point a few weeks ago where we were like, 'Wait, who's going to drive the van?' And only Lori remained [33rd place in the world ranking].
“Now we are literally robbing Peter to pay Paul. But I'm so proud of them. Finishing sixth in the world this season is crazy considering what they have to face. They are quite military in the way they operate. It's truly selfless. They get the job done, they get the job done, they find a way to get the job done. They deserve proper support.”
The GB slalom team is operating under tight conditions, forcing them all to invest in some ways Credit: Dave Riding
Gosling is keen to highlight the difference between alpine and freestyle, which has received around £7 million in UK sport funding for this Olympic cycle, as well as having had a standout season with the likes of Charlotte Banks, Mia Brooks, Zoe Atkin and Kirsty Muir. won medals. in abundance.
“The money that Freestyle receives is completely protected for Freestyle,” she says. “So even if I wanted to move some of the funds to help other programs, I can't. They check me every quarter. Besides, they need this money.”
What Alpine needs is external sponsorship, private donors. Someone who wants to “go” with the team to the Milan-Cortina 2026 match.
“This is a great opportunity for some,” says Gosling. “They could get more brand awareness. When Dave won at Kitzbühel in 2022, my phone blew up. I've never known anything like it. He was on the front page of The Times. Alpine skiing is a real passion.”
Still working every day
Gosling believes the team needs around £350,000 a year to continue operating, which is far less than the £850,000 a year they had for the men's and women's teams combined before UK Sport abandoned them to their fate . But significantly more than now.
Ideally, she said, they would hire a second ski technician to ease the pressure on Alain and fellow coach Jai Geyer and free them up to coach. Plus some administrative support.
But most of all, they need to know that their program is actually being implemented, and that they have vans and enough fuel to get from race to race.
“That's the most important thing,” agrees Riding, who started his skiing career on Pendle Dry Slope for £3.50 a go. Riding's experiences on the dry slopes prompted the great Marcel Hirscher to once remark, after watching a documentary about Riding's upbringing: “I was close to tears. Usually in Austria we use such mats for shoes and feet!”
“I don’t need psychologists or chefs,” Riding continues. “I've been here for a long time. I know how to take care of myself. We actually just lost our worst cook so that will be a positive from that side! Tristan did the basics, but quite often they were the basics. And Fisher takes care of my equipment.
“The most difficult thing is the uncertainty. When UK Sport pulled out of funding just before the 2022/23 season, I had to bear the stress throughout the season. And if you look at my ranking that season, it was my worst ranking in the last eight years, so I would definitely say that played a role in that.”
Despite the limited budget, there is high camaraderie in the camp and there have been successes such as Riding's victory in Kitzbühel in 2022
As it stands, Riding will be able to get starting numbers one to eight at the start of next season, a significant advantage on deteriorating tracks. He is adamant he can finish his career with a medal at Milan-Cortina in two years' time with the right support. And he insists the future of men's slalom is bright for Britain as the Carrick-Smith brothers, Luca, Freddie and Zac, lead the new wave. But they won't be able to do it without support.
“I would guess that the Swiss or Austrians probably get £20 million a year for their Alpine teams, of which £3-5 million is just for slalom,” he says. “I wouldn't say it's a very cool run, but yeah, other teams do look at us like that [film about the Jamaican bobsled team].
“We are, of course, pushing beyond our capabilities. weight. But there is no reason to think that we cannot continue to do this. I think you're going to see a very, very purple patch for British skiing over the next 20 years. Look at the Carrick-Smith brothers, who have been on the podium at the Youth Olympics and others, and frankly, the future is bright for them.
“The ratings are higher for all of us than ever. . Last year in Kitzbühel we all finished in the top 20 – I think only Austria had more. So in this sense we are at the forefront. If we can just lock everything down and really start preparing for the season, I think we can do a lot more because the boys are on the cusp of finishing in the top 30. And when you keep getting that bib number, that's when you really start to rapidly approach my ranking. They have speed, they have 90 percent of the qualities. Another 10 percent, and then they will do what I do. It's so close.”
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