Ten years ago, recruitment for Norwegian cross-country skiing went like crazy.
During the peak year of 2012, for example, the number of ski licenses among young people, aged 13-19, was 8,700.
Today, the situation is completely different.
In the 2021 season, the number was down to 4722, which is almost a halving.
The numbers hit rock bottom during the pandemic, but the tendency and the problem were clear even before.
"Big concern"
- It is a situation that we have to take seriously, says Therese Johaug.
NRK expert Fredrik Aukland:
- It is a big concern.
If cross-country skiing is to continue to be the national sport in Norway, we need to see an upswing in the recruitment of children and young people, says
At the top of the world, there is total Norwegian dominance on the men's side.
The ladies have also surprised positively after the loss of Johaug, with a WC gold medal in the relay, among other things.
When it comes to the problem of regrowth, Johaug points specifically to the women's side.
- For a period, the women's team was very dominant and we were very embarrassed.
With that generation now gone, we see that the younger girls were not taken care of, although it is very gratifying that we saw several girls on the podium this year.
The association deploys greater resources
Öistein Lunde, general secretary of the Norwegian Skiing Association, is self-critical.
- We have certainly never done enough.
But it's something we have a lot of focus on now and are putting more resources into.
Among other things, he talks about a new project with 13 ski club developers who help clubs all over the country.
- We have a very good base.
But we must manage to reverse the trend and hope that the numbers stabilize and increase.
We have had a fairly even dropout across all age groups during these years, he says.