UK Sport Ends Funding to GB Snowsport
4th August 2026
UK Sport says it will find a new way to deliver £12.5m of funding to athletes and coaches before the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics that will be held in France. NEW
The development raises numerous questions, with few answers, about the future of elite snowsport competition and what has been going on behind the scenes.
UK Sport clearly has no confidence in GB Snowsport and is now funding the athletes directly.
What has made it reach this conclusion is unclear.
The news comes six months after Team GB had a successful Winter Olympics at Milan-Cortina in Italy.
The team won five medals with the first gold medal on snow.
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale, 2026 Olympic Champions in Mixed Team SBX. Image © Sam Mellish/Team GB
The funding is part of a record investment of more than £33m into winter sports for the four-year cycle.
“Competition across Olympic and Paralympic winter sport is only getting stronger, which is why it’s more important than ever that we invest where we can have the biggest impact,” said the director of performance and people at UK Sport, Kate Baker.
“It is also why we are not afraid of driving the change needed to give our athletes the very best chance of success.”
In a statement GB Snowsport said it was “disappointed” by the decision but will continue to work with UK Sport.
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The development has been welcomed by Snowsport Scotland.
“We welcome the confirmation that £12.5 million has been ringfenced to support athletes, coaches and performance programmes through to the Alpes 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” said Snowsport Scotland in a statement.
“Our priority remains protecting and strengthening the performance pathway for Scottish athletes while working constructively with UK Sport, sportscotland and partners across British snowsports.”
GB Snowsport has changed its chair twice in the past three years and is currently advertising for a new chair.
Michael Oesterlin, who has been a non-executive director at the organisation for four years, is interim chair.
The increased overall investment is up from about £32.5m for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics cycle.
It was the third time in four Winter Olympics that Team GB had won five medals, but they had only ever won a maximum of one gold medal on the previous occasions.
ParalympicsGB returned with one silver medal.
Baker added the results “showed what British winter sport is capable of, with incredible performances across more sports than ever before”.
“With another Winter Games on European soil and an incredibly talented crop of athletes, we’re excited by what’s possible over the next four years,” she added.
None of the statements from the various parties answer the most important question: “Why?”
Here at PlanetSKI we will be endeavouring to answer that question once we speak to our contacts and snowsport industry insiders.
Do check back…
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