Klaebo Finally Signed!

The exclamation mark used in a title is justified – it might become a landmark event in the history of skiing and here’s why:

Skiforbundet, the Norwegian Cross-country Skiing Federation and its biggest star, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo have finally signed the agreement for the season 2019/2020 thus officiating the triple Olympic champion participation in the national team.

The news came exactly a month after the deadline to sign, June 10th, had expired – underscoring the difficulties in negotiations.

“… it has been necessary to spend good time in the areas where we have different views,” says the boss of Norwegian cross-country skiing Espen Bjervig.

Different views mentioned indeed reflect new times and new conditions we all live in. At the heart of the debate is what and how any skier could advertise and promote in personal capacity and what he/she is obliged to do to fulfill similar obligations the federation has with its sponsors.

In that sense the contents of agreement – if ever made public – would serve as a blueprint for other skiers, Norwegian or otherwise.

Our guess is that every single day in skier’s calendar would from now on be marked with either Can or Can Not mark i.e. when she/he could promote personal sponsor or, borrowing the page from, say, football what she/he could wear/drive or even eat and drink in public. At the level of Klaebo, with his hundreds of thousands of dedicated fans, everything is or could be seen as promotion or subtle advertising.