Sunday skiers and race organisers alike are struggling with the lack of snow. How can winter sports still be secured without making the problem worse?
*Kerttu Kotakorpi will be one of the expert speakers at the Aurora future event on Friday 18.11. in Levi. Aurora, organised by YLE, brings together experts to talk about solutions to the big issues of our time. This year’s themes are equality and climate. The debates will be broadcast live from 11am* on *Yle Areena**.*
This is familiar to the Finnish public who follow sport and weather, and is repeated all over the world. At the moment, preparations are underway in Levi – despite the limited natural snow.
This was not the first time that the Winter Olympics had been puzzled by the lack of snow. The subject was already familiar at Sochi 2014, among other events.
Yle sport found out where the winter games can be held in the future as the warming progresses. The survey showed that many familiar competition venues will become too mild already in the coming decades. About every third arena for the Winter Olympics will no longer be suitable as a competition venue in the middle of the century.
Making snow takes a lot of energy and water and it is reasonable to question how ecological, sustainable and reasonable it is to create winter conditions in places where there are none.
Of course, it’s not just about the Olympics.
In the long run, it is the entire existence of winter sports.
Already in Finland, there have been years when skiing in southern Finland has required quite a lot of investment in the sport. At worst, ski school students have been taught the ropes of skiing by practicing using poles without snow.
Tourism in northern Finland will certainly benefit from better winter conditions than the rest of Finland, but is winter vacationing in the northern ski resorts enough to keep Finns as a skiing nation?
The snow season has already shortened in the whole of Finland, in the southern and western parts of the country by even a month, and the change is progressing inexorably.
Keeping halls cool all year round, snowing, traveling, organizing events, flying – there are many factors where winter sports can work more sustainably.
Even though development is happening all the time, there is plenty to rock at all levels, from top sports to winter tourism. By saving winter sports, it is easy to justify climate goals both within the sport and for any Sunday skier.
*How to maintain winter sports? You can discuss the topic on 17.11. until 11 p.m.*