British alpine skiers launch crowdfunding appeal

British alpine skiers have launched a crowdfunding appeal after the team was removed from World Class Programme funding.

The five athletes include Dave Ryding, who won Britain’s first alpine skiing World Cup gold medal in January.

An initial target of £500,000 has been set to keep coach and technician contracts in place for the new season.

“With under seven weeks until funds run out, we need to try and give ourselves some stability,” said the team.

“We are elite athletes, so to keep on training at 100% we need to relieve the mental load to make sure that we are still in a strong position to fight for more World Cup podiums this coming winter.

“We have been blown away with the reaction to the crowdfunder and are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has stepped forward and offered their support”

As well as Ryding, Charlie Guest, Billy Major, Laurie Taylor and Charlie Raposo are behind the campaign, which has so far raised over £15,000.

Skiing was one of eight sports to share £24.2m in funding from UK Sport before the 2026 Winter Games.

However, GB Snowsport says alpine, cross-country and Para-Nordic skiing have been deemed “not investible” for the top level of funding by UK Sport.

A small fund has been ringfenced for Ryding, but the athletes say it will not be enough to cover his coaching.

When the funding decision was announced, GB Snowsport said it was “urgently exploring all other options” to continue the programmes while UK Sport said it “was aiming to become an ever greater force in winter sport, while powering a broader range of sports and champions who reflect the diversity of British society”.

It added: “We recognise GB Snowsport and some of their athletes will be disappointed by our recent investment decisions, but our investment going forward for snowsport is now more targeted, with a focus on the freestyle ski and snowboard disciplines, albeit not exclusively.”