Korkatti defeated the union's former CEO Jari Piirainen in the chairman's vote by 27-12. One representative of the federal assembly voted absent.
Eerikkilän working at a sports college Sirpa Korkatti was elected as the new chairman of the Ski Association on Saturday. She is the first woman as president of the Ski Association.
The selection was made by the Ski Federation's federal council in Jyväskylä. Korkatti defeated his opponent in the chairman's vote Jari Piirainen by a vote of 27–12. One blank vote was also cast in the election.
Korkatti is the director of the People and Culture section of Eerikkilä sports college, who has already been a member of the board of the Ski Association. Piirainen worked as CEO of the Ski Association in 2001–2009.
Headed the Ski Association since 2017 Markku Haapasalmi did not run again to continue as chairman. Korkatti announced his candidacy well in the winter, Piirainen a couple of weeks ago. At Saturday's meeting of the Federal Council, no other chairman candidates emerged.
New the chairman has to roll up his sleeves in a situation where the union is in financial difficulties. The Ski Federation said a week ago that it made losses of more than 1.2 million euros in the last fiscal year. When the losses of more than 600,000 euros of the association's marketing company Nordic Ski Finland Oy add to the financial situation, the deficit accumulates to almost two million.
The marketing company's losses are related to the Helsinki Ski Weeks event organized at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. It was organized in two winters.
The accounting period covered the period from the beginning of June 2022 to the end of last October. Even the fact that the entire personnel of the association was laid off for 4-8 weeks last year did not prevent the losses, and national team activities were cut in cross-country skiing, ski jumping and combined.
The Ski Federation also said a week ago that it had signed a new media contract with Infront Sports AG for the years 2026–2031. According to the association, the agreement secures the visibility of the World Cup events in Nordic sports organized in Finland and the Finnish Cup of cross-country skiing on free linear TV channels.
World Cups are held annually in Kuusamo and Lahti. Lahti has also been petitioned for the 2029 World Cup in cross-country skiing, ski jumping and combined. Lahti is the only applicant for the Games.
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