UK Sport has announced it will withdraw all funding from GB Snowsport for the upcoming Olympic cycle following concerns over the organisation’s governance. This decision comes six months after Team Great Britain’s notable performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and coincides with the announcement of record funding levels for British winter sports and parasports ahead of the 2030 Games in the Alps.
A total of £12.5 million has been allocated by UK Sport to support coaches and athletes in ski and snowboard disciplines, including their Paralympic counterparts, over the next four years. This funding represents the largest portion of the £33 million winter sports fund, surpassing the £10.1 million earmarked for bobsleigh and skeleton athletes. However, UK Sport has yet to confirm a new funding structure to replace the existing arrangement with GB Snowsport.
In a statement, UK Sport explained that from the end of the Milan-Cortina funding cycle, the investment previously channeled through GB Snowsport will be redirected. The organisation affirmed its ongoing commitment to athletes, noting that grants would continue to be paid directly to supported athletes during the transition period. Concurrently, UK Sport plans to commission an independent review focused on the governance of GB Snowsport.
GB Snowsport has experienced leadership instability in recent years, changing chairpersons twice within three years. Currently, Michael Osterlin, a non-executive director, serves as interim chair. The organisation expressed disappointment regarding the funding decision. It also highlighted a recently completed independent governance review, funded by UK Sport, which reportedly validated the strength and appropriateness of its governance standards. GB Snowsport conveyed its intention to actively participate in the forthcoming review, remaining confident it will yield similarly positive conclusions.
Separately, UK Sport confirmed the establishment of a specialist multisport performance delivery organisation, dubbed SportOrg, which will oversee elite programmes across select sports. SportOrg already manages the curling and wheelchair curling programmes and will assume responsibility for British Bobsleigh and Skeleton’s high-performance operations ahead of the 2034 Winter Games in Utah. This move follows previous internal controversy; in 2022, Joanna Poulton resigned as chair of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, criticizing plans to create such an organisation as “laughable” and “naive.”
Dr Kate Baker, UK Sport’s director of performance and people, underscored the escalating competitiveness of Olympic and Paralympic winter sport and the necessity of strategic investment. She emphasized that the funding shifts and structural reforms being implemented are designed to maximise athlete success on the world stage.