Astrid Øyre Slind has waited half a year to get clarity on whether she can actually qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics.

In April, Astrid Øyre Slind declined a place on the national team in favor of her own setup with Team Aker Dæhlie. Since then, the 37-year-old from Norway has not known with 100 percent certainty if she could still pursue her Olympic dream.

Only now, half a year later and less than two months before the season starts, has she received final confirmation that she can, in fact, qualify for both the World Cup and the Olympics.

It was not a given, since the Norwegian Ski Association’s regulations state:

“Skiers who have declined an offer to participate on the NSF national team shall not be selected by NSF to represent NSF in competitions in the season the offer applied to, unless there are special circumstances.”

Gets exemption

Now the Association has decided to exempt Slind from the rule.

“The cross-country skiing committee has chosen to grant her an ‘exception on special grounds,’ which means she will have almost the same agreement as last season,” says Torbjørn Skogstad, head of the cross-country committee at the Norwegian Ski Association, to VG.

The regulations, however, allow for discretion. The Norwegian Ski Association did so in the 2022/2023 season when Johannes Høsflot Klæbo broke with the Norwegian national team. Slind has now turned down a national team spot every year since her breakthrough and double medal performance at the 2023 World Championships.

Unreasonable demands

The agreement Slind received with the national team for the coming season is nearly identical to the one she had last year. It is the result of lengthy negotiations between the ski star and the Association.

Initially, the Ski Association demanded that Slind could only be a Team Aker Dæhlie skier until the season opener in November. From the start of the season until April, they required her to wear national team clothing and follow the same sponsorship rules as the Norwegian national team athletes. That would have meant Slind could not wear Team Aker Dæhlie gear, not even in long-distance races.

In addition, the Association required her to write a letter explaining why she should be allowed to stand outside the national team. It is this letter that Slind has now received a reply to.

The answer is that the Association is exempting her. She can qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics even though she remains outside the national team.

Could have responded faster

Asked why Slind is only now receiving a response to her application, Skogstad says:

“We can only apologize. If we in cross-country had been able to decide this alone, we would have made the decision earlier.”

The head of the cross-country committee attributes the delay to a heavy administrative workload.

“Hopefully, Astrid has been able to do the training she needed regardless. It would have been worse if we came now and said she would not get the opportunity.”

Also Read
Norwegian women’s national team set for the 2025/2026 season
Norwegian men’s national team for 2025/2026

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