In recent seasons, a clear trend shift has been noted in the Swedish “cross-country skiing world.” Nowadays, there are more young girls than boys competing in cross-country skiing.

More and more Swedes are becoming members of clubs that include cross-country skiing in their sports programs. According to statistics gathered by the Swedish Ski Association (Svenska Skidförbundet), membership numbers have been steadily increasing since 2015, and as of the latest assessment on March 1, 2024, there were over 68,000 people who were members of a “cross-country skiing club” affiliated with the Swedish Ski Association.

The increase in membership is a trend in itself, but there are several others.

Perhaps the most obvious trend is that there are more girls than boys skiing. This is particularly true in the 9-13 age group.

“There are variations across the country, of course, but in general, we see approximately equal numbers of girls and boys joining. However, in the 9-13 age group, there are more active girls than boys. And in events like the Ski Team Youth Cup, there have been more girls than boys in the 13-year-old category for the past two years. That hasn’t been the case before. Then, when you get to the 15-16 age group, there are currently more boys than girls,” says Jenny Limby, responsible for children and youth at the Swedish Ski Association, to Langd.se.

Many sports associations have their peak participation, their “hump,” at the age of 11-12. Does cross-country skiing show a similar pattern?

“No, for us, it comes a few years later. This means that we retain more of our children and youth for a few more years. But of course, we are working to further smooth out that hump,” says Limby.

More about the projects that SSF (Svenska Skidförbundet) is running to attract more participants and retain them in cross-country skiing will be available later this week on Langd.se.

Why is this shift with more girls than boys; is it a “Frida and Ebba” effect?

“It certainly contributes, but our assessment is that the success of the girls on the national team side attracts more girls to skiing. However, it has no negative impact on the number of boys starting to ski. Our experience is that the significant media interest in our talented ladies positively influences. What we do see, however, is tendencies in some areas of the country, where team sports are particularly strong, that we have had more difficulty attracting boys than girls to our activities.”

What does it look like around the country; do boys and girls in the younger age groups mostly train together?

“Yes, in almost one hundred percent of cases. And that’s something I see as a strength, and something that elevates us as a sport. In the surveys and in-depth interviews, we have conducted in recent years, this is something that both leaders and young people have highlighted as an important part of why they enjoy skiing”, says Limby.

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.