For the second time in two months, Great Britain has expanded the national team with two cross-country skiers, this time with two young female talents.

Despite the British national team not having the funding for the upcoming World Cup season, Great Britain is now expanding the national team for the second time since the summer break. 

This time, two female athletes have been given a place in the squad: Tabitha Williams and Sophia Wilson. 

Williams is 17 years old, born in London to British parents. Wilson is 18 years old and has a British mother. They have now been accepted into the British national team and will represent Great Britain at the junior level next season, with the 2023 Junior World Championships in Whistler, Canada, as the winter’s highlight. 

Both skiers have a background in the Canadian skiing scene and are considered up-and-coming athletes. They have already competed in Canada, USA, Switzerland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Finland. Williams has delivered several top 20 and 30 positions internationally this winter, and the same applies to Wilson. 

Great Britain’s national cross-country team now consists of seven skiers: Andrew Musgrave, Andrew Young, James Clugnet, Joe Davies, and Gabriel Gledhill, in addition to the two new athletes. The coach for the team is Norwegian Jostein Vinjerui, who has coached the team for the past five years, and Alex Standen. 

Like more than half of the British national team, Tabitha Williams and Sophia Wilson will live and train in Lillehammer. The rest of the national team is based in Trondheim. 

For the time being, entirely without support 

The team’s expansion comes even though UK Sports has decided they will no longer provide financial support to any national skiing teams in cross-country skiing, para-country skiing, or alpine skiing. 

But even if the British national team no longer receives the financial support they have had in recent years, the skiers still aim to continue their efforts at the World Cup level. That is why, among other things, they have started an online fundraiser through GoFundMe, where everyone – companies, organizations, and the public – can contribute. 

“There is much that is still uncertain, and we are still working on getting funding, but none of us want to give up now,” says national team veteran Andrew Musgrave.