“Together, we will promote public health and create a public celebration on the occasion of the World Ski Championships in 2025,” says the CEO of SpareBank 1 SMN, Jan-Frode Janson, in a press release.

The region’s largest bank will be one of the main partners of the upcoming skiing championship in Trondheim in 2025 and is also launching its public health project with a framework of up to NOK 100 million. The CEO of SpareBank 1 SMN emphasizes the common commitment to public health as an important reason for the collaboration with the World Championships organization and the establishment of the public health project.

“We share both values and the same ambitions for the event and the region as the World Championships organization. We are keen to ensure that the World Ski Championships in 2025 is an open and inclusive event so that it becomes a public celebration for the entire region. Taking the opportunity to promote public health in the region is another important point,” says Janson. 

In addition to creating a public celebration for the entire region, the bank and the World Championships organization, together with volunteers, will jointly promote public health in Central Norway.

“We see a growing trend of inactivity in the population and are concerned about the negative consequences for society. The run-up to the World Ski Championships in 2025 is a perfect opportunity to engage most people to become more physically active. With a public health project called Heartbeat, we want to motivate both young and older people to become more active and get off the couch. All research shows that it is positive for both physical and mental health,” says Janson. 

World Championships CEO Åge Skinstad is delighted to have SpareBank 1 SMN as one of the main partners leading up to the big event in 2025, and that they are also committed to public health.

“I am very pleased that SpareBank 1 SMN is joining us as one of our key partners. Hjertebank is an example of an initiative that supports our own public health project, AktiVM. They are an important social player in Central Norway. Therefore, we wanted to get them on board early on in planning the championship,” says Skinstad.

The World Championships manager believes in a historic World Ski Championships ahead of us.

“The World Championships in Trondheim will be historic. It will be the biggest sports festival in Norway in 15 years. It will also be the first international winter championship with equal distances and equal prize money for women and men – and that has para events as part of the championship,” says Skinstad.

According to Jan-Frode Janson, CEO of SpareBank 1 SMN, initiatives like this made the bank want to be involved as a main partner. 

“A cooperation agreement like this is more than a financial contribution for us at SpareBank 1 SMN. For 200 years, we have been with our region through its ups and downs, helping to build Central Norway into an attractive region for both people and businesses. It’s a perfect match for us when we can work with volunteers and enthusiasts in all local communities to make this happen. The majority of the NOK 100 million we are now putting on the table will benefit volunteers in Central Norway and promote public health for everyone in the region,” says Janson.

According to the World Championships CEO, the sustainable measures related to gender equality and inclusion would not have been possible without the support of the partners. 

“The fact that our partners, such as SpareBank 1 SMN, are committed to sustainability and gender equality, diversity, and inclusion contributes greatly to us being able to implement measures and exercises that promote this,” says Skinstad. 

World Ski Championships 2025 and SpareBank 1 SMN have signed a letter of intent and will finalize the agreement within the next month. Many activities will be implemented throughout the fall, in addition to announcing support schemes for volunteers to promote public health.