The coach of Mäkihypy’s A national team is afraid that the change negotiations will affect athletic activities.
Lauri Hakola has been coaching the Mäki team since 2016. PDO
According to information from Iltalehti, the Finnish Ski Federation has planned to lay off the coaches on its payroll for a month at least as late as Wednesday.
The Ski Association announced on Tuesday 6 June. of change negotiations, with the help of which it aims to balance its finances in the amount of 350 thousand euros.
In the ski association’s press release, it was assured that the change negotiations will not endanger the core activities of the sport. However, the layoff plans of the coaches are at odds with this information.
“Yes it does”
Coach of the Finnish ski jumping A national team Lauri Hakola is not convinced that the core activity of the sport is completely safe.
– That’s the concern, when ski jumping has special features, it’s not possible to train in a specific way without a coach. It’s a bigger challenge for us. If we have all sports coaches on vacation, it will have a significant effect. It must be nuclear activity.
Executive Director of the Ski Association Ismo Hämäläinen did not comment on Iltalehti’s information and appealed to the fact that the change negotiations are still ongoing.
Hakola said that there are uncertainty factors in the change negotiations.
– If there are layoffs, that has not yet been resolved from an operational point of view either. The situation is still a bit open. For example, those on fixed-term contracts and whether they can be laid off. It has not yet been decided how to act here, says Hakola.
A meager summer is coming
Hakola emphasizes that the goal of the ski jumpers is to be able to train with full staff until the beginning of August. However, the coach did not yet dare to assess the effects of the layoffs, because he does not know who all they will affect. The Ski Association has already had to make difficult decisions regarding coaching.
– The hiring of most of the coaches has been postponed until the beginning of August. A pretty big compromise has already been made, Hakola says.
Hakola reveals ways to reduce the effects of possible layoffs, for example by staggered layoffs.
However, the coach did not want to speculate on what could be caused by possible layoffs. However, Hakola knows that money may be tight in the near future.
– Large sums have to be saved. Tight times are ahead until autumn.