Request for financial assistance – a donation – Daniel Šmid (Ski Cross)

Dear Sir/Madam, I realise it is difficult to ask for help, knowing full well that there are many people around the world who need donations far more than we do. In Daniel’s case, the question is simply whether, as father and son, we will succeed in continuing Daniel’s career in the winter sport of ski cross. Happiness and health are our greatest riches, and this is what every individual desires most.

We all come from families for whom we are prepared to give everything, even our lives.

Respecting one another, loving one another, and selflessly cooperating and helping are the values of love. And this is precisely why I have decided, in the face of financial difficulties, to ask for help from people who are willing to donate and can help my son and me to continue.

Dear Sir or Madam, I am Roman Šmid from Slovenia, head of the ski cross discipline at the Slovenian Ski Association, but above all a proud father and coach of 20-year-old national team member Daniel Šmid.

I am writing to you out of desperation, as I do not know whether I will be able to continue enabling my son to live his dream.

As a working-class father and a ceramist, I am really struggling to make ends meet, yet I wholeheartedly support my son, who is very talented.

Ski cross is far too expensive for me as an ordinary worker, but with my last shred of hope I persevere and try to find a way to enable my son to live his dream.

It’s hard for me when I have to borrow money to help my son and enable him to do what he loves.Of course, the borrowed money has to be paid back, and every season is just getting harder for us. Even though he receives only €6,000 in support from the national team.

As a father and coach, I recognised my son’s exceptional talent early on. Daniel’s goals and dreams have been clear for many years.

His desire is to compete at the highest level of the World Cup and reach the Olympic summit in a discipline that demands exceptional courage, strength and uncompromising speed. These very qualities have characterised him since childhood, as even as an 11-year-old boy he became the 2016 national champion in this very discipline of ski cross at the Kope ski resort. In alpine skiing, he was regional overall champion twice in a row.

In 2020, he unfortunately suffered a serious injury – a broken bone – and underwent a lengthy rehabilitation, but his passion for ski cross has not waned.

In short, his perseverance and discipline have now brought him to the doorstep of the World Cup.

His potential is confirmed by the official results from last season on the FIS website. With two wins and one second place in the 2025/26 season, he currently has 95.6 FIS points. This means that he is just one step away (a good 4 points to the 100-point quota) from making his World Cup debut in the upcoming 2026/27 season. Filip Flisar is also helping us with his invaluable experience and advice, but our progress is seriously hampered by a major financial challenge.

At this stage, the Slovenian Ski Association covers only a portion of Daniel’s European Cup expenses as a national team member.

However, all the key preparatory training sessions on the glaciers and the FIS races, where points are earned to break into the world’s elite, represent too great a cost for me.Of course, there are many children in a similar situation, who give up on their dreams due to similar difficulties, and I feel deeply for every talented child. Ski cross has been a firmly established Olympic discipline for many years now.

Due to the high costs, between October and December 2025 we were forced to miss most of the snow training on the glaciers and managed only eight days of training. Despite this, in mid-November, at his first FIS race on the Pitztal Glacier, Daniel achieved an outstanding 21st place against a field of 70 competitors (including World Cup athletes). We had to skip the December European Cup races in Sweden to save money. To ensure we could even start competing in the European Cup in January, I worked intensively as a potter throughout December and managed to earn enough.

Of course, we hope that history won’t repeat itself this year and that Daniel will be able to start the European Cup season normally, which begins in December in Sweden. Daniel has proven himself to be an exceptionally talented athlete and, above all, a man of integrity. However, to make the final breakthrough into the elite, we urgently need the help of donations.

We realise that achieving elite status with the OKS will make the path easier, but we have to get there on our own, or with the help of people and companies who recognise our story. We come from the specific local environment of northern Primorska, where securing donations is considerably more difficult than in the larger centres of Slovenia. We kindly ask for your financial support or a donation to help us out and enable Daniel to have high-quality and competitive training for the coming season. Sincere thanks for your time, kindness and understanding... Peace, love and all the best