Athletes on Canada's national snowboarding team are paying their own way to World Cup events or missing them altogether because the Canadian Snowboard Federation has run out of cash.

Alexa Loo missed the final race of the World Cup snowboarding season this year because of a funding crisis at the Canadian Snowboard Federation.
(Getty Images)

Snowboarder Alexa Loo told CBC she racked up a credit card bill of more than $5,000 taking planes to races in Japan, Korea and Lake Placid, N.Y., during the season only to miss the final race in Italy because she couldn't afford the airfare.

Loo is now frustrated because she isn't sure why the Vancouver-based federation hasn't been able to find stable sponsorship for the popular sport, while other teams like alpine and freestyle skiing have landed long-term sponsorship deals. 

Federation CEO Tom McIllfaterick says he understands the athlete's frustration, but the team has been unable to find another major sponsor after Honda ended its relationship with the federation last fall.

"It's a frustration we have as well. And we continue to be aggressive in the marketplace, and I hope we won't have this problem next year," said McIllfaterick.
 
The CEO said he hopes to announce another sponsor in the coming days, but did not give any details.

As for Loo, she said things are still better than a few short years ago when athletes had to pay out of their pocket for every race, and she's grateful for any funding from other sponsors, but is hoping another major sponsor can be found in time for next season.