The BSSF needs a cash injection of £200,000 before the end of the month if they are to continue as a business.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) insists that the involvement of the athletes qualified for the Olympics is not in danger as they can immediately form a new federation but the situation is unsettling for those preparing for the Games in Vancouver, which is due to open on February 12.

Snowsport GB, the trading name of the BSSF, is £600,000 in the red and faces going into administration after two funding streams were deferred and the Royal Bank of Scotland withdrew a £30,000 overdraft facility. 

Oliver Jones, the chairman of the BSSF, said: "Administration is only one of a number of outcomes which may come out of this.

"The federation has had a particularly difficult year, made worse by the economic background.

"As a winter sports federation, we have seen our funding substantially curtailed in recent years and we have become increasingly dependent on more private funding.

"I know we are living through extremely tough times, but I find it extraordinary that we have not been able to raise the £200,000 we need."

Jones claimed that the BSSF had made personal appeals to Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, and to Ben Bradshaw, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, but said that it had been made clear that no government funding was available.

He said: "It is not too late for someone in Government or the Royal Bank of Scotland to think again."

Alcott, Britain's best ever female skier, has been in particularly good form in the build-up to Vancouver, including finishing 16th in the Super-G at Val D'Isere last month.

Snowboarder Zoe Gillings (pictured) has also had an encouraging season so far, finishing sixth in the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Snowboard Cross tour in Bad Gastein, Austria, two weeks ago.

The BSSF employs about 20 full-time coaches and administrative staff, most of whom would be expected to lose their jobs in the event of administration.

Mark Tilson, the head coach of Snowsport GB, admitted that the problems had affected preparations for Vancouver.

He told The Herald: "I don’t know figures, but it’s very difficult times. In terms of volumes of days on snow, and consistency and clarity in the programme, athletes’ training has been greatly compromised.

"I am concerned about my job – very.

"A lot of people are trying to find solutions, but this has been hanging over us since May.

"A white knight pulled us out of the mess last spring.

"All we can do is try to stay positive and focused on what we have put years into.

"But now we are almost non-operational."

Sportscotland has been helping fund some of the programmes but Tilson revealed that the programme had been badly compromised, with coaches particularly affected.

He said: "Snowsport GB has no liquid cash to deliver programmes.

"We do have money ring fenced for athletes, but coaches have no money to pay for accommodation or lift passes."

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "Sports’ governing bodies are independent of Government and with that independence comes responsibility for managing their own finances. 
 
"It would send out entirely the wrong message about the need for good governance across sport if Government intervened with public money every time a governing body was in financial difficulties. 
 
"We hope that Snowsport GB can resolve its current problems and we and UK Sport are working with the British Olympic Association and the sport to do everything we can to ensure our elite skiers and snowboarders can compete in Vancouver."