While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been inspecting Sochi’s bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games Sochi’s competitors have not been idle.
The opening ceremony of the 88th National Winter Sports Festival was held Wednesday at Yongpyong Resort in PyeongChang. It will last for five days and will run alongside the 4th National Sports Festival for People with a Disability.
In a press release Kil-Jung Kim, President of the Korean Olympic Committee said, “we are delighted that the National Winter Sports Festival, which has been the foundation of developing winter sports in Korea, is being held alongside the National Sports Festival for People with a Disability in PyeongChang, the candidate city for the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The recent outstanding achievements in several international competitions will continue to inspire and foster Korean winter sports”.
Jin-Sun Kim, Governor of Gangwon province and Executive President of the PyeongChang bid committee, said, “Gangwon province has made strong efforts to contribute to Korean winter sports and the development of potential young athletes. This highlights PyeongChang’s ability to host successful winter sports events”.
U-Play, an extreme sports team of Korean star entertainers, is holding a two-day snowboard event starting Friday. The Yongpyong Cup U-Play Entertainers Extreme Snow Competition is being held at the Yongpyong Resort, the alpine ski venue should PyeongChong host the 2014 Games. Sixty people including 32 entertainers are attending.
An official of U-Play said, “this tournament was planned to support for PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid and will help promote the bid nationwide”.
The bid committee is also appointing the U-Play Entertainers Extreme Sports Team as honorary ambassadors for the PyeongChang 2014 Games.
Also the next 2007 FIS World Cup Snowboard event run by the International Ski Federation (FIS) will be held Saturday and Sunday at Sungwoo Resort in Gangwon province where more than 200 athletes from 20 countries will compete in the parallel giant slalom (PGS) and half pipe events.
Star athletes ranked in the world’s top 10 will compete in the event.
Kim said, “this is the first event held in PyeongChang after the evaluation visit by the IOC Evaluation Committee. As witnessed in the 2007 PyeongChang Interski Competition and Yongpyong Peace Cup International Alpine Ski Competition last January, PyeongChang is capable of hosting successful international events.
Meanwhile Salzburg 2014 issued a press release announcing that Erwin Roth, an expert on the Olympic Family and publisher and editor of many Olympic publications, has joined Salzburg’s 2014 bid to become part of the bid’s international relations team, which is led by Salzburg’s Mayor Heinz Schaden, IOC member and AOC President Leo Wallner, and Chairman International Franz Klammer.
