Tag: solang ski slopes

With participation of nearly 100 skiers from Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K, Delhi and Indian Army, the National Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Championships kick started on Solang slopes of Manali amid heavy snowfall on Friday. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has granted permission for the championships in Manali after many years. The slopes here are covered with over 100cm of snow while more snow is falling. The competitions started after march past. A huge crowd thronged Solang to witness the competitions. Competitive races will start from February 2. The top performing athletes would be chosen for international tournaments. “We are happy that we got chance to host the event,” Himachal Pradesh Winter Games Association (HPWGA) president Roop Chand Negi said. He said the championships are being organized by HPWGA, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) and Winter Carnival Committee under the aegis of IOA. “The competitions will commence five categories -- slalom, joint slalom, ski cross, snowboarding slalom and snowboard cross. Both men and women athletes are participating,” he said. ABVIMAS joint director Ashwani Kumar said a large number of staff and volunteers are taking care of the event to make it successful. “National Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Championships are being organized at par with international standards. Minimum age of the participants was fixed at 16. IOA convener Rakesh Sharma is present at Solang to observe every activity,” he added. Besides individual entries, teams of HPWGA, J&K, Uttarakhand, Army Sports Control Board and Delhi Ski Association are taking part in the championships. The athletes were full of enthusiasm and happy with quality of the snow. However, they were disappointed with weak infrastructure at the slope, including unavailability of snow beating machine. Arif Khan, a senior athlete from team J&K who has competed in many international events, said his