Int’l Ski Federation Sec-Gen expects “high-level” hosting of World Championships in Bakuriani
Michel Vion, the Secretary General of the International Ski Federation, said on Tuesday he had high expectations of Georgia hosting the world championships. Photo: Economy Ministry press office
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Michel Vion, the Secretary General of the International Ski Federation, on Tuesday said he was expecting to see a “high-level hosting” of the upcoming Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Georgia’s winter resort of Bakuriani.
The Georgian Economy Ministry cited Vion on the remark following his meeting with Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili in the French mountain and ski resort of Courchevel.
The FIS official also said Bakuriani could be “frequently included as a venue” for future events run under the aegis of the Federation following the Championships, which are set to launch this week.
Pointing to the scale of the event - with 700 athletes from 42 countries competing in seven disciplines - Vion stressed it was “important for FIS” to go beyond the borders of the countries that traditionally host its events.
With this, winter sports will become more popular in different countries of the world, which is very important for us. The tournament should not be a one-time event for Georgia, this championship should leave a lot of legacy, and for that a lot of investment is needed. I hope that in the coming decades, we will often see Bakuriani in the schedule of FIS”, he said.
While in France, the Georgian delegation also met with FIS President Johan Eliasch and the French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
The delegation involves Irakli Burchuladze, the Director of Georgia’s Mountain Trails Agency, Zurab Kostava, the President of the Georgian Ski Federation, and Giorgi Ramishvili, the Chair of the Supervisory Board of Silknet, the general sponsor of the GSF. The Agency and the Federation are supporting the organisation of the Championships along with the Georgian Government.
Georgia was granted the right to host the Championships in 2018. The programme for the Championships, which will run between February 16 and March 5, is available here.