12:50 February 6, 2020.
The Sakhalin 2020 World Cup Paralympic Skiing World Cup starts in just a few days, and on the eve of it, the organizers held a press conference with IPC winter sports director general Dimitrie Lazarovski and island sports minister Sergey Burenkov. Traditionally, officials began with opening speeches.
Most of the information from the speakers was already known. The preparations are in full swing and are almost complete, the tracks for the competitions (the main Sportivnaya and the reserve Armieka) have been identified, a timing system has been installed and measures have been taken for broadcasting. The latter will be held on the Internet and will be the only full-fledged opportunity to look at the competition.
“Measures have been taken to ensure the possibility of broadcasting, because these competitions will be broadcast on the Internet, and we are sure that a very large number of our planet’s inhabitants will be able to watch how competitions are held here in Sakhalin,” Sakhalin Sports Minister Sergey Burenkov told reporters.
Sergey Burenkov
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Broadcasting is a good thing, but a Sakh.com correspondent was interested in whether ordinary residents of the region would be able to see the competitions live – it turned out that there was not. There was no secret, because those who follow the events on the Mountain Air know that they are on the Sportivnaya track, and it is impossible to get to it without special aids.
An alternative is the Armeyka track, which is in reserve, but it will only be connected in case of emergency. It is more suitable for the audience, because you can watch the athletes who are going down the slope from the middle station and even sitting on a small platform. Unfortunately, during the World Cup stage, the islanders do not seem to have such luxury.
“Given that we really have a finish zone almost in the middle of the highway and access there is quite complicated, we focus on broadcasting,” the minister notes. – If we now understand that our colleagues really confirm their readiness for the systematic holding of competitions on Sakhalin land, we will consider the possibility of organizing access [болельщиков].
Finishing zone at Sportivnaya
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Three years ago, the former Minister of Sport and Youth Policy, and now the Deputy Prime Minister Anton Zaitsev spoke after the next competition on the mountain: “Next year I set the task of attracting as many spectators as possible.” Even then, the possibility of installing stands at the finish of Sportivnaya and creating a route for passage to them was discussed.
After the press conference, it became known that there will be a grandstand with 50 seats at the finish line, but it’s difficult to get to it – Mountain Air over the years has not made an accessible route for spectators to the Sportivnaya track. Therefore, it remains to pass through the forest from the middle station (the Ministry of Sports promises that there will be a snowcat and it will not be very difficult to go skiing or walking) or try to go down along the track with the risk of falling and getting injured. The lack of work with potential visitors is reflected in the fact that half of the island does not know anything about the World Cup stage, and the second does not understand the level of competition and their high status. So also people do not have the opportunity to change their minds.
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Stage for ceremonies
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There are problems with creating events for spectators, young athletes or journalists, where ordinary inhabitants of the island can communicate with eminent athletes. Thus, you can see outstanding Paralympic athletes only at the opening ceremonies (held on February 9 at 18:00 at the lower station of the complex) and closing, as well as during the awarding of medals.
– This is a difficult question, because the competition and training regime for athletes is very tough. And set aside specialized time [можно] only individually, speaking with each of the athletes individually. Specially allocate some time and force athletes to communicate with the press and spectators [мы] we have no right, – added the Minister of Sports.
Sakh.com does not ask these questions out of mischief or lack of love for Mountain Air. The World Cup stage is a cool large-scale event, but you need to do it correctly and plan events for the audience in advance. It is possible that in the morning on a weekday, few will want to freeze on the slopes and watch competitions, but champions can emerge from them or their children, who will later glorify our region.
In the meantime, these competitions are equal to the fact that the Russian national volleyball, hockey, basketball or football teams would come to Sakhalin (underline as appropriate) and have a match with a high-level opponent (conditional Japan), but the entrance to it would be closed and the islanders would watch would be for what is happening next to them on TV. Moreover, money would be allocated from the regional budget for this grand event.
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