Int’l snowboarding championship and festival begins in Malam Jabba

MINGORA: The three-day International Snowboarding event kicked off in the Scenic Malam Jabba valley of district Swat on Friday.Male and female players from Afghanistan, France and Belgium were participating in the event.

The event was arranged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism department in collaboration with Samson Group of Companies. Players from Europe, Afghanistan and Pakistan were participating in the categories of Salalam and Joint Salalam.

Twenty-one years old girl from Afghanistan, Ayesha, told this scribe that Pakistan is a peaceful and beautiful country. “I have come out from Afghanistan for the first time in my life. The beautiful landscape, snow-filled mountains and this resort are very attractive. And I would like to advise every international player to visit this area and enjoy the sport of skiing and snowboarding,” she said and added that she would love to visit Pakistan again.

“Pakistan is a beautiful country. I am a professional trainer and am here to train the children and immature players, so that they become able to participate in national and international events of skiing and Snowboarding. The people have immense talent, who need only proper training and guidance,” said Helias Millerioux from France, adding that sports was necessary for physical and mental fitness. He said that, after Malam Jabba, his team would also visit Chitral to train the players.

Victor Daviet, a player from Belgium, told The News that Malam Jabba Resort, was ideal for international events. “This valley impressed me, and I think that through proper publicity more international players can be attracted, which will boost this game and tourism in this part of the world,” he said. He added that children at the age of 7 and the people up to 80 years old could learn skiing and snowboarding.

Organiser of the event, Pir Waris Shah explained, that the event was aimed to project the positive face of Pakistan and boost tourism and economic activities in the area.Besides snowboarding games, traditional foods and music festivals are also part of the gala to entertain the tourists and visitors.

According to the programme, men and women joint slalom and parallel joint slalom thrilling competitions will be held today in which the players will exhibit their skills. Music programme will also be organised in the evening to entertain the tourists and players.

The concluding ceremony of the International Snowboarding Championship and Festival will be held tomorrow.Meanwhile, Mahgul Kabir, a yoga trainer from Gilgit-Baltistan, also imparted yoga training to the participants at Malam Jabba.

Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard attached to a rider’s feet.The game is so popular that it even features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games at the international level.

Malam Jabba is the only civil skiing resort in Pakistan at about 8,500 feet above sea level.The provincial government has taken worth mentioning steps that led to promotion of tourism, sports and preserving the rich heritage, cultural and archaeology sites in the province.