Get ready for an unforgettable experience at Finland Rookie Fest 2025 hosted at the iconic Vuokatti Snowpark from January 30 to February 2 Known as a hub for freestyle snowboarding and home to the Finnish Snowboard Academy since 2004 two expertly designed snowparks by Schneestern and a dynamic atmosphere for all snowboarding enthusiasts The event includes two main competitions: slopestyle on February 1 and big air on February 2 Compete to secure an all-inclusive ticket to the World Rookie Finals in Austria and snag exclusive sponsor goodies If you have any special requests for your accommodation feel free to reach out to the sales office directly—they’ll be happy to assist The event is supported by Vuokatti Ski Resort with media coverage by Boardriding.com and Quattro Media Join the World Rookie Tour and be part of a legacy that has launched careers in X Games Download here the complete info sheet Biathlon | “The five girls in Group A are protected”: the last two World Cup places will be up for grabs early next winter Biathlon: the selection of the Austrian national team for the 2025/2026 training season Biathlon | Nordic skiing : for the Olympic winter the French teams will once again be changing their overalls Biathlon | “Joining this group is a step forward in my project” : Bressaud Martin Botet talks about his arrival in the French B team Biathlon | “It was a tiring race”: Johannes Thingnes Boe reflects on his participation in the Grue Halvmaraton Cross-country skiing : Linn Svahn back in training after concussion Cross-country skiing: the selection of the Swedish national team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing : Gustav Kvarnbrink’s fright after being hit by a car while training Cross-country skiing | Nordic skiing: the composition of the Austrian team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing | “It’s really nice to see progress” Jessie Diggins gives her news following plantar fasciitis Nordic combined: eleven Norwegians in the elite national team for the 2025/2026 season Nordic combined: the composition of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season Nordic combined: Ivar Stuan remains Norway’s boss for another 2 years… with an option until 2030 Nordic Combined: Florian Schabereiter becomes head coach of the Austrian women’s national team Nordic combined | Mo i Rana: Ida Marie Hagen and Jens Luraas Oftebro crowned Norwegian mass start and gundersen champions Ski jumping | “Not the season I imagined” Ski jumping: Slovenia’s Bine Norcic takes over from Rune Velta at the helm of the Swiss team Ski jumping: Thomas Thurnbichler to coach Germany’s B team Ski jumping: the make-up of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season… with newcomer Louis Obersteiner and leaders Joséphine Pagnier and Valentin Foubert Ski jumping: Rune Velta decides to step down as Switzerland coach Rollerskiing | ASOP and Thomas Joly launch the HautDoubsLoppet a 42 km classic ski-wheel race: first edition on 27 July Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: the Schutzenski Festival free sprint for Jessie Diggins and Reid Goble Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: Luke Jager and Rosie Brennan win the individual classic at the Schutzenski Festival Rollerski | “There are many reasons”: why didn’t Arnaud Du Pasquier’s third Dupaski Festival take place this weekend Rollerskiing | “It’s very reassuring”: the satisfaction of Mathis Desloges after winning the French individual classic title in La Bresse Vu de Trondheim #2: Jarl Magnus Riiber stripped of his title From Trondheim #1 : Marit Bjoergen head coach for women’s sprint Vu de Norge #451 : Sturla Holm Lægreid stands up against homophobia Vu de Norge #449 : Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen improves his rifle Planète Nordic #29: Oleksandra Merkushyna appreciates Julia Simon’s gesture Planète Nordic #23 : Norwegian cross-country skiers take on footballer Erling Braut Haaland on his recovery techniques dog’s name… at the Tour de Ski Planète Nordic #21 : Sebastian Samuelsson donates his race number to Dmytro Pidruchnyi in support of Ukraine Nordic Planet #20 : Dorothea Wierer could do nothing about the individual short in Kontiolahti after suffering a back injury Germany will make the final selection of its athletes for the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti (Finland) Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. The last two women's tickets for the start of the biathlon World Cup will be awarded in November Discover the full composition of the Austrian biathlon team for the 2025/2026 season Find out where and when the French cross-country skiing team will be preparing for the summer of 2025 the equipment supplier to the French biathlon and Nordic ski teams Among the new biathletes in the federal group for the 2025/2026 preparations is Martin Botet A native of the Vosges who lives in Savoie,.. A few days after completing the Halvmaraton in 1h20m19 Johannes Thingnes Boe gave his first reaction to the Norwegian media Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Antonin Delsol tell Nordic Magazine how delighted they are to be joining the men's Excellence 2030 group for the.. Océane Michelon talks to Nordic Magazine about her magnificent 2024/2025 season The 2nd INAR research infrastructures scientific meeting was held during 7-10.4.2025 in Vuokatti the meeting was held along with the traditional Pallas symposium which brings together research related to Pallas and other subarctic/Arctic infrastructures The meeting gathered more than 80 participants representing the Universities of Eastern Finland as well as the Finnish Environment Insitute (SYKE) Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) and the EGI federation.  Krista Pärmäkoski managed to hold off her rivals to take the overall victory in the women’s Vuokatti Aateli Race in Finland Pärmäkoski was the first to arrive at Vuokatinvaara winning the Vuokatti Aateli Race for the second time in a row Matintalo was the fastest in the three-kilometer running race earlier in the morning I thought that I should take it easy on the first steep climbs and then speed up on the easy sections so that I could separate myself from the people behind me so that they wouldn’t catch me but it took a bit of my own legs to get to the end of the climb It’s always a battle to climb to the end of the race.” You can view the results of the Vuokatti Aateli Race on the Vuokatti Ski Team website Italian biathlete Lisa Vittozzi will not be approaching the World Cup in the best of spirits Czech Marketa Davidova has undergone surgery on her herniated disc Tickets to the Lillehammer 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will be on the line at the Europa Cup in Vuokatti Finland as athletes rush to get last-minute points before the end of the year Vuokatti is hosting two cross-country and two biathlon races from 17-21 December Almost 100 athletes from 20 countries are set to compete there with many making their debuts on the World Para Nordic Skiing circuit or returning after a long absence The stakes are especially high for Mehman Ramazanzade The 51-year-old sit skier is aiming to become Azerbaijan’s first-ever Winter Paralympian His country had an outstanding performance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the summer finishing among the Top 10 nations in the overall medals tally with a total of 14 gold The smallest country by population on that Top 10 list Azerbaijan has never had representation at the Paralympic Winter Games “Azerbaijan has never competed in the Winter Games and now we are trying to get there,” he said “In order to develop winter sports in our country we have launched these sports and I gave it a try.” Ramazanzade started in sports as a Para powerlifter and Para cyclist and aspired to compete in the Tokyo 2020 cycling races he was forced to miss many competitions and could not collect the points he needed to classify Ramazanzade took up Para Nordic skiing with the goal to make it to Beijing instead they suit each other really well so I decided to give it a try.” attached it to rollers and trained by riding 10 to 15 kilometres on asphalt and dirt roads in his neighbourhood His first time on snow was four weeks ago when he went to a training camp in Ufa His second time on snow was in Vuokatti this week “It is now a month that I’ve been skiing,” Ramazanzade said “I still need to learn the technique for doing turns you need to keep your balance and this is something I need to learn a bit more.” While there is also a Para alpine skier in Azerbaijan Ramazanzade remains his country’s best hope for making Paralympic Winter Games history The alpine skier tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of a recent Europa Cup and missed that opportunity to collect classification points To classify to the Para Nordic competition at Beijing 2022 Ramazanzade needs to place in the middle of the sitting men’s field in the cross-country races in Vuokatti “I would be so proud to bring Azerbaijan to the Paralympic Winter Games and to compete for Azerbaijan there,” Ramazanzade said Another athlete who made the switch from Para cycling to Para cross-country skiing is Iceland’s Arna Albertsdottir She competed in the women’s H4-5 time trial at Tokyo 2020 and will become the first athlete from Iceland to compete on the World Para Nordic circuit when she races in Vuokatti “It’s quite exciting and cross-country skiing is gaining popularity in Iceland although maybe not Para as much,” the sit skier said “It’s always exciting to think about doing the Paralympic Games in both sports For me the goal right now is just to be classified and learn a little bit more because there’s not a lot of knowledge when nobody is doing it in Iceland.” The transition from Para cycling to skiing is not unusual with some athletes winning Paralympic medals in both who won the Tokyo 2020 women’s H4-5 time trial race to add to her two gold medals in Para cross-country skiing at PyeongChang 2018 “There are a couple of girls doing both cycling and skiing and that’s why I got into it They showed me that it is possible to do both sports,” said Albertsdottir who added skiing to her training regime one a half seasons ago but of course the technique is totally different.” Albertsdottir is also enjoying the variety that training on skis has brought into her life “In Iceland I’m cycling indoors on the trainer for half of the year or even more so it’s quite a nice balance to do some outside training in the winter as well,” she said “I was an alpine skier before I got my injury so it’s a part that I missed many athletes will be racing at their first major Para Nordic competition in Vuokatti This includes 20 athletes from China who are represented in every cross-country and biathlon race across all classes Ukraine is sending its strongest delegation to Vuokatti including Paralympic and eight-time world champion Liudmyla Liashenko in the women’s standing class and the Paralympic biathlon champion in the men’s sitting Belarus promises to be the major threat in the vision impaired classes with Paralympic champions Yury Holub and Sviatlana Sakhanenka headlining their respective races Several Paralympians are also representing Belarus in the sitting events The Opening Ceremony of the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) lit up the stunning city of Vuokatti where Europe’s stars of the future have gathered for a magical celebration of winter sport The European Olympic Family is united in Finland with a shared ambition to spread the Olympic Values amongst the next generation and to rejoice in the diversity of the continent which is the main Athletes’ Village and home to the majority of EYOF competitions The official start of the event featured a series of entertaining musical and dance performances reflecting the youthful exuberance that makes the EYOF unique The 15th edition of the Winter EYOF is set to achieve gender equality for the first time in the event’s history The inclusion of girl’s ice hockey and Nordic combined ensure that there is gender balance amongst the near 1,000 participants marking a major step in the EOC’s ambition to promote equal opportunity in all areas Athletes from 44 countries entered the Vuokatti Areena as part of the Opening Ceremony’s Athlete Parade which began with the Olympic tradition of Greece entering first The entrance of the Ukrainian delegation marked the most special moment of the night with the emotion of everyone in attendance palpable our minds are on the devastating war in Ukraine I say with deep sincerity that our hearts go out to every single person affected by this crisis We stand firmly in solidarity with Ukraine and we are honoured to have a delegation of 26 Ukrainian athletes here with us The support of the European NOCs to make this possible is greatly appreciated particularly that of the Finnish Olympic Committee Turning to the importance of the EYOF for the future generation of European athletes “The EYOF is about bringing together the youth of Europe in peaceful competition embracing the Olympic values of friendship Athletes will get a first taste of the Olympic experience including living together in the Athletes’ Village and interacting with our Young Ambassadors I want to thank everyone who made this EYOF possible!” The President of Finland Sauli Niinistö officially declared the event open “Welcome to the Vuokatti 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival over 2,000 participants from all over Europe have gathered here None of you would be here without hard work and dedication You have every reason to be proud of yourselves I wish you the best of luck and I now declare the Vuokatti 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival open!” President of the Vuokatti 2022 Organising Committee Mika Kilpeläinen delivered a welcome address “The flame being lit tonight is a Flame of Peace the past weeks have changed Europe and changed the sport movement The spirit of peace is needed now more than ever the flame symbolises the Olympic Values of excellence The Flame of Peace was then carried by Finnish biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen and skier Matti Heikkinen and passed on to skier Vilma Nissinen Athletes competing in this week’s event are seeking to follow in the footsteps of the European stars of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 NOCs of Europe returned home with approximately 70% of the overall number of medals marking an increase of +8% compared to PyeongChang 2018 The performances of 12 gold medallists in Beijing will have been particularly inspiring to athletes competing in Vuokatti 2022 and further demonstrates the critical importance of the EYOF Facts and Figures of Winter EYOF Bakuriani 2025 The EOC is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organisation whose objective is to propagate the fundamental principles of Olympism at European level Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Italian biathlete Lisa Vittozzi gave a talk to young people at the Vuokatti ski club (Finland) Teenager Vilde Nilsen won her first World Cup race as Norway claimed double gold on the opening day in Vuokatti It was a fantastic start to the Para Nordic season in Vuokatti with some outstanding individual performances and strong teams in action As we prepare for the second World Cup of the season in Ostersund here is a reminder of what we learned from the first one collecting seven gold medals and four silvers Birgit Skarstein was the first to strike winning the first two women's sitting cross-country races She followed that up with a silver in the sprint In the women's standing 17-year-old Vilde Nilsen swept all three cross-country races and helped herself to silver in both the biathlon sprint and class start Nils-Erik Ulset took two golds and a silver in the men's standing biathlon to complete their impressive medal haul Paralympic champion Daniel Cnossen led a very talented US sit-ski team at the first World Cup He won a medal in all six races; four golds in the cross-country middle biathlon middle and biathlon class start and two bronze medals in the cross-country sprint and biathlon middle Kendall Gretsch backed him up winning all the women’s biathlon races and finishing second in the cross-country short Oksana Masters also made an impressive return to action after elbow surgery in the summer to win the cross-country sprint and take silver in the biathlon class start and bronze in the sprint After surprising everyone at the Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang the Brazilian cross-country ski team made it onto the World Cup podium for the first time in Vuokatti Aline Rocha and Cristian Ribera both won bronze in the cross-country middle before Ribera went one better with a silver medal in the short distance There are many close rivalries in the vision impaired class this season In the men's cross-country Canada's Brian McKeever and Sweden's Zebastian Modin traded blows with Modin coming out on top with two wins to McKeever's one Ukrainian Oksana Shyshkova faces tough competition on two fronts Austria’s Carina Edlinger got the better of her in two of the three cross-country races and Germany's Clara Klug did the same in biathlon Ukraine's Oleksandra Kononova returned to winning ways after missing the Paralympic Games She got off to a good start in cross-country winning a silver and bronze medal But it was in the biathlon that she excelled winning all three races She is the one to beat in biathlon this season but faces stiff competition from her teammate Liudmyla Liashenko and Norway's young star Vilde Nilsen It was an instant hit with the competitiors giving them the chance to race head to head rather than against the clock It provided some close races and some exciting finishes and looks like a great addition to the biathlon calendar The World Cup continues with round two in Ostersund from 12-19 January In Finland Rookie Fest 2024 Vuokatti we have many extra activities like skateboarding and trampoline sessions SafeShred and Zero+ points and night RAIL JAM on the slopes Here are recaps from the 21/22 video link and the 22/23 video link The organization reserves the right to make changes National team athletes can be registered directly by the National Snowboard Association (registration to be submitted  by the national secretary or national/regional coach) Registration must be done by the National Federation for the whole “National Team”, by sending the application form to simo.suopanki@fsa.fi Finnish athletes can be registered for the event through https://www.liveheats.com/fsa VUOKATIN AATELI – ACCOMMODATION IN THE SLOPES CENTRE IMPORTANT: if you have any special request for your accommodation just contact the sales office Here you can download here the Finland Rookie Fest 2024 Vuokatti info Eighteen Paralympic gold medallists will be in action in Vuokatti for the first World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup of the season from 12-19 December They include the most decorated Para cross-country skier of all time Brian McKeever; winner of nine Nordic individual medals Andrea Eskau; and six-time Paralympic champion in biathlon Vitaliy Lukyanenko Lukyanenko will make up part of a large Ukrainian team who topped the Para Nordic medals table at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics He will be joined by Oksana Shyshkova in the vision impaired races Taras Rad in the sitting and Oleksandra Kononova in the standing McKeever will lead the Canadian team that includes biathlon champion Mark Arendz and cross-country champion Natalie Wilkie who all contributed to Canada's 16 medals from South Korea Canada will be looking for a strong start in the preparations for the home World Championships in Prince George in February Another team with a 16-medal haul from the Paralympics is the USA Double gold medallist Oksana Masters returns from elbow surgery and will take on team-mate and fellow double Paralympic champion Kendall Gretsch in the sitting races is back to race for the men alongside Aaron Pike But there will be no Andy Soule following his retirement Sviatlana Sakhanenka from Belarus will hope to reproduce her form from South Korea which saw her win all three gold medals in the cross-country vision impaired races Teammate and gold medallist in biathlon Yury Holub will try to do the same Germany's Para Athletes of the Year Andrea Eskau and Martin Fleig will head their country's podium challenge in Finland Meanwhile France will be hoping Benjamin Daviet can repeat his performances in PyeongChang where he won double gold in biathlon and also helped his team to relay victory Kazakhstan’s first Paralympic Winter Games gold medallist Alexandr Kolyadin will lead his country’s eight-strong team in Finland Japan is another country with a PyeongChang champion in action with Yoshihiro Nitta Vuokatti also marks the first major international event for Eui Hyun Sin who produced one of the most iconic images of the PyeongChang Games when he knelt down holding his country’s flag to celebrate South Korea’s first Winter Paralympics gold There will also be three Finnish representatives for the home crowd to cheer Inkki Inola in the vision impaired and Lasse Kankkunen in the standing Athletes from 21 countries will compete over six competition days with three cross-country races; the sprint short and middle distances; and three biathlon races including the first running of a new format in biathlon The class start will see competitors racing together in the style of a mass start but with some adjustments due to classification won her first gold of the season in Vuokatti It was just a matter of time before cross-country youth sensation Carina Edlinger of Austria would take a gold medal at the World Cup Her victory came in the vision impaired sprint at the last stage of the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Vuokatti who is guided by her brother Julian Josef Edlinger went to the finish line next to Ukraine’s Oksana Shyshkova who bumped her to second place in the middle distance event two days ago but this time it was Edlinger celebrating the victory finished third in the vision impaired event The Ukrainian delegation got some revenge in the men’s vision impaired event later as Iurii Utkin beat out the gold medallist from the earlier middle distance race Norway’s 22-year-old Eirik Bye finished third to take his first medal of this season Ivan Golubkov continued his dominant World Cup run this season getting a second cross-country gold in Vuokatti the neutral athlete now looks unbeatable in his quest for the overall World Cup title Golubkov blazed through the early rounds and was triumphant again in the final while two Ukrainians It was also neutral athlete Marta Zainullina who won in the women’s sitting sprint after setting the best time in qualifications and winning her semi-final it was sweet revenge against Norway’s Birgit Skarstein who outraced her in the middle distance event two days ago Now it was Skarstein who dropped down to second position Neutral athlete Ekaterina Rumyantseva grabbed a second straight gold in the standing cross-country competition She beat out Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko and her main rival on the course to get one step closer to sealing the deal on the overall World Cup title All three spots on the podium in the men’s standing race went to neutral athletes followed by multi-World Cup medallists Rushan Minnegulov and Aleksandr Pronkov The World Cup finals continue on Friday (9 February) with the cross-country long distance races The Winter EYOF Vuokatti 2021 Organising Committee has unveiled its mascot the bird of the coniferous forests of the Kainuu region The bird is also known to be friendly and brave by nature If you comment on the post with a suggested name you will automatically be entered into a prize draw where you could win an accommodation gift card worth 450€ to the Hotel Aateli in Vuokatti and two ski lift tickets to the slopes of Vuokatti The person who proposes the best name for the mascot will be rewarded separately with a special prize consisting of members from the EYOF 2021 Vuokatti Organising Committee Both the name of the mascot and the winner of the prize draw will be announced on 9 February 2020 marking one year to go before the beginning of the event https://eyof2021.fi/the-mascot-of-eyof-2021-vuokatti-is-a-siberian-jay/ From March 16th to March 18th in Vuokatti Finland slopestyle Vuokatti is a legendary place for freestyle snowboarding in Finland Finnish Snowboard Academy has been here since 2004 and also Olympic training center for winter sports is located here Vuokatti ski resort has two amazing snowparks made by Schneestern Here in Vuokatti we have a lot of happening Right after QKLS Rookie Fest there is European Youth Olympic Festival 2022 and we can test drive the new EYOF slopestyle course even before the EYOF!! In QKLS Rookie Fest Vuokatti we have many extra activities like SafeShred session and legendary snowboarder Eero Ettala and Dudeson legend HP Dudeson housting something special action in slope area Traveling to and From Finland during  https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/information-on-coronavirus/current-restrictions/travel-to-and-from-finland No Covid Rules at the moment in Vuokatti / Kainuu area Covid Rules for traveling back home is up to the participants Vuokattisport offers accommodation walk distance from slopes Sport Apartment 4-6 person, 46 m²: 140€/night (minimum 2 nights) https://vuokattisport.fi/en/sport-apartments/ Vuokatti Chalets 4 person, 45 – 54 m²: 150€/night (minimum 2 nights) https://vuokattisport.fi/en/vuokatti-chalets Sales office booking: sales@vuokattisport.fi Tel The Opening Ceremony of the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2022 boys’ ice hockey tournament officially took place yesterday with celebrations on the snowy courtyard of the Vuokatti arena The event kicked off with welcome addresses from Mika Kilpeläinen CEO of the Finnish Olympic Committee; and Florin Misca Chair of the EOC Coordination Commission for the EYOF 2022 The boy’s ice hockey tournament is underway from 13-17 December to ensure all the top teams of Europe can participate with the the main EYOF 2022 event set to follow in three months’ time (20-25 March 2022) Vuokatti will host the EYOF for a second time having first held the event when it was known as the European Youth Olympic Days (EYOD) twenty years ago “Long into the Night,” was played and the official dance of the competition created by Kajaani Dance was performed It also featured a parade of the participating teams led by flagbearers Rodzers Bukarts from Latvia The celebrations culminated in the lighting of the cauldron outside the arena in Vuokatti using the “Flame of Peace”, which was first lit in Rome last weekend which is the same one used for the EYOD in 2001 was carried to the arena by snowboarder Veera Immonen and former ice hockey player Arto Sirviö who represented Finland at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo While the cauldron was finally lit by local hockey star Lenni Hämeenaho who will play in the tournament for Finland this week The tournament begins with Russia taking on the Czech Republic at 15:00 local time (14:00 CET) followed by Finland vs Latvia at 18:30 (17:30 CET) All of the games can be watched live on the EOC Channel at https://eyof.tv/ and tickets are still available at www.eyof2022.fi Some 2,000 athletes and officials from 47 European National Olympic Committees will descend on the Finnish city this Winter with competition in nine sports: ice hockey covered tunnel without natural light might sound unpleasant to some but ski tunnels could be the future of skiing in Scandinavia In Sweden, climate change means fewer days of snow cover. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute writes that the country is 1.9°C warmer because of climate change with a snow season that is two weeks shorter than before 1991 Cross-country skiing is a huge sport in Scandinavia countries like Sweden and Finland have attempted to future-proof the sport Sweden’s Torsby Ski Tunnel opened in 2006 and Finland opened the world’s first cross-country ski tunnel Vuokatti ski tunnel. Photo: Coconut Sports Torsby was the largest ski tunnel in the world when it was built It is 1.3km long and lined with permafrost-covered concrete pipes to maintain the low temperature Above the pipes sits a thin layer of artificial snow that protects them during the four months the ski tunnel closes each year Provided you can put up with the strip lighting and monotony of the view the tunnel offers perfect training conditions from June to February will similar ski tunnels pop up in North America or the Alps Constructing a center for cross-country skiing is a very different proposition to future-proofing downhill ski resorts the adaptability and ingenuity displayed in Finland and Sweden could point the way to a warmer future that still has space for winter sports Martin Walsh is a writer and editor for ExplorersWeb Martin spent most of the last 15 years backpacking the world on a shoestring budget touring Cambodia’s medical facilities with an exceedingly painful giant venomous centipede bite or narrowly avoiding various toilet-related accidents in rural China Martin has just about survived his decision making Martin can be found in the jungle trying to avoid leeches while chasing monkeys Sign up to receive ExplorersWeb content direct to your inbox once a week The Executive Committee (ExCo) of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) met again yesterday to discuss the worsening situation and humanitarian crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week The EOC stands in solidarity with Ukraine and fully supports the statement and all recommended actions issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday after consultation with Vuokatti 2022 Organising Committee and all relevant stakeholders and noting the decisions taken by the participating International Federations the EOC has reached the following decision: Russian and Belarus athletes and officials will no longer participate in the forthcoming 2022 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) to be held in Vuokatti The EOC recognises that the IOC statement did make exceptional provisions for organisers of events due to take place at very short notice in order to safeguard the well-being of such young athletes as well as protect the integrity of the event the EOC believes Russian and Belarusian athletes should not compete in Vuokatti in any capacity The EOC takes this decision with reluctance due to the exceptional young age of the affected athletes “This is a dilemma which cannot be solved” The EOC continues to monitor the war in Ukraine on an hourly basis and will give further updates in due course on the unified approach of European National Olympic Committees in support of the athletes and people of Ukraine The Flame of Peace for the Vuokatti 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival was lit today in Rome at an elaborate Shine Ceremony held at the Ara Pacis Augustae a monument built by Emperor Augustus to celebrate peace throughout the Roman empire With a little over 100 days to go until the main event gets underway in Finland representatives from the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and the local organising committee for the EYOF were present to celebrate the lighting of the torch “Today we are celebrating peace and brotherhood as the European Olympic Youth Festival at its core has always been an occasion to bring together the youth of Europe in peaceful competition,” said EOC President Spyros Capralos “The EYOF were first brought to life by former EOC and IOC President Jacques Rogge who presided over the first edition in Brussels in 1991 As Vuokatti 2021 will be the first EYOF held since his passing I would like to dedicate this edition to him.” We are pleased to announce that Vuokatti will be the most gender-balanced EYOF in the event’s history thanks to the inclusion of girls’ ice hockey and Nordic combined This is a tremendous achievement and something we can all be proud of as we continue to work for equal rights in all areas of sport.” Vuokatti will host the event for a second time having first held the event when it was known as the EYOD twenty years ago “This has been a long way to organise this EYOF and I think this flame ceremony is one big stop and celebration in our special journey and I would like to thank all those that have made this possible We are looking forward to welcoming you all to Vuokatti in March next year,” said Mika Kilpeläinen Mayor of Sotkamo and Chief of Organising Committee of EYOF Vuokatti 2022 Finnish Athlete Veera Immonen who participated in the EYOF 2019 in Sarajevo was on hand to light the torch the same torch that was used for the EYOD in 2001 the representatives from Vuokatti 2022 were presented with The Dea Pax Golden Olive Tree sculpture a symbol of peace and friendship whose branches represent the unfolding of the EOC umbrella to receive athletes from all European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs) The olive tree was considered sacred by Dea Pax made by the renowned sculptor and goldsmith Nicola Amato Vice President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) Silvia Salis and Paola Mattoccia from the Municipality of Rome were also present and addressed participants Some 2000 athletes and officials from 47 European National Olympic Committees will descend on the Finnish city this Winter with competition scheduled for nine sports over five days: ice hockey The countdown clock for the EYOF Vuokatti 2021 was officially unveiled at the Sotkamo central plaza in Vuokatti the organisers shared information about the EYOF encouraging people to volunteer and be part of the community for the people of Sotkamo and Kainuu region as well as for the whole Finland,” Mayor of Sotkamo Mika Kilpeläinen said “We look forward to the EYOF and to experience the collective spirit that this event will bring.” participants had the chance to try out different sports meet mascot Quukkei and participate in a series of quizzes winning Vuokatti 2021 merchandising products Vuokatti 2021 is scheduled to take place from 6-13 February 2021 All 50 European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs) are expected to send athletes to compete in seven sports: alpine skiing a girls ice hockey competition will be organised making this edition of the EYOF the most gender-balanced since its inception in 1993 with exactly the same number of male and female athletes competing in the same number of sports and events Please visit the Vuokatti 2021 website for more information 48 out of 50 countries will take part in the winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2021 “This edition of the EYOF will see the highest participation ever!” said EOC Sports Director Peter Brüll “The widespread interest from participating countries proves the importance of this multi-sport event for European young athletes as well as provides us even more motivation to further improve the event.” EYOF Vuokatti 2021 Secretary General Marita Kaipainen highlighted that the country is enthusiast to welcome the best young athletes of Europe along with their teams and families: “We are organising a range of activities around the competitions,” Kaipainen said spectators will have the possibility to try out different sports This will be also open to kindergartens and school groups who are coming to enjoy the event in Vuokatti.” “Not only we want to allow people to follow top-level competitions but also to explore the different secrets of each sports We are making the EYOF Vuokatti 2021 an event for everyone!” The EYOF will take place from 6 to 13  February 2021 in Vuokatti The top European young athletes between 14­­­–18 years old will compete in seven winter sports The competitions will take place in the region of Kainuu While the city of Kajaani will host ice hockey events which for the first time will be also for girls To protect the safety of participants while ensuring that all the best athletes are able to compete the European Olympic Committees (EOC) yesterday decided in cooperation with the Finnish Olympic Committee and local organisers that the winter edition of the 2021 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) would be rescheduled to March 2022 The decision comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the European continent while a three-month delay will also allow for more optimal snow conditions in the north of Finland thereby providing the best possible platform for ski and snowboard athletes The delay will also help the hosts save on snow-making costs The new dates for the continent’s leading multi-sport event for athletes aged 14-18 are 20-25 March it was agreed that the boy’s ice hockey tournament will take place in December as originally planned to allow the best players from Europe to take part in the event All efforts will be made to help link the boy’s ice hockey tournament in December with the other events in March 2022 including the organisation of an EOC Chef de Missions Seminar during the December tournament and other measures Some 1,800 athletes from 48 European National Olympic Committees are expected to take part in nine sports disciplines at the Vuokatti EYOF The sports programme will feature alpine skiing Thanks to the inclusion of girls’ ice hockey Vuokatti will be the most gender-balanced in the event’s history The city of Kajaani will host the ice hockey events while Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping will be organised in Lahti The EYOF Vuokatti 2022 ice hockey tournament wrapped up with home country Finland winning the gold medal on 17 December 2022 “Struggle and commitment were the decisive factors in winning this tournament Four games in five days is a very tough programme but the players managed to perform at their best,” said Head Coach of Team Finland Mika Marttila after the victory More information about the statistics of the tournament can be found here Yan Shostak (number 29) and Nikolai Tishkevich (number 17) both from Belarus were respectively named best goalkeeper and best forward of the tournament While Kasper Kulonummi (number 3) from Finland was named best defender Chair of the EOC CoCom for the EYOF Vuokatti 2022 officially closed the tournament thanking the organisers volunteers and especially the athletes: “To the athletes You have reminded us again of the spirit of respect “Now that the boys’ ice hockey tournament has come to an end I invite the young European athletes to gather in three months to continue the competitions and celebrations of the 15th winter edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival The countdown has now restarted marking today 90 days to go to the main event which will be held from 20 to 25 March 2022 in Vuokatti Some 2,000 athletes and officials will descend in Finland this winter with competitions in nine sports: ice hockey More info at eyof2022.fi Chinese athletes have returned to the World Para Nordic Skiing scene after a lengthy absence making a triumphant comeback at the Europa Cup in Vuokatti China’s Para Nordic team has since more than doubled in number and also become competitive with the world’s best Its skiers won medals in all but one of the cross-country races Sit skiers Liu Mengtao and Shan Yilin were especially successful each winning silver medals in the short and middle-distance events of their respective classes China’s instant success at the Europa Cup took many athletes aback “They are a big team,” said Brazil’s Cristian Ribera who won gold in the men’s short-distance race ahead of Liu on the first day but lost to him on the second day in the middle distance “They don’t participate often in competitions so it’s a big surprise and the guys were very strong who took back-to-back gold medals in the women’s sitting races also welcomed the strong competition from China “These are probably the first big races for them and they are getting these kinds of results The Belarusian cross-country specialist felt the growth in competitiveness during her two races in Vuokatti this was not enough to dampen Shyts’ celebratory mood “I was not expecting this at all because before I was better in the sprint and definitely not the middle or long distance,” Shyts said of her middle-distance gold While Shyts swept the women’s sitting cross-country events in Vuokatti her teammates Yury Holub and Sviatlana Sakhanenka achieved the same feats in the men’s and women’s vision impaired races For Sakhanenka and Holub’s former guide Dzmitry Budzilovich this is the second season of skiing together and their first major competition of the 2021-22 season It is very comfortable for us to work together,” Sakhanenka said “We have shared goals that we are aiming for and we understand each other twice as well the duo benefitted from their thorough knowledge of the Vuokatti ski course “We have been coming here for more than 10 years so we know every turn we know every tree branch,” Budzilovich said “We can ski this course with our eyes closed.” have trained extensively in Vuokatti during the pre-season it is not likely that any of them know the course as well as Finland’s vision-impaired skier Inkki Inola and his guide Arttu Kaario The pair have been training in Vuokatti for a decade and return to the track almost every month for at least one week Their summer camps are also held in Vuokatti Using that knowledge of the course to their advantage Inola and Kaario brought the host nation a silver in the short-distance race Finland’s only medal at the Europa Cup so far “This is my first medal at the Europa or World Cup and I feel so good that I got it,” Inola said “We can learn from these competitions and that’s good We see where the other skiers are and we see the gap from us to the top so it’s good to have races like this against such tough opponents.” Russia’s Ivan Tsaplin also made the most of his knowledge of the course when he took gold in the men’s standing middle-distance event That knowledge became even more useful when the skier’s vision was obstructed in the final laps of the 12.5km race “I took my glasses off in the second lap because I couldn’t see anymore Probably from too much cold air,” Tsaplin said A timely shout from his coach seems to have saved the day for the young skier who has not competed internationally since early 2020 and finished just two seconds off the podium in the earlier short-distance race they shouted that I am trailing by five seconds rested a bit on the descent,” Tsaplin said it was double gold for Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova The four-time Paralympic champion led a Ukrainian sweep in the short-distance race with teammates Liudmyla Liashenko and Yuliia Batenkova-Bauman joining her on the podium Liashenko was pushed down to fourth place as China’s Zhao Zhiqing took the bronze The Europa Cup in Vuokatti continues with the Para biathlon sprint and individual races on 20-21 December Full results from the cross-country races are available on the World Para Nordic Skiing website The European Youth Olympic Festival Vuokatti 2021 is only six months away and our Finnish friends are stoked at the thought of welcoming the continent’s best young winter athletes next 6-13 February A gender-balanced sports programme will feature alpine skiing Forty-eight European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs) have confirmed their participation and between 1,700-1,800 athletes are expected to attend the Games We reached out to EYOF 2021 Secretary General Marita Kaipainen to get the scoop on preparations for the 15th winter edition of the EYOF including safety measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and to find out a little more about life in the heart of the Arctic Lakeland A: Preparations have gone well and are largely on schedule such as the confirmation of flight connections (Finnair) and therefore some delays in opening the registration for the Chefs de Mission seminar Q: Planning an event during a pandemic must have its challenges Can you tell us about them and how you have been coping A: The COVID-19 pandemic has had surprisingly little impact on our arrangements at the local level we worked from home and held meetings remotely Even the remote meetings of the organizing committee were a great success with more than 40 participants COVID-19 has brought uncertainty to the arrangements it has made it much more difficult to find business partners and sponsors there are some uncertainties in air transport Q: What special measures will the organisers be putting in place to ensure safety while allowing athletes to mix and really enjoy the event A: We are constantly following the guidelines of the government and health authorities on how the safety of the participants should be secured It is difficult to estimate what the guidelines and regulations will be next year but automatically we will pay attention to safety gaps Q: With some 2,000 athletes already on the preliminary list to attend Vuokatti 2021 how are NOCs reacting to traveling to Vuokatti next year there have been surprisingly few inquiries about COVID-19’s influence … We believe that NOCs are looking forward to coming to Vuokatti but are also aware of the whole global situation and uncertainty Q: What can athletes and other visitors to Vuokatti expect from the event and the region A: We hope to be able to offer real Finnish hospitality functionality and beautiful winter experiences and landscapes We are surrounded by all necessary services and yet we are in the middle of beautiful forests and lakes participants get to experience Finnish customs and traditions and train in Finnish nature We are a real winter sports country and we have strong experience in organizing sports events so hopefully participants will have a great experience in excellent conditions Q: As you have already secured more than 400 volunteers for the event how are the local communities preparing to welcome NOCs from all over Europe next year A: Everyone is really excited to be a part of the organisation and community of this event and meet people from all over the Europe For more information on the 2021 EYOF, click here Deep in the heart in the Arctic Lakeland lies the picturesque Finnish ski resort of Vuokatti which in exactly one year will host its second Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) after a 20-year hiatus Located 600km north of Helsinki and about 270km south of the Arctic circle the village of Vuokatti is tailor-made for winter sports and outdoor activities providing the perfect setting for the estimated 1,000 athletes aged 14 to 18 who will compete here from 07-12 February 2021 local organisers announced the name of the Vuokatti 2021 mascot today “Quukkel” was chosen in an online competition held on Instagram and Facebook Quukkel is a Siberian Jay native to the region who is said to be kind and brave The mascot promises to be the focal point for tomfoolery at next year’s EYOF which will feature seven sports: alpine skiing all the best European young athletes will gather together to compete in these excellent circumstances here in Vuokatti and in the city of Kajaani,” said Marita Kaipainen “The preparations for the Games are proceeding with good cooperation between local Just last week we hosted a pre-competition alpine skiing event which gave us a lot of confidence that we are on schedule and on the right track.” every sport and event will be gender-balanced thanks to the inclusion of girls’ ice hockey on the sports programme The pioneering girls’ teams were recently confirmed as the Czech Republic Vuokatti hosted the 5th edition of the Winter EYOF in 2001 the organisers aim to make it one of the most sustainable in history This will be reflected in various aspects of the organisation including policies and materials based on sustainable development and the use of renewable resources The selection of products and materials for the event minimises the amount of plastic used Each athlete will be presented with a designable drinking bottle and given access to what organisers describe as “the cleanest tap water in the world” in an effort to drastically reduce the amount of plastic used at the event all but one of the venues to be used for Vuokatti 2021 are already existing thereby significantly minimizing any potential impact on the environment currently under construction and already planned before Vuokatti was awarded the EYOF The arena will host the short-track and figure skating competitions locals and of course Quukkel are eagerly awaiting the athletes and teams from the 50 National Olympic Committees of Europe next year The opening day of sports competitions at the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2022 (20-25 March) featured thrilling action in short track and cross country skiing following the Opening Ceremony on 20 March The first gold medal of the EYOF was won by girl’s short track skating star Zoe Deltrap from the Netherlands A dominant performance in the final at the Vuokatti Areena saw Deltrap post a time of 2:27.996 almost a second ahead of her nearest rival Second place went to Maja Dora Somodi from Hungary whilst France’s Eva Grenouilloux finished third with a time of 2:28.948 EOC President Spyros Capralos presented the young athletes with their medals and congratulated them on their outstanding performances which have set the standard for an unforgettable week of winter sport Italy took home gold and silver in an exhilarating race Alessandro Loreggia narrowly edged out compatriot Lorenzo Previtali to win gold whilst France won their second bronze of the day through Tawan Thomas The other medal events of the opening day were in cross country skiing Three of the six medals in the two events were taken by Sweden who won gold (Lisa Eriksson) and silver (Tove Ericsson) in the girl’s competition and bronze (Elias Danielsson) in the boy’s event Danielsson finished behind silver medallist Niclas Steiger from Switzerland who delighted the home crowd with his impressive performance Nadine Laurent secured bronze in the girl’s competition to round off the girl’s 7.5km podium Day 2 will feature more action from short track skating, as well as alpine skiing, snowboard big air, biathlon, and girl’s ice hockey, as Europe’s young athletes look to make their mark on the event. Competitions will be streamed lived throughout the day on the EOC channel The European Young Olympic Ambassador (EYOA) programme for the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2022 has been extended up to the Summer EYOF Banska Bystrica 2022 Since the Winter EYOF in Vuokatti has been postponed from 2021 to 20-25 March 2022 and the EYOF Banska Bystrica will take place only four months apart (24 – 30 July 2022) the EYOA Programme for both editions of the EYOF has been merged the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Europe can propose their current Ambassador for Vuokatti again for the EYOA Programme in Banska Bystrica Since the start of the programme in September 2020 the EYOAs from 24 countries have regularly met on live webinars and have organised a series of virtual activities Despite the first postponement of the Winter EYOF from February to December 2021 the EYOAs went forward in an innovative and creative way The multi-national team planned the “Virtual Olympic Week” during the original dates of the 15th Winter EYOF (6-13 February 2021) Athletes and fans had the chance to taste a bit of the Olympic experience The goal of the “Virtual Olympic Week” was to encourage athletes to go beyond competition discover the Olympic Movement’s power and bring the Olympic Values closer to everyone in a digital way More information about the Virtual Olympic Week can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/eoc_eyoa The EOC and its Culture & Legacy Commission also invite all NOCs who have a small number of athletes or don’t have a delegation to join the programme anyway in order to benefit from all the advantages that this programme offers The NOCs who would like to confirm the participation of their current EYOA for both programmes or are considering to have different EYOAs for the two editions should fill in this form:  https://forms.gle/uYJDxgnH5WHsKa8A7 The NOCs who don’t have an EYOA at the moment, but wish to have one, should fill in this form: https://forms.gle/cMfs6BYKhjw638en8 The European Young Olympic Ambassador (EYOA) Programme aims to strengthen Olympic values among young athletes participating at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Under the auspices of the EOC Olympic Culture and Legacy Commission the educational programme will be carried out for the fourth time since 2016 The EYOA Programme invests in a group of young people who are inspired by sport and the Olympic values and wish to contribute to building a strong value-based foundation for the international sporting community This year the EYOA will bring together young people who share the same passion motivation and who strive to inspire young athletes to follow the Olympic values on and off the field More information here http://www.eyof.org/about-eyoa/ Thanks to Simo Suopanki for organizing this incredible event and to all the sponsors and Vuokatti Ski Resort for their support Follow up these accounts: @vuokattisnowpark @flatadventures @dylaaanjones Kerttu Niskanen has won the Vuokatti Aateli Race by a clear margin Niskanen started the 10-kilometer pursuit skate one second behind Qinghua Man of China but eventually finished third on top of Vuokatinvaara Ma was just little over one second behind Piippo ”I went into the Vuokatinvaara climb at the front and thought I would keep a steady pace so I wouldn’t go too fast I didn’t know what kind of sprint the Chinese girl was going to make I kept a steady pace and thought that if she drops at this speed then so be it I still have the strength to finish strong but still a much better time than last year It was a good enough performance,” says Niskanen The win at Aateli Race is a good indication of the summer shape because on Wednesday I had just come from Livigno after the high-altitude camp and I knew that it would not be easy here (at Aateli Race) But it was a good signal that I still have the stamina The next camp for Niskanen is the national team camp in Passo Lavaze in August ”In july I will take my time to train at home Let’s enjoy the Finnish summer a little more when we can Eveliina Piippo started the 10-kilometer pursuit skate in fifth place but still managed to finish second in the final sprint but I expected better from the running stage it was certainly a good running performance for me at the moment I was just happy to be able to do the whole Aateli (race),” says Piippo Niskanen was the fastest followed by Piippo 12 seconds behind her Overall results of the Vuokatti Aateli Race: Results The Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2022 showcased the best young talent from across the continent With records broken on and off the field of play throughout the week let’s take a look at the numbers behind what was an unforgettable event 46 NOCs gathered in the Finnish city for a celebration of sport 52 young coaches from 10 countries and 20 different sports took part in “The Modern Coach Seminar” supported by Erasmus + Perhaps the most important number is the one referenced by EOC President Spyros Capralos in his Closing Ceremony speech when he praised the young athletes for embodying the 3 Olympic Values of excellence this is the purpose of the EYOF and the participants of Vuokatti 2022 made their NOCs and the EOC proud Have a look at the infographic here https://www.eurolympic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Facts__Figures_INSTAGRAM.pdf Last season’s Crystal Globe winner Vilde Nilsen missed the season’s World Cup opener in Slovenia earlier in March the Norwegian standing skier proved that she is still in top shape and ready to face the biggest test of her career next year Nilsen swept the gold medals in the first two World Cup races in Vuokatti The competition at the Finnish ski resort kicked off with the cross-country middle distance and sprint and will continue with two more cross-country and two biathlon races Nilsen’s victories in Vuokatti broke Ukraine’s undefeated streak in the women’s standing events Norway’s 20-year-old skiing sensation also managed to hold off triple Paralympic champion Ekaterina Rumyantseva of Russia “It was very hard,” Nilsen said after her second victory “I started out very fast to get to the Russian but I think that wasn’t so clever because I was very stiff in my legs at the top of the hill I did great down the hill and I have a strong upper body that helped to take me to first place The skier’s strong start in Vuokatti is an important confidence boost ahead of a busy 2021-22 season in which Nilsen is slated to compete at the home World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer followed shortly by the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing “I’m doing a lot of strength training for my upper body and double pole training both in the summer and winter,” Nilsen said “I’ve been training a lot with able-bodied persons this year and I’m happy that we made it to this World Cup It gave me a little taste of what it will be like next year These were also the season’s first races for Canada’s Brian McKeever and Sweden’s Zebastian Modin who went head-to-head in the men’s vision impaired class The long-time rivals finished the first races with a gold medal each McKeever and his guide Russell Kennedy beat Modin and his guide Robin Bryntesson by 6.5 seconds in the middle-distance while the Swedes retaliated with a win in the sprint “I tried to win the start with [Russia’s Stanislav] Chokhlaev to be first on the track and just let [Belarus’ Yury] Holub and Brian chase us and then give all we have all the way to the finish line,” Modin said of the race strategy that earned him the gold “I wanted to push all the way because they can come from behind and then it can be difficult to respond to that if you slow down too much so we wanted to go with a good pace all the way.” who is Canada’s most-decorated Winter Paralympian in history has not raced internationally or domestically this season until the World Cup in Finland he was able to train on foreign courses and has already spent almost two months in Vuokatti McKeever first came here for February’s 2021 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships to help with ski waxing and watch his nephew “It’s my first race this year so it’s hard to know what kind of shape I’m in,” McKeever said after winning gold on the first day coming off some Top 30s at the World Championships in Oberstdorf The only problem is getting him to slow down a little bit but we had a good last lap and we needed that.” the two gold medals were split between Belarus’ Sviatlana Sakhanenka who won the middle distance race with her guide Dzmitry Budzilovich and Austria’s Carina Edlinger and her guide Daniel Bauer who took gold in the sprint Russian athletes swept the podium in the men’s standing races with Vladislav Lekomtsev remaining undefeated this season His teammates Ivan Golubkov and Marta Zainullina also won double gold in the men’s and women’s sitting races This was Golubkov’s seventh straight victory this season “We aren’t used to the cold yet,” Golubkov said of racing in the colder Finnish climate after two warm weeks of racing in Slovenia but I think it will get better in the next races I was counting on winning today and I managed to do it.” these were the first gold medals this season She led a Russian sweep in the middle distance with Germany’s Anja Wicker breaking the ranks by winning a bronze in the sprint The track is in good condition here,” Zainullina said This year will be a busy one in the world of winter Para sport with four World Championships taking place in the first six months of the year The second of those will be the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships in February The sixth edition of the World Championships will take place in the Canadian city of Prince George from 16-24 February The following edition took place in Khanty Mansiysk hosted the World Championships in 2013 and Cable operated by the not-for-profit Caledonia Nordic Ski Club is home to a world-class 30 lane biathlon range FIS homologated cross country race course (10km with LED lighting) and a large cross country technical building it will introduce snowmaking facilities as well as accessibility improvements to the lodge ahead of the 2019 World Championships There will be 38 medal events in the programme 20 of them in cross-country skiing and the other 18 in biathlon Many Finsterau 2017 and PyeongChang 2018 gold medallists are expected to take on the slopes on Canadian soil It will be exciting to see established names such as USA’s Oksana Masters and France’s Benjamin Daviet competing as well as promising youngsters including Austria’s Carina Edlinger and Taras Rad of Ukraine Nordic skiing’s most decorated Paralympian Brian McKeever and PyeongChang 2018 champion Mark Arendz are the two biggest hopes for Canada on the men’s side Paralympic bronze medallists Brittany Hudak and Emily Young will try capture a medal in the women’s events For more information on the 2019 Worlds visit the official Prince George 2019 website From February 9th to February 12th in Vuokatti Finland slopestyle In QKLS Rookie Fest Vuokatti we have many extra activities like skateboarding session SafeShred session and rail jams on the slopes DOWNLOAD HERE INFO SHEET Recap from 21/22 “QKLS ROOKIE FEST VIDEO” Zebastian Modin is targeting cross-country gold at PyeongChang 2018 The last chance for Nordic skiers to impress ahead of the World Para Nordic Championships begins this weekend Sweden's Zebastian Modin who lives in Ostersund will have the chance to compete on home turf After winning two of the three vision impaired cross-country races at the opening World Cup in Vuokatti with guide Jerry Ahrlin he will be full of confidence Modin could end up with a clean sweep of golds as his great rival Brian McKeever will not be competing has decided to stay at home to prepare for the World Championships which will be held in Prince George Modin is not the only Swede racing however as he is joined by standing skier Louise Perottosdotter The women's vision impaired race will see Ukrainian Oksana Shyshkova go head to head with Austria's Carina Edlinger in cross-country and Germany's Clara Klug in biathlon It will be a special round for Edlinger as she has recently moved to Sweden and so it is almost a home race for her too In the absence of Canada's Mark Arendz the men's standing biathlon looks to be a shootout between double Paralympic champion Benjamin Daviet of France and the winner of two of the three biathlon races from Vuokatti - Norway's Nils-Erik Ulset Ulset's teammate Vilde Nilsen will be hoping her impressive start to the season continues in the women's standing She won all three cross-country races and came second in two of the biathlon races at the first World Cup in Vuokatti She faces a tough test however especially from the Ukranian pair of Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko The women's sitting biathlon was dominated by USA's Kendall Gretsch as she took all three golds in Finland Germany's Andrea Eskau will be hoping to stop her run fresh from winning two titles at the US Paralympic Nordic Nationals last week will be looking to challenge the in-form Norwegian Birgit Skarstein Daniel Cnossen also took two titles at the same US Nationals and was almost unstoppable in Vuokatti winning four out of the six races and never finishing off the podium Germany's Martin Fleig and Ukraine's Taras Rad have the unenviable task of trying to stop him The World Cup in Ostersund runs from the 12-19 January and features three cross-country and three biathlon races. Live coverage and live results will be available on World Para Nordic Skiing’s website Benjamin Daviet claimed the first biathlon class start gold at the Vuokatti World Cup New Nordic skiing ground was broken on the final day of the Vuokatti World Cup with the introduction of an exciting new event - the biathlon class start Instead of racing against the clock biathletes race head to head with each other with all competitors in the same class starting together The new format proved the perfect fit for Paralympic champion Benjamin Daviet The Frenchman took gold after finishing third and fourth in his previous biathlon events Daviet found his shooting form in the men's standing hitting all the targets and was able to beat Norway's Nils-Erik Ulset out on the tracks The Norwegian hasn't missed a shot in three biathlon races but was passed by the Frenchman before the finish Canada's Mark Arendz missed one target to take the bronze medal I did what we planned with the coach on the shooting range and I was more on the attack," explained Daviet It's more challenging between the athletes and it's a real fight," he added when asked about the new class start Oleksandra Kononova made it a hattrick of wins in biathlon in the women's standing The Ukrainian had a great battle out on the course with Norway's Vilde Nilsen and her teammate Liudmyla Liashenko but was ultimately too strong for the chasing pair The USA took all the spoils in the sitting races once again with Daniel Cnossen and Kendall Gretsch on fantastic form both winning gold Cnossen was able to out ski Ukraine’s Taras Rad who was in the lead until the final lap in the men's race With the top three women all missing just one shot it came down to the strongest skier and Gretsch won by a comfortable margin of 40 seconds from compatriot Oksana Masters in second and Germany’s Andrea Eskau over a minute behind in third "It was a really great way to start off the season," said Gretsch "I think we have had the fastest skis out there all week so it's just been an awesome December." "It's definitely nicer because you know exactly where you stand in the race," she explained about the new race format Yury Holub from Belarus took his second straight win despite missing three targets on the shooting range Along with guide Dzmitry Budzulovich he skied well to take the men's vision impaired title Second place went to Ukraine’s Iaroslav Reshetynskyi and guide Kostiantyn Yaremenko while Belarus also claimed bronze through Vasili Shaptsiaboi and guide Mikalai Shablouski Germany's Clara Klug managed to stay ahead of the fast skiing Oksana Shyshkova of Ukraine thanks to her clean shooting in the women’s vision impaired It was her second win in two days with guide Martin Hartl Shyshkova paid the price for missing three shots and could not make up the time on the course with guide Vitaliy Kazakov The bronze also went to Germany with 17-year-old Johanna Recktenwald and guide Simon Schmidt picking their third bronze medal in three biathlon races The next World Cup round will take place in Ostersund Brian McKeever and Dmytro Suiarko race at the 2018 World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Oberried World Para Nordic Skiing has announced the official competition calendar for the 2018/2019 season There will be three World Cups in both Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing will host the season-opener from 10-19 December The Finnish city is a familiar location for skiers having been a regular venue on the Para Nordic circuit since 2007 The second World Cup will take place in Ostersund It is the first time Sweden has hosted the World Cup since 2013 The highlight of the calendar then comes in Prince George where the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships will be held from 15-24 February where the winners of the famed Crystal Globes will be decided The Japanese city last hosted the World Cup in 2017 More information can be found on the World Para Nordic Skiing website Oksana Masters won her first race since being crowned Paralympic champion at PyeongChang 2018 Oksana Masters started her first race since the Paralympic Winter Games on day four of the Vuokatti World Cup and won it in some style The PyeongChang 2018 champion faced a tough challenge in the women's sitting cross-country sprint from Norway's Birgit Skarstein in second and Germany's Andrea Eskau who was third After a long break from racing the US sit skier was surprised she performed so well "I did not expect this," said an overwhelmed Masters after the race "I haven't been training for as long as I would like to start a World Cup race but this result is thanks to our wax technician and the team “I have a lot of work to do still but it's an amazing feeling to be fighting with Birgit who is skiing really well Andrea and my teammate Kendall (Gretsch) who is doing amazing Due to the elbow injury that she suffered before the Paralympics Masters underwent two surgeries that required a long period of recovery It's not 100% yet but it's doing good," she said of her elbow "I had an amazing USOC staff in Colorado Springs where I spent most of my summer recovering I would say their magic is pretty good because I am recovering well." The men's sitting race was won by Canada's Collin Cameron He was the fastest qualifier and won his semi-final before a dominant display of speed saw him clinch the gold medal "It feels excellent," said Cameron at the finish line " I just wanted to go out there and put everything into it and hopefully get a solid result today and getting first Ukraine's Taras Rad finished in second place and American Daniel Cnossen continued his top form in third meaning he has been on the podium in every race so far Carina Edlinger of Austria and guide Florian Seiwald won the women's vision impaired race with a convincing victory over Oksana Shyshkova and guide Vitaliy Kazakovn second and Johanna Recktenwald and guide Simon Schmidt in third Like Masters she has also had a difficult summer After the Paralympics I really crashed and even needed help to move around and so for me it's more than incredible to stand here again." She has also suffered this week with a few falls out on the tracks and was unsure whether or not to start the race "In the beginning of today we discussed if I should race or not I said well I am here and I want to race and the result doesn't matter For me to be here and just enjoy it is absolutely great." The men's vision impaired saw the next round in the fight between Sweden’s Zebastian Modin and Canada’s multi-Paralympic champion Brian McKeever They had one win each so far in Vuokatti and it was Modin who won the sprint to tip the balance in his favour Polish skier Witold Skupien crossed the line first in the men's standing race In a close finish he edged out Ukraine's Grygorii Vovchynski and Japan's Taiki Kawayoke to add a gold medal to the silver he won in the 5km race The women's standing race saw Norway’s Vilde Nilson increase her World Cup lead and has now won all three cross-country races here in Finland She was by far the fastest skier on the day leaving Natalie Wilkie of Canada to take second and Liudmyla Liashenko in third The next action from Vuokatti is the biathlon sprint on Tuesday 18th December The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today announced Elaine Skilton as Chef de Mission for the Vuokatti 2021 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF). who is currently a Sport Engagement Manager at the BOA will lead a Team GB delegation in Finland from the 7-12 February next year as Vuokatti hosts the 15th winter edition of the EYOF The town in the northernmost part of the Finnish Lakeland Vuokatti will welcome athletes from 50 European countries for six days of action across nine Olympic sports: alpine skiing Vuokatti 2021 will represent the second time the town has hosted the event has previously been Chef de Mission at the Baku 2019 EYOF and Deputy Chef de Mission at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games She has also held key performance positions at the Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 Games as well as next year at Tokyo 2020 “Youth Olympic Festivals are a fantastic development opportunity for young athletes providing our nation’s best with experience in international competition and the environment of a multi-sport event,” said Skilton “It is a privilege to be asked to be Chef de Mission and to lead Team GB’s delegation for this Olympic Winter Festival in Finland I look forward to working with our winter sports to ensure we provide every team member the opportunity to perform to their potential and to learn from and enjoy the event.” Competition begins with the Girl’s Slalom on Tuesday Competition for Team Ireland at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti with three athletes competing in the Girl’s Slalom The EYOF is a significant event in the development of athletes as it simulates an Olympic competition in a multi-sport environment The event is held every two years and is run by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) with this years event running from the 20-25 March Tomorrow’s competition will see three female athletes compete in the Girl’s Slalom starting at noon Irish time for the first run and whose sister Elle competed in the EYOF in Sarajevo in 2019 Megan Ryan also is the sister of two Irish skiers and her father is from Dublin and mother from Roscommon Charlotte Turner will also be in competition with paternal grandparents from Galway and Cork Speaking ahead of the competition Ryan added “The hill is pretty small compared to some of the mountains we are used to skiing in back in the US we have Slopestyle right next to us so it’s cool that we get to see all the events in such a closed space.” Describing what is a compact slalom run Murphy said it should be about a minute course and I’m super excited to see the top racers I think it will be pretty cool to see them in the Beijing 2022 suits too!”  Alpine Skier Turner said the girls have gotten close fast and the snow is really good.” another day of training stands between Elizabeth Golding and her first competition of two “It’s so nice to know that you are the first person to ever do this I have a short programme and a long programme In my short programme it’s a lot of fun music so I expect to be having fun I’m hoping to do everything cleanly and just go out and have fun and look nice and everything.” The Irish tricolour is being proudly flown by four athletes competing in the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti The all-female team consists of Megan Ryan Charlotte Turner and Kailey Murphy who are competing  in the Alpine Skiing events whilst Elizabeth Golding is making history as the first Irish figure skater Whilst the four girls live and train abroad their Irish connections are undeniable and something they are all immensely proud of Colorado and is currently training out of Aspen Dublin and Kailey doesn’t hesitate to say so Kailey also loves eating Teddy’s Ice Cream with her cousins when they are together particularly Matt who with Kailey’s sister competed for Ireland in EYOF Sarajevo 2019 Ireland’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony and trains in Vermont at Sugarbush Mountain The majority of Megan’s immediate family lives in Ireland Megan explained “My mam is from Roscommon and dad is from Dublin Pretty much all of my cousins are still here” Her family often splits their summer holidays between the two counties Megan concentrates on Slalom and Giant Slalom and is excited to experience parallel skiing at these games Charlotte Turner is far from typical in that she is also a top athlete With a strong accent and a classically American outgoing personality you could be forgiven for missing Charlotte’s association with Ireland were it not for her team Ireland tracksuit top given the fond affinity with which she speaks of her visits to county Galway it’s clear that the teenager strongly identifies with her heritage I feel the connection,” explained Charlotte when we met in the athlete’s canteen “It is clear that the 18-year-old skier feels a deep-rooted affection for her ancestral home “I hadn’t seen my cousins or my family in so long Ireland’s first figure skater at an Olympic event Elizabeth is a well-rounded skater and puts an emphasis on style “I love the spins we do but I have a love hate relationship with the jumps They are great when they come off but falling hurts!” Without a doubt Elizabeth is making history at these games She is a trailblazer in her discipline and provides a positives role model for winter sport athletes in Ireland Despite having never met prior to the games the girls have bonded very quickly In true Irish fashion they are well known around the athlete village as the life of the party “Whoever was dancing with us at the opening ceremony and the girls are really enjoying their time together The girls are really making the most of their interactions with the other athletes They all beamed when showing us the Olympic pins they have collected “Israel’s is my favourite” explained Elizabeth The four girls and their families are all excited to fly back to Dublin after the games feeling more Irish than ever after an unforgettable experience in Vuokatti Well that was a cool day and we have two more Gold Medalists for today U23 Skate distance races were won by Izabela.. Earlier in the championships, Poland’s Monika Skinder won the gold and teammate Karolina Kaleta grabbed the bronze in the women’s cross-country skiing sprint classic Hundreds of young athletes took part in the event in Finland despite the coronavirus pandemic is an up-and-coming cross-country skier who grew up near the southeastern Polish town of Krosno Nasza mistrzyni ❤ Izabela Marcisz 🥇🇵🇱🥰