"We are holding the European Ski Mountaineering Championship for the first time in the history of winter sports in Azerbaijan. The competitions will last for four days. Representatives from 18 countries, including neutral athletes, are participating in the competition. Our country is represented by five athletes in this competition."
These words were said by Gunel Badalova, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Winter Sports Federation, in her statement to Idman.Biz at the opening ceremony of the European Ski Mountaineering Championship held at the "Shahdag" Tourism Center.
Gunel Badalova also touched upon the results of the last Winter Olympic Games held in Italy.
"The main goal of the Winter Sports Federation is to involve athletes from Azerbaijan in the competitions. That is why we formed a team of Azerbaijanis for the ski mountaineering competitions. We hope that we will participate in the next Olympic Games with more athletes."
Gunel Badalova recalled that winter sports are considered a new direction for Azerbaijan and its development requires a certain amount of time.
"When it comes to figure skating competitions at the last Olympiad, of course, we expected better results. However, in this sport, excitement sometimes manifests itself. Vladimir Litvintsev's performances were very good during the season, and he even performed the movements successfully during the warm-up exercises before the competition. Unfortunately, it didn't work out," the federation official said.
Gunel Badalova also added that the final decision on cooperation with Vladimir Litvintsev will be made after the World Figure Skating Championships.