FIS News
FIS signs partnership to develop 30 million snow sport participants with Alisports
15 June 2017 года
FIS signs partnership to develop 30 million snow sport participants with Alisports

Today the International Ski Federation (FIS) and Alisports announced a new cooperation agreement at the Multifunction Studio of the Alibaba Sports Group company that will see an initial push to activate 30 million Chinese snow sport participants.

With an ambitious target to raise the number of winter sport participants by the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter and Paralympic Games across China from the current 15 million to 300 million, FIS has looked to foster positive local partnerships, notably with Beijing Sports University alongside the Chinese Ski Association, which will also be at the forefront of this unique opportunity.

The agreement will see a number of partners collaborating to develop a robust grass roots ‘Get into Snow Sports - China’ development programme and campaign. FIS, as the world governing body will provide the expertise, with the FIS Academy and World Academy of Sport delivering capability, scalable capacity and certification systems for the programme. working alongside Beijing Sport University.

Alisports will handle the marketing, promotion, selling and organisation of the “Get into Snow Sports” courses through it’s proven channels to lead the drive towards activating 300 million new winter snow sport participants.

Speaking from Beijing, FIS Secretary General, Sarah Lewis stated: “We are delighted to be able to develop this relationship with such a respected partner, Alisports. Over the past 15 years we have seen the organic growth and popularity of snow sports in China with many innovative events such as the FIS Big Air and Aerials World Cup events hosted in the Birds Nest. This grass roots ‘Get into Snow Sports’ development programme builds on the work FIS has achieved through our ‘Bring Children to the Snow’ campaign and the annual ‘World Snow Day’ and the Chinese Ski Association’s engagement in these initiatives is a key driver in taking this important step to create “Get into Snow Sports - China”.

The opportunity presented is also unique given the dimension of the Chinese population and we are poised to take a significant step in enhancing the global number of snow sport participants through the Get Into Snow Sports - China programme. We very much look forward to further initiatives and activities that we will be exploring in partnership with Alisports and the Chinese Ski Association.”

“Alisports is extremely honoured to form this partnership with International Ski Federation (FIS), and is grateful for the tremendous support from the Chinese Ski Association who has aided us in this collaboration to implement the “Get into SnowSports” programme.” said Alisports founder and CEO, Zhang Dazhong,“Chinese skiing has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of consumers and with the effort to turn 1 million consumers into 300 million winter sports enthusiasts, sports training will be an integral part in making this dream a reality. ”Get into SnowSports” programme will focus on standardised scientific training to turn one-and-done consumers into consistent sports practitioners. This partnership will look to provide better opportunities for even more ordinary people to embrace the Winter Olympics spirit, to fall in love with snow, to fall in love with exercising.”

Chris Solly, Director of FIS Academy and World Academy of Sport commented “It is very exciting to bring this vision to life. The FIS was the founding sport partner for the World Academy of Sport and it was programmes such as Get into Snow Sports that we all saw the potential for. To be able to work with Alisports, the Chinese Ski Association and Beijing Sport University on such an exciting opportunity in this expansive market with all the systems, infrastructure and people that have been developed in recent years is testament to the vision of Gian Franco Kasper several years ago in the establishment of the FIS Academy.”

Source: fis-ski.com




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