Almaty's mountain resort "Shymbulak" is hosting the annual 69th meeting of the International Club of Journalist-Skiers (SCIJ). The event includes competitions in alpine skiing and ski racing, with 150 journalist-skiers from 26 countries participating. The competitions are considered an unofficial world championship among journalists in skiing sports.
The meeting, taking place from March 3 to 10, saw the first sets of medals awarded in giant slalom across three age groups. Notably, in its ten-year history, SCIJ Kazakhstan saw its journalist win a medal in the international competitions. Sports correspondent Egor Ilyin (Prosports.kz) secured second place in the Junior category.
Aside from training and competitions, journalist-skiers are immersing themselves in Kazakhstan's history, culture, and cuisine, engaging in professional discussions, and meeting various individuals. Members of the SCIJ international committee, led by President Frederic Wallace, met with Almaty's akim, Erbolat Dosayev.
The SCIJ club's founder, Frenchman Gilles de La Rocque, established the club in 1955 with the idea of fostering communication between journalists and athletes regardless of political differences. This principle remains the motto of SCIJ: to promote contacts and interaction based on professional and sporting interests.
Each year, club members gather at the world's top mountain resorts. Kazakhstan, having been granted the right to host the 2024 meeting at "Shymbulak," has been an active participant since 2012. The Kazakhstani club aims to promote an active lifestyle, engage journalists and the public in winter sports, showcase Kazakhstan's tourism potential internationally, and highlight the country's achievements through media publications by participating journalists.
On March 10, the final day of the 69th SCIJ meeting, participants will compete in ski racing, with women running 2.5 km and men 5 km. The event will conclude with the awarding of medals.
