Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The 69th international meeting of the Ski Club of International Journalists (SCIJ) was held from 3 to 10 March in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This was the first SCIJ meeting in Central Asia.

SCIJ

SCIJ, whose full name is Ski Club of International Journalists, was founded in 1951 in Paris, France.

The founder of the club was the Frenchman Gilles de La Rocque, a journalist and skier from Courchevel. In 1955, during the Cold War, he came up with the idea that differences between governments should not prevent journalists and athletes from communicating freely. This principle has become the motto of SCIJ: to promote the expansion of contacts and interaction among journalists based on professional and sporting interests.

The first meeting of journalists within the SCIJ took place in January 1955 in France. Since then, traditional meetings of club members have been held annually at the best mountain resorts in the world. Already 74 mountain resorts around the world have hosted ski journalists.

Today, more than 3 thousand journalists from more than 30 countries are members of the club. Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian country to be a member of the SCIJ, having joined the club in 2013.

During the annual meetings, journalists compete in alpine and cross-country skiing, and also get acquainted with the sights, culture, traditions and cuisine of the organizing country.

The club’s annual meetings help strengthen the international journalistic community and influence the development of tourism in various countries.

69th International Meeting of SCIJ

This year, the SCIJ meeting was held at the Shymbulak ski resort in Almaty. This was the club’s 69th meeting.

More than 150 journalists from 30 countries took part in the event. Kazakhstan invited journalists from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan as guests of SCIJ.

The meeting was organized by the SCIJ Kazakhstan team with the support of the national company Kazakh Tourism. Kaspi.kz, the Almaty Tourism Bureau, Everest Development, Orbis-Auto, Lotte-Rakhat, Turkish Airlines, the Eurasia insurance company and the Shymbulak ski resort also became partners of the event.

Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan Serik Jaraspayev noted: “We are pleased to welcome you today to a unique event - the Ski Club of International Journalists. This wonderful event is designed not only to unite professionals from different countries, but also to provide a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the beauties of our country.”

Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Kazakh Tourism Daniel Serjanuly noted: “As the National Tourism Company, we have the honor to present the beauty of our country to international journalists. We firmly believe that this meeting will make a significant contribution to the development of winter tourism in our region and beyond.

The exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge during this event will undoubtedly have a lasting impact, shaping the future of winter sports and tourism in Kazakhstan.”

General Director of Shymbulak Group of Companies Rinat Abdrakhmanov noted that it is a great honor for the resort to receive participating journalists right here, on the slopes of Shymbulak. “We are proud that we have been part of the SCIJ club for almost ten years, since 2013. Traditional annual meetings of SCIJ club members are held at the best mountain resorts in the world, and we are honored to host you here, on the slopes of Shymbulak, which has become the second home for our participating journalists. We have been preparing for this meeting for a long time and, finally, we are glad to welcome you here. Our experts have worked hard to prepare the best trails. And we hope for favorable weather for exciting ski competitions,” he concluded.

During the week, journalists had the opportunity to train on the slopes of the Shymbulak resort.

Shymbulak

The Shymbulak ski resort, located in the picturesque gorge of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an altitude of 2260 meters above sea level, celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2024. The resort, which began operations in 1954, has become a full-fledged world-class ski resort.

Shymbulak attracts tourists all year round, offering 25 km of slopes and more than 10 lifts. The resort has 7 catering places, several hotels, a ski shop, as well as ski equipment rental and repair services.

The resort offers a variety of activities, including a ski school, horse riding trails, ATV rides and children’s ski trails. “Shymbulak” remains in demand both among young people and among families with children, as well as older lovers of ski slopes.

In the 2022-2023 season, the resort was visited by more than 1.27 million people, of which 693.43 thousand visited in winter.

Shymbulak continues its development, including the construction of new hotels, slopes and other infrastructure, confirming its status as the best ski resort in Kazakhstan.

SCIJ competitions

According to the SCIJ charter, journalists take part in alpine and cross-country skiing competitions. These competitions can be considered an unofficial world championship in alpine and cross-country skiing among journalists.

On the last day of the meeting, cross-country skiing competitions took place at the Alatau ski and biathlon complex.

Competitions were held in six categories: Super Senior Women, Super Senior Men, Senior Women, Senior Men, Junior Women and Junior Men.

The winners and runners-up were awarded medals. The winners were also determined based on the results of two competitions.

Meetings and discussions

Various meetings and discussions were held as part of the 69th SCIJ International Meeting. The meeting participants discussed the impact of climate change on skiing. It was noted that the lack of snow negatively affects the organization of sporting events and resort tourism in European countries. Artificial intelligence and journalism also became one of the topics of discussion within SCIJ.

Representatives of Kazakhstan made a number of presentations on the development of digital services in the country, the tourism potential of the country, and, in particular, Almaty, the Oi Karagai resort.

Everest’s project to climb Mount Everest was presented. The Kazakhstan team plans to conquer the mountain in April 2024. Maksut Djumaev, who will lead this mission, spoke about the history of the project and the preparation of the team from Kazakhstan to climb the mountain.

One of the interesting events was Nations Night, during which delegations presented their national dishes, sweets and drinks, as well as information about their countries.

The organizers also held a pre-tour and post-tour for some journalists, during which foreign journalists had the opportunity to get acquainted with tourist attractions, resorts and cities of Kazakhstan.

The SCIJ meeting also allowed participants to try the cuisine of Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries. Participants also enjoyed Uzbek dishes - pilaf and samsa - at the Alasha restaurant in Almaty.

SCIJ in Uzbekistan

As part of the 69th international meeting of SCIJ, the possibility of creating a club of ski journalists in Uzbekistan was also discussed. SCIJ participants from Uzbekistan plan to begin the process of registering SCIJ in Uzbekistan and creating a team of ski journalists. Perhaps SCIJ Uzbekistan will soon become a member of the Ski Club of International Journalists.