Top Russian figure skaters, including Kamilia Valieva and Sofya Akatyeva, are currently visiting Mongolia for ice shows as part of a 2 year collaboration between the two countries to help improve a range of sports. It is a particularly impressive feat especially when you consider that up until just a few years ago, Mongolia had no competition level ice rinks. Now they’re hosting top level figure skaters at their new ice rink facility and other athletes from around the world.
According to sports.ru, “Last summer, Russia and Mongolia drew up an action plan to develop cooperation in sports. It is designed for two years and provides for training and training camps in different disciplines.”
“The performances will take place in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. We did not have to choose the venue because there is only one roofed ice rink in the country – Steppe Arena.”
The performances will take place in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.
The new Steppe Arena was built as part of an initiative with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and with the assistance of the Canadian Embassy. The resulting arena has an international capacity of 3,600 spectators and was opened just two years ago.”
The new facilities look fantastic, so we’re looking to forward to seeing Mongolia host more figure skating events in the future!
From the very early stages Alina Zagitova, Olympic champion, was involved in helping to negotiate and organise the events. She herself will not perform, but Valieva and Tuktamysheva will come.
The rest of the figure skating line-up is also impressive, and includes:
Women: Kamila Valieva, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Adelia Petrosian, Sofia Akatyeva.
Men: Evgeny Semenenko, Dmitry Aliev, Mark Kondratiuk, Petr Gumennik, Arseny Fedotov.
Even the skating master classes with Svetlana Sokolovskaya looked like lots of lighthearted fun while still teaching important fundamentals and advanced skating technique. The group have been hosting classes catering for all skating skill levels from beginner to advanced.
We can’t wait to hear more news about how these events go in Mongolia. And we’ll post more updates as they come in!
