The earlier than expected heavy snowfall in Shimla and neighboring tourist spots has brought good news for winter sports lovers in the state,as a slew of events are listed on the calendar this year. The first in line is the ongoing National Ice Skating Championship at Shimla Ice Skating Club that ends on Wednesday. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Mountaineering Institute in Manali is also expected to organise skiing training camps at Narkanda,about 60 km from here,beginning January 11. The Ice Skating Championship could not be held in Shimla due to warm winters in 2009 and 2010 and this year 12 teams from across the country participated here. Shimla Club is Asias oldest natural ice skating rink that came up in 1920. Secretary of the club,Bhuvnesh Banga,said holding championships on a regular basis keeps alive the interest of locals in ice skating,which is fast dwindling due to fewer skating sessions following comparatively warmer winters in the past few years. This year,the teams,comprising 100 participants,have come from Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka,Kerala,Uttarakhand,Delhi,Maharashtra,Indian Army,ITBP and Shimla Ice Skating Club,besides others. Figure skating events are attracting a large number of spectators to the rink despite bone chilling cold in Shimla after sundown and in the early morning hours. National Ice Skating Championships have been organised here by Indian Olympic Association since 2000. Narkanda,which has seen comparatively regular but short skiing camps in the past,would have a longer session this year due to early snowfall. It would continue up till March, said Deputy Director Skiing of the Mountaineering Institute,Mahavir Singh. However,there are no takers for exploring the forgotten potential of Kufris skiing slopes,closer to Shimla,which were a hot spot for the sport till the early 1980s. Kufri-based leading hotelier,philanthropist and Chairman of PHD Chamber of Commerce,Himachal Chapter,Dhian Chand says,A local body of stakeholders of the tourism industry in Kufri had submitted a proposal to the state government for re-exploring the professional skiing potential at the existing slopes over the potato fields of Central Potato Research Institute. Two new ideal spots had also been suggested that have the potential of holding snow for a longer time. We are still awaiting a response.
