MMK to host first stage of Snowboard World Cup
On 7-8 December, the parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom competitions will take place at the Bannoe resort (Ski Center Metallurg-Magnitogorsk) at 12.00 local time. To date, 150 athletes from 16 countries including Russia, have already applied to participate. In total, the athletes will compete for four sets of awards.
Russian snowboarders are traditionally some of the leaders in parallel disciplines. 19-year-old Dmitry Loginov became a two-time world champion last season: his victory in the parallel giant slalom made him the youngest world champion in the history of the discipline. In the 2018-19 season, another Russian, Andrey Sobolev, won the overall standings of the World Cup in parallel disciplines and became the owner of the large Crystal globe.
The top 10 best athletes of the World Cup included two Russians: Natalia Soboleva in 8th place and Milena Bykova in 10th place. Last season, Natalia Soboleva won a silver medal in the parallel giant slalom at the World Championships. Thanks to the home stage, the Russian national team are able to field an expanded squad. The national team has 32 athletes (16 men and 16 women).
Within ten days, a unique mobile stadium comparable to the Olympic stadium will be built on the territory of the resort. The tribune is 12 metres high, 74 metres wide and can accommodate 3,300 people. Sports commentators will work in Russian, English and German at the stadium for fans: Andrey Kondrashov (Moscow) is a respected and experienced journalist, TV reviewer with experience at many Olympic Games , World Championships and other major events; Jens Zimmerman is a German broadcaster, journalist, presenter. He has worked at the last three Olympic Games, as well as other global competitions.
World Cup fans will be treated to a huge 10-meter led screen, broadcasting the course of the competition. The rights to show the first stage of the World Cup were acquired by 14 TV companies, including 'Eurosport', 'Match country', 'OTV' and others. A team of 120 people, including engineers and operators, will produce the television signal and provide audiovisual support for the competition. The broadcast director will be Stanislav Khitrin, who is currently chief director of special projects at MATCH TV (Moscow).
On December, 6, on the eve of the competition, at 18:30 in the ‘Yubileyny’ sanatorium, there will be a presentation, a parade of the teams, a public draw of the strongest group of women and men, as well as a colourful musical show called ‘Christmas Meetings in ‘Yubileyny’’. Guests will see a performance by the Ded Moroz Dancing Orchestra -Ural band with dancing snow maidens and bears. At the end of the evening, there will be a firework display. Admission is free.
About MMK
MMK is one of the world's largest steel producers and a leading Russian metals company. The company's operations in Russia include a large steel-producing unit encompassing the entire production chain, from the preparation of iron ore to downstream processing of rolled steel. MMK turns out a broad range of steel products with a predominant share of high-value-added products. In 2018, the company produced 12.7 mln tonnes of crude steel and 11.7 mln tonnes of commercial steel products. MMK Group had sales in 2018 of USD 8,214 mln and EBITDA of USD 2,418 mln.
Media contacts:
Dmitry Kuchumov
tel.: +7 (499) 238-26-13
E-mail: kuchumov.do@mmk.ru
Dmitry Bulin
tel.: +7 (499) 238-26-13
E-mail: bulin.dn@mmk.ru