Sina Sports Will Launch First FIS-Endorsed Mass Ski Event

China’s Sina Sports has signed a strategic partnership MoU with the International Ski Federation to create the first ever FIS-endorsed mass participation skiing event in the world with a specially-designed “Endorsed by FIS” logo.

Both FIS and Sina Sports acknowledge that this five-year partnership will help promote the Sina Alpine Ski Open series and lead to wider participation and exposure to skiing sports in China in the lead up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The MoU was signed at Genting Secret Garden in Chongli, China, an official venue for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Four years ago, Sina Sports introduced a new strategy to create and operate its own marquee sporting events to capitalize on the developing Chinese sports industry and diversify revenue streams provided by having its own sports brands.

Sina Sports has successfully created several leading sporting events brands by leveraging the strong online presence of both Sina Sports and Weibo, including the world’s largest 3×3 basketball tournament with stops in over 120 cities in China, and Asia’s largest futsal tournament in over 50 cities in China, as well as the Sina Cup Alpine Ski Open.

The five-month-long 2018/19 edition of the Sina Cup Alpine Ski Open covered more than 20 ski resorts across 12 provinces in China and one overseas stop in Sölden, Austria, with a total of over 5,000 participants.

The upcoming 2019/20 edition will reach approximately 100 stops in China and overseas, with an estimated participation of 250,000 skiers. The Sina Alpine Ski Open is the largest and the most influential mass participation alpine ski event in Asia.

Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General  (at left in photo alongside FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper), said, “We believe that today’s important signing ceremony of a strategic partnership between Sina Sports and FIS will contribute significantly to the promotion of skiing and snow sports in China which we enthusiastically welcome.”

Sam Li, Head of International Business Strategy of Sina Sports (holding the document in photo), said, “We are delighted to be entering into this cooperation with FIS and receiving the first-ever mass participation skiing event endorsement from FIS. We are proud to support FIS initiatives in China in order to jointly promote winter sports in anticipation of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.”

As part of the endorsement by FIS, the Sina Cup will be held to international standards in all aspects of the competition and the FIS member Chinese Ski Association will be providing technical support.

Additionally, each participant’s results will be officially recorded. Sina Sports will help promote FIS initiatives in China, including official events as well as the Get Into Snow Sports (GISS)-China program, a recently established grassroots beginner program, executed by FIS’ educational entity, the FIS Academy. FIS and Sina Sports are dedicated to promote skiing and winter sports through this partnership leading up to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

The approaching Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is a crucial moment for winter sports development in China. Through this partnership, the China Ski Point Game will provide a solid base for China’s plan to encourage 300 million people to be involved in winter sports.