Vladimir Slavskij is something like the e'minence
grise in Russian or rather Eastern European, Nordic
winter sports. He saw states come and go; he was
alive when the city of Chaykovsky, which now has
a population of 120,000 only existed on the drawing
board of Soviet architects. Today, he is the Vice
President for ski jumping and Nordic combined at
the Russian Ski Federation.
But above all, Slavskij is one thing nowadays: happy.
“I am reaping the fruits of my persistence” and
the clear, notable, rough Russian voice shows another
characteristic of his country: melancholia and pride.
While the international ski jumping circuit in Central
Europe and Scandinavia is rushing from one station
to the next, with some Russian jumpers in field,
revolutionary things happen in Chaykovsky. “You
have to imagine this”, says Slavskij. “There is
a country such as Russia - large, prominent, rich
- and it isn’t even able to provide domestic training
facilities to its very own athletes”.
Although, as the long-serving expert continues,
this all used to be available. Chaykovsky used to
be the home of a winter sports institute. Specialists
used to work and research here and all skiers -
whether alpine or Nordic - had a reliable place
to go. Both athletes and coaches in the former USSR
had a home in Chaykovsky.
He looks back wistfully: “This was 30 years ago
and not much has happened since then. There was
no new equipment because the sport itself became
more and more redundant. And after the breakup of
the USSR, almost everything that was old had been
destroyed“.
But everything is different now and Slavskij’s voice
switches from sad to euphoric. “The awarding of
the Olympic Winter Games to Sochi triggered a big
impulse for the revival of winter sports in the
region”, he says. “The region Perm Krai appealed
to the Sports Minister who approved of the project.
The financing was secured. The name which was given
to the Nordic winter sports initiative (which also
includes other locations) is denoting: success”.
Success in Sochi.
Planning startet in 2009, foreign specialists such
as the company Rehau or the SKI-LINE of Peter Riedel
GmbH have been secured for the construction of the
ski jumps. “And now, in February, 2012, we are able
to say: the first jumps have been a success, even
in front of Vladimir Putin’s eyes!” Slavskij rejoices.
“On March 20, the Russian championships will be
hosted here. This will be another milestone for
the facilities which have been given the name ‘Snowflake’.
At last the Russian ski jumpers have domestic training
facilities and Chaykovsky is the pioneer!”
For Sochi, Slavskij is building his hopes on the
ski jumping women, eight men and the combination
athlete Ivan Panin - “some tangible rewards would
be nice to see”, he says. But besides the desirable
athletic success, he sees a rosy future for Chaykovsky.
“There is not only the ski jumps but also a biathlon
area, freestyle facilities and a lot more. All of
this can be used efficiently and profitably. Chaykovsky
shall become a city for sports and tourism because
the scenery is picturesque and well worth seeing.
The region was given a beautiful present - all it
has to do now is make something out of it“.
Asked whether Nordic ski championships will take
place in Chaykovsky some time in future, 2021 or
2023, Slavskij does not know an answer. “Let’s proceed
step by step - summer Grand Prix in autumn, FIS
Ski Jumping Continental Cup next winter, further
international championships if the FIS awards us
the contract. And with regards to a world championship:
of course it would be a dream come true for the
region, the city and me. But many Russian cities
will scuffle for this world championship...”
Hence, what remains isn’t the history which must
yet be achieved but the history which has already
been created. “We are re-writing the history of
Russian ski jumping. Within the next five to ten
years, we will catch up at an international level.
This is what we failed to do in the past. My personal
dream is coming true”.
Slavskij smiles and is pleased. As he already said:
„I am reaping the fruits of my persistence”.
