Skiing

Skiing in Pakistan has been in vogue for a very long time. locals residing in snowy, mountainous terrain in the northern parts of Pakistan do so on improvised wooden skies. However, it was in 1958 when the PAF, pioneered formal skiing by introducing the sport for its aircrew. Besides its own personnel, PAF began to offer some training to Government Departments, civilians and students at Naltar. The sports however remained largely under developed until the creation of Ski Federation of Pakistan (SSP) in December, 1990. With the formation of SFP, the sports became accessible on a countrywide basis and training and participation for competitive skiing was offered to all. As the sport started gaining popularity, an additional venue was created with the development of Malam Jabba as a ski resort by the Government of Pakistan. Today there are several hundred ski enthusiasts in the country. National championships are held annually and Pakistani skiers also represent the country in International competitions. Presently the Federation has 16 member associations i.e Punjab Ski Association, Sind Ski Association, Northern Area Ski Association, Army Sport Directorate, Naval Sports Directorate, PAF Sports Directorate, Civil Aviation Authority, PTDC Islamabad, PTCL Islamabad, HEC Islamabad, Adventure Foundation (Pakistan), Citibank, N.A. and ABN AMRO Bank.

Current Status

Currently the Ski Federation of Pakistan organizes ski courses for beginners and regular National Ski Championships are being held. The importance popularity of the sport can be judged from the fact that about 120 athletes (men, women, children) participated in the recently 13th National Ski Championship - 2005. Skiing team have represented Pakistan in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Asian Winter Games, Harbin China, Kangwon Korea, Aomori Japan in 1996, 1999 and 2003 respectively, The children's team which represented Pakistan in the 2nd Children Ski Competition held in Iran in February, 1998, managed to secure the coveted 3rd position. Skiing team have also represented Pakistan in 13th Junior Ski Championship in Iran in March, 2004.
A four member Pakistan Ski team participated for the first time in FIS Alpine Balkan Open Cup, Kayseri, Turkey in February, 2004. Pakistan achieved from 18-21 position amongst 28 athletes. Pakistan was the only team who have competed all the races without penalty or disqualification for which they were awarded a gold medal by the Governor of Kayseri during the final award ceremony. The international calendar includes for participation in 14th Asian Children Alpine Ski Championship, China. FIS Alpine World Ski Championship Bormio, Italy. World Military Ski Championship Romania, FIS Alpine Sarikamis Cup at Turkey and Winter Olympics 2010 to be held at Vancouver, Canada.