On March 11 and 12, 2023, in the ski zone “Mechi Chal” – Chepelare, the competitions of the Eleventh Winter Olympic Festival, “Olympic Hopes – Biathlon and Ski-running 2023”, will be held in the disciplines of BIATHLON (Sprint) and SKI RUNNING (Sprint). The location is at the upper station of the Mechi Chal lift – for those who want to support the participants.
Boys and girls from the clubs in the country in age groups are eligible to participate in the biathlon competition at the festival:
U12 – boys and girls / born 2011-2012 /
U14 Boys & Girls Junior / born 2009-2010 /
Boys and girls from clubs in the country age groups are eligible to participate in the ski competition at the festival:
U12 – Boys & Girls / born 2011-2012 /
U14 Boys & Girls Junior / born 2009-2010 /
U16 boys & girls senior / born 2007-2008 /
11.03.2023 /Saturday/
9:30 am Start Biathlon – / boys and girls /
2:30 pm – Awarding of the winners
12.03.2023 /Sunday/
– 9.30 am – Start Ski-running /boys and girls/
– 2:30 pm – Awarding the winners and closing the festival
The classification is individual, with the winners in particular age groups in biathlon and ski-running being awarded first, second and third place.
Two mountains host this year’s Olympic Winter Youth Festival, traditionally giving way to Bulgaria’s sporting talents – the Osogovo and Chepelare tracks.
The already established tradition and the good organization are a prerequisite that the competitions held in Osogovo and the upcoming ones in Chepelare will again become peculiar national championships for our youngest talents in white sports.
The festival began in Osogovo on February 17 this year. In the resort, which hosted starts for the European Snowboard Cup 10 years ago, there were competitions in alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Upcoming competitions on March 11th and 12th in the “Mechi Chal” zone – city. Chepelare is the second part of the festival, where our young talents in biathlon and cross-country will gather.
Traditionally, the most participants are expected from the clubs “Bansko 2019”, “Ajax”, “Sapareva Banya”, “Rilski Skior”, “Rozhen-Chepelare-2016”, and more. Pre-orders are for the participation of over 100 biathletes. Medalists in all sports have many awards and prizes.
With the competitions in Osogovo and Chepelare, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee is following the tradition of including new and new national centres as hosts of the Festival.
The first three issues were in the Kartala area above Blagoevgrad; the forum took place in Bansko and then moved to Kyustendil. The Osogovo Ski Area has made strong progress in recent years, and proof of this are the two starts for the European Slopestyle Cup organized in February 2013. , for which local people received excellent grades and many superlatives from the FIS.
For several years, Chepelare, the city that gave Bulgaria the first and only Olympic champion in winter sports, was one of the country’s most famous and successful winter sports centres.
Organizers of the winter festival, which has been held for the 11th consecutive year under the motto “Let’s Discover Bulgaria’s Olympic Hopes”, are the Bulgarian Olympic Committee and the Leisure Sports Association.
Both organizations make it a priority to develop youth sports and promote talent at an early age. For many of the kids, this will be the first start in a winter that started with a little snow.
Since its establishment, these competitions have been a serious test for many Bulgarian sporting hopes, later established in national teams participating in the Youth Olympics and European sporting forums.
The festival aims to contribute to the popularization of and dissemination of the core ideals, principles and values of Olympism among the younger generation and enable the expression of young sporting talents.