The Vice-president of the Georgian Ski Federation Was Awarded with a Medal of Honor
Patrick Lang, vice-president of the Georgian Ski Federation, was awarded a medal of honor for his special contribution to the development and promotion of the Georgian ski sport in obtaining the right to hold the World Championships in Freestyle, Snowboard and Friski in Georgia. President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili awarded Patrick Lang with the medal of honor.
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, Deputy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili, Director of the Mountain Tracks Agency Irakli Burchuladze, President of the Georgian Ski Federation Zurab Kostava, and Giorgi Ramishvili, the advisor of the Ski Federation, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Silknet - the company presenting World Championship, attended the ceremony held in the presidential palace. The President of the International Ski Federation, Johan Eliash, who is visiting Georgia, also attended the solemn ceremony.
Patrick Lang has been the vice-president of the Georgian Federation since 2016. Thanks to him, in 2018, Georgia won the right to hold the World Championships in Freestyle, Snowboard and Friski in Bakuriani.
“Our friendship began 15 years ago, when I was the president of the federation. Patrick was my advisor then and helped us in every way to develop this sport in our country. I remember we were leaving from Valdezer, when we first had the idea to hold a world-class competition in Georgia. Then new disciplines were added to the World Championships and we were very lucky to have the opportunity to hold the championships in these disciplines. The International Federation has shown great confidence in us and I think we have justified their expectations. I am very happy that with joint efforts, with the involvement of the government, we are holding wonderful events," said Giorgi Ramishvili.
“It's a great day for me, it's very exciting. I'm very proud and I'm sure my father, who founded the World Cup stages, would be very proud too. This award belongs to all of you. It was not easy to get the right to hold the championship in Georgia, but together we managed to do it.The important thing is that we should not stop here and carry on with this work in the future, so that as many young people as possible get involved in those activities, in the love of this sport, and this is the purpose of holding the championship. Thank you very much Madam President!" Patrick Lang said.
Throughout years, Patrick Lang has been actively involved in the preparations for the World Championship, as well as in the development of skiing sports in Georgia in general. He has been a sports journalist for many decades. In 1960, he founded the International Association of Ski Journalists and still holds the position of honorary president of the association.
The presenting company of the main event of the year - the World Championship in Georgia - is Silknet, which has been the general sponsor of the Georgian Ski Federation since its foundation. The company has been supporting Georgian athletes for more than a decade and actively contributes to the development of winter sports.