The Bulgarian Ski Federation solemnly celebrated its 100th anniversary. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports Georgi Glushkov, the chairman of the BOK Stefka Kostadinova, the general secretary of the BOK Belcho Goranov, the rector of the “Vasil Levski” NSA Prof. Krasimir Petkov, the only Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing Ivan Lebanov, the only Bulgarian winner of a major and a small globe of FIS Radoslav Yankov, the best Bulgarian competitor in alpine skiing at the moment Albert Popov, as well as many more competitors, coaches, figures.
The event began with archival footage of skiing in Bulgaria, covering the period of the establishment of the federation in 1924 and the first participations at the World Championships in Innsbruck 1933 and at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, as well as with the first Bulgarian successes that came in 1945.
After that, the president of BF Ski Tseko Minev welcomed all the guests with a short speech.
“Thank you all for being here. On February 5, 1924, the Bulgarian Ski Club was founded, which is the founder of the federation, and this happened only three days before the establishment of the International Ski Federation. Tonight we are here to honor all , who have contributed to the plant’s successes,” said the president of BFSki.
The young champion in alpine skiing, Lilia Hadjistoyanova, awarded Tseko Minev with an honorary plaque for his great contribution to the development of the federation and the return of Bulgaria to the map of world skiing.
After that, the rector of the “V. Levski” NSA Prof. Krasimir Petrov presented a ribbon and a badge of honor to the president of the Bulgarian Federation, and he, in turn, presented him with a jubilee medal “100 years of BF Ski”.
The President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation Johan Elias sent a video greeting to the guests.
“I would like to congratulate the Bulgarian sports and skiing community. This anniversary is a great occasion for celebration. Your federation is among the first 10 to become FIS members. Huge congratulations!” Elias declared in his speech.
Also present in the hall were the former Minister of Sports Vesela Lecheva and more than 100 great champions of winter sports, including Georgi Dimitrov, Konstantin Stoev, Stefan Mitkov, Petar Popangelov, Alexandra Zhekova and many others.
The Minister of Sports, Georgi Glushkov, awarded Minev with an honorary plaque, and Stefka Kostadinova presented him with a gold medal “100 years of BOK”.
“It is an honor for me to be here! I bow to all of you! I want to wish you at the Olympic Games to hear the Bulgarian national anthem, which I have no doubt about with so many talented competitors,” Kostadinova said in her speech.
She added that Sofia and Bulgaria “can easily apply” to host the Youth Winter Olympic Games.
With a minute’s silence, everyone honored the members of BFSki who died over the years.
Albert Popov awarded sports legends Georgi Dimitrov, Konstantin Stoeva and Stefan Mitkov, and Alexandra Zhekova presented jubilee medals to the best between the 50s and 70s of the last century, including Ivan Lebanov, Petar Popangelov, Lyubomir Toskov, Mitko Hadzhiev, Pepa Miceva, Petar Pankov, Sasho Dikov and others.
During the ceremony, the resorts and ski centers in our country – Vitosha, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo, which contributed to the progress of winter sports over the years, created the conditions for the development of competitors and hosted numerous international events, including competitions, were also given their due. from the Ski and Snowboard World Cup calendar over the years.
Competitors from 1990 to 2007 Petar Dichev, Boyan Grebencharski, Stefan Georgiev, Stefan Shalamanov and others were also honored.
Tseko Minev presented a medal to Vesela Lecheva, who as the head of Bulgarian sports in 2008 saw the prospects and believed in the “Learn to ski” project and helped its successful launch. The program was developed and supported by all subsequent leaderships of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
For the finale, the guests saw the achievements of BF Ski competitors and the organization of the World and European Ski and Snowboard Cups in Bulgaria in the period 208-2024. Alexandra Zhekova literally wrote in golden letters the name of Bulgaria in the history of snowboarding, which, together with the achievements of Radoslav Yankov, can be considered a real phenomenon. Radoslav Yankov is also the only Bulgarian to have won a large and a small FIS crystal globe. No less worthy of attention are the achievements of Vladimir Zografski, the best Bulgarian ski jumper, winner of numerous successes for the country, and the development in the career of Albert Popov shows that, with a high probability, the greatest successes in the history of Bulgarian skiing are yet to come.
