Beijing competition set to soar to new heights

Since the Austria-based Air+Style snowboard competition debuted in Beijing in 2010, the FIS World Cup event has become an annual extravaganza in the capital.

On Monday, the China Ski Association announced the Nov 24-25 event at Beijing Workers' Stadium has officially been upgraded as the Infiniti A+S Beijing FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup.

"Beijing has successfully held the FIS Snowboard World Cup for six years," said Yang Dong, deputy director of Winter Sport Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China.

"This year, the competition has been upgraded into FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup, recognizing that it has become one of the top international snowboard events.

"The organizing committee has finished all preparations and, based on the requirements of the International Ski Federation, we are confident of holding a spectacular high-quality tournament."

The competition is expected to welcome nearly 70 top men's and women's athletes from more than 20 countries and regions. As an international Class A tournament, it will count towards qualifying for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

"We only have one more month for training for this FIS event," said Feng Changjun, a 24-year-old Chinese snowboarder who has participated in winter sports for 11 years.

"We have to admit the gap between the performances of top foreign athletes and ours, but we will try hard."

Yang agreed.

"China's snowboard team was built last year, but we have developed very fast," he said. "We will try hard to fight for the qualification in Pyeongchang, but with limited time it's a tough task."

The November competition will help fortify the winter sports atmosphere in China's capital ahead of the 2022 Beijing-Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics.

"Held in the political and economic center of China, the FIS snowboard tournament is very influential in China," said Yang. "The tournament will play an essential role in increasing public awareness of snowboarding and other winter sports."