The Georgian mountain resort of Bakuriani successfully hosted the FIS Freestyle Skiing, Freeski and Snowboard World Championship 2023 from February 16 to March 5.
Silknet was the company presenting the first World Championship in Georgia, its brand having been associated with winter sports for more than 10 years. Since its establishment, Silknet has been the general sponsor of the Georgian Ski Federation.
To find out what it takes to prepare for this high-ranking championship, GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Kato Javakhishvili, Director of the Silknet Marketing Department.
How did Silknet prepare for the 2023 World Cup? How did Georgia win the right to hold the championship in Georgia?
Georgia hosted the World Championship for the first time. These were spectacular and memorable days to be proud of. 700 highly rated athletes from 42 countries competed in Bakuriani, Freestyle, Snowboard, and Frisk. More than 175 million people watched the championship live. I think it was pretty logical that Silknet, which has been the main supporter of skiing sports in the country for years, was the presenter of the World Championship.
Work kicked off in 2018, at the Congress of the International Skiing Federation in Greece, where the candidacy of Bakuriani was considered for holding the championship along with famous sports resorts. It was quite challenging for our country to compete with the experienced and better-known mountain resorts of the world. However, we were successful in convincing the international federation and delegates. In achieving this, Giorgi Ramishvili, the founder of Silknet and a huge supporter of skiing sports, played a great role. Long before the establishment of Silknet, Giorgi made all the effort to help with the development of winter sports in Georgia and assisted numerous athletes to compete at the international level. After winning the right to host the World Cup, Georgia began the humungous work needed to prepare.
Very high-level delegations and ski federations of different countries attended the World Championship. Observers and international media were constantly on the ground. It was emphasized that Georgia has everything needed to become a destination country for winter sports. In a short time, with the involvement of the government and the state and the infrastructural projects implemented in the resort, Bakuriani has become a completely modern mountain sports resort and the center of attention, something that was highlighted by all the athletes, for whom Bakuriani was a discovery. There, they found a comfortable environment, modern competition tracks and got to enjoy the energy of the fans and Georgian hospitality. Comments of admiration were heard during all broadcasts about Georgia on international channels.
For the World Championship, in Bakuriani, within five years, 3 new cable cars, a 29 km long artificial snowmaking system and 6 new competition tracks were built. In total, the state invested 270 million GEL to host the championship in Bakuriani.
When the president of the International Ski Federation visited Bakuriani, that’s probably why he couldn’t hide his admiration that in this short time, with the work of the government, our federation, and many people, Bakuriani has become a world-class resort. This legacy remains in Georgia, and new perspectives have already emerged. The next two seasons are already planned.
Silknet sponsors numerous international and local competitions in winter sports. Why is this field interesting to you and how does your company contribute to developing winter sports in Georgia?
The Silknet team put a lot of hard work into organizing the first World Cup. It was a completely new experience and at the same time glorious and huge responsibility that we were involved in, creating completely new potential for the country. The company chose to support the endeavor of developing winter sports at its establishment. Silknet has been the general sponsor of the Georgian Ski Federation for more than 10 years. At that time, very few people believed in the development of winter sports and Georgia’s potential. Through consistent cooperation with the Georgian Ski Federation, in recent years, we have been able to host various international tournaments. We were able to encourage the national team of Georgia and an individual athlete to participate in the international competition. These years logically led us to new challenges. We are glad that many people wanted to participate in Bakuriani 2023 and that other businesses also got involved in this important work for the country.
Tell us about other projects supported by Silknet. What are your future plans?
The thing Silknet values most is the accessibility of education. I will single out several large-scale projects in this direction.
10 years ago, with the support of Silknet, the Georgian version of the international magazine National Geographic was published in the country. Every month, readers receive information about scientific, social, and archeological news and important research conducted in various fields in the Georgian language. With the support of Silknet, meetings with readers are systematically held, something which has already gained great popularity in society.
This year, we have the jubilee year of another project, the Tsinandali Music Festival. Five years ago, our company became the presenter of this unique festival held on the Chavchavadze Estate. A festival with its own content, it also takes into account the education component. In addition to the rich concert program, young performers can attend the masterclasses of famous musicians during the festival. The Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra was created on the basis of the festival, which unites the youth of the region.
The “Magic Days” of 2023 will begin on August 31 and will gather world stars for ten days.
As part of the educational direction, several years ago, the “Home School” project was created on the initiative of Silknet, which provided a lot of help to students and their parents during the pandemic. This project won a very important corporate responsibility award in the “Quality Education” category at the annual event organized by the Global Compact Network Georgia.
The “Wounded Fighters Support Fund” project, which Silknet founded a few years ago, is also very important to us. The activity of the fund involves the assistance and rehabilitation of military personnel and veterans that participated in the wars of Abkhazia and Samachablo, as well as those who take part in international peacekeeping missions. We are glad that hundreds of businesses and private individuals are already involved in donating to the fund together with Silknet, and this number is growing every year. We also received the “Forbes Georgia Social Impact” award for the establishment of the fund.
For us, as one of the leading companies in the industry, social responsibility is very important and we believe that consistent and systematic support of such projects has a positive impact not only on the company but on the development of the country in general.
By Ketevan Skhirtladze
