Wheelchair Ski Turkey Championship started in Ahlat

The Wheelchair Skiing Turkey Championship, organized by the Turkish Ski Federation, kicked off in the district of Ahlat in Bitlis. A total of 400 athletes, including 250 men and 150 women from 23 provinces, participated in the Wheelchair Skiing Turkey Championship starting in Ahlat. Athletes in the championship, which started in the coastal part of the district in freestyle, compete in 5 categories. Speaking to journalists about the championship, Sedat Bilge, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Ski Federation, stated, ‘We are hosting the Wheelchair Skiing Turkey Championship in our district of Ahlat, as part of the 2023-2024 Turkish Ski Federation activity program. Approximately 400 athletes from 23 provinces participated, including 250 men and 150 women. Today, we are starting with freestyle. Tomorrow will continue with sprint races and short-distance speed races. We will bid farewell to our athletes with an award ceremony tomorrow. We thought of organizing the competitions in Ahlat every season. Everything is going very well at the moment. We will finish the competition without any incidents. 400 of our athletes are competing in 5 categories. Athletes will compete in designated categories ranging from 2.5 to 10 kilometers. The competition, starting from Ahlat, will end by going back and forth to Adilcevaz route.’ Athlete Saime Kaya said, ‘I came here from Van for the Turkish championship. This is the fourth time I am participating in the wheelchair skiing championship. I am very excited right now. I really liked Ahlat. The organization and atmosphere here are very good. I wish success to my teammates and all athletes.’ Yusuf Emre Fırat, who came from Sarıkamış to participate in the competition, stated, ‘I came from Kars Sarıkamış. It’s my first time in Ahlat. I had participated in a race in Tatvan before. We have warm weather and tough competitors right now. I will start competing shortly. We have trained and prepared. We will do our best.’