Bulgarian coach calls for better Vitosha winter sports conditions

Snowboarding coach Anatoly Zamfirov and father of the Olympic bronze medallist from Milano Cortina, Tervel Zamfirov, appealed before a press conference here on Tuesday for better winter sports conditions on Vitosha mountain, CE Report quotes BTA.

Anatoly Zamfirov said: "It seems that the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina are the second most successful in the history of Bulgarian sports. Many people feel proud of our delegation, but instead, I feel shame that Bulgaria had only 20 qualified athletes, while Czechia had 158. I feel shame that we have so many talented competitors, but they are forced to train on foreign ski slopes, and that we are governed by ignorant politicians."

Representatives of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Tourist Union and the Vitosha Ski and Snowboard Schools Association attended the conference and highlighted their goals to improve the tourism and sports conditions on Vitosha.

Zamfirov said that modernization of the mountain slopes requires the implementation of a legal framework to address the property ownership problems. He reported that Bulgaria's Sports Ministry does not own any slopes and cannot offer suitable training conditions for athletes anywhere in the country. The ownership of many of the slopes is dubious, as they have more than one proprietor while being registered as protected areas, said Zamfirov.

The coach stated that a comprehensive management strategy for ski tourism is needed, mainly because of the economically significant location of Vitosha close to the capital.