The 2018 Play Winter Figure Skating Academy, hosted by the Pyeongchang Memorial Foundation and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gangwon Province, and Gangneung City, will be held at the Gangneung Hockey Center from November 4 for approximately three months.

The Play Winter Sports Academy, which will be held for the third time this year, will provide professional and diverse programs for participants by leveraging its know-how.

The ‘Figure Academy’ consists of an experience class, which is a basic class for those who have never tried on skates before an introductory class to learn the basic skills of figure skating and a talent development class to improve their skills as athletes and raise their sense of purpose.

The Talent Development Class program, which starts on April 4, is an intensive training camp for aspiring figure skaters with figure skating levels 1 and 2, and intermediate level 3 and 4, consisting of the same on-ice and off-ice training as the actual national team to improve their skills.

The beginner and intermediate classes will be led by ISU technical judge Yang Tae-hwa and Olympian Suzuki Akiko (JPN), while the master class for figure 5-8 athletes, which will start next February, will feature renowned instructors such as Playwinter ambassador and figure queen Kim Yeon-ah, Kim’s choreographer David Wilson (CAN), and ISU Figure World Championships medalist Hongo Rika (JPN) to help Korean dream athletes grow.

The Play Winter Sports Academy, which has been running for three years since its debut in 2021, has gained great popularity, with applications closing at the same time as the recruitment process begins each year, and is helping to establish Gangwon Province and Gangneung City as the center of winter sports in Korea and expand the base of the sport.

Over the past two years, the ‘Figure Academy’ has become the cradle of winter sports in Korea, producing a number of athletes who have won prizes at domestic dream competitions and major competitions, as well as more than 20 athletes who have qualified to compete in major international events. In particular, figure skater Shin Jia, who received overseas training support through the Play Winter Academy special training program held earlier this year, qualified for the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

“Over the past two years, the Play Winter Sports Academy has been expanding public participation in winter sports by promoting the development of athletes in both daily and professional sports,” said Yoo Seung-min, Director of the 2018 Pyeongchang Memorial Foundation. “We will continue to actively spread the legacy of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, from helping visitors experience winter sports to fostering and supporting medalists in their respective sports.”

In conjunction with the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (“Gangwon 2024”), which will be held in Gangneung, Jeongseon, Pyeongchang, and Hwaseong, Gangwon Province, next January, the Play Winter Sports Academy will also offer programs for the general public to experience the events of the Winter Olympic Games and enjoy the excitement 메이저토토사이트 and sports fun of Gangwon 2024. During ‘Gangwon 2024,’ the Gangneung Curling Center’s underground ice rink, where the ‘Gangwon 2024’ curling competition will be held from January 20 to 23, 2024, will host figure skating and para-ice hockey experience classes for the general public.