Bilquis Mir, a Kashmiri female water sports coach, recently participated in a Snowshoe running event in Sonmarg – the first-ever snowshoe event held in the tourist resort.
“I love to be on the mountains and the running. It was a unique kind of experience at Sonmarg,” she said, adding that around 70-80 sportspersons participated in the event.
Snowshoe running or snowshoeing is a winter sport practiced with snowshoes, which is governed by World Snowshoe Federation (WSSF) founded in 2010. The snowshoe running is part of the Special Olympics and Arctic Winter Games programs.
Bilquis said snowshoe running is a popular sport in European countries. “In Kashmir, we have such a huge diversity of natural resources and we have places like Gulmarg and Sonmarg which are good for the sport. I believe that within no time it will become a popular sport in Kashmir,” she said.
An international water sports coach, she said till date snowshoe running activities were very limited and that was the reason that recently the event was held in Sonmarg.
“This is a good initiative. It is not an expensive sport. One just needs to have snow shoes and one has to run. It is a very good sport. It can make society healthy. Our young players can also participate in it,” she said, adding “We have high altitudes and we can train players in a professional manner so that they can represent J&K at the national level,” she said.
Mashooq Ahmad, a snowshoe enthusiast from Ganderbal recently participated in the snowshoe competition in Ganderbal and he now aims to take part in the state championship.
“This is a good move that the snowshoeing events are now held in Kashmir. It can provide an opportunity to young players to take part in international platforms,” he said.
Over the past few years, snowshoe running events were held and it is an emerging sport in Kashmir. Recently, the ‘Meadow of Gold’ – Sonamarg hosted the first-ever Snowshoe event with local athletes competing in the run conducted by J&K Snowshoe Association.
The event was aimed to promote Sonamarg which falls in Ganderbal as another winter sports destination and it saw the participation of local athletes.
General Secretary, J&K Snowshoe Association, Dr Altaf-Ur-Rehman said the association was formed in 2015 and since then it has organized different kinds of events for the players.
It has so far organized five national events in snowshoe running which include in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2020 in Kashmir valley which were participated by huge number of players.
“It is an easy game and it does not require much technique. It only needs stamina and we involve those children in the sport who are long-distance runners. We give them an opportunity and they succeed,” he said.
The General Secretary said the snowshoe event in Sonmarg was a trial event to introduce the game in Ganderbal district and prepare the participants for the upcoming events.
The association is all set for State Championship that would be held in Ski Resort Gulmarg today (December 18). Players from all districts of Jammu and Kashmir will participate in the event. It would be followed by national championship from December 27-30.
“We expect the participation of nearly 200 players. We will provide them snowshoe, then we will select team for National Championship to be held in Gulmarg,” he said.
Notably, the National Championship would see participation of players from 20 states across India. Last year also, the National Championship was participation of players from 21 states across the country like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Maharastra, Karnataka etc.
“It is a worldwide game and players take part in it with great enthusiasm. Since we started the events, players from across the country started participating in the snowshoeing events,” he said.
He also said that the game is also a major attraction for tourists and it will help boom the tourism industry in future as they expect to hold such events every year.
Snowshoeing is one of the fastest-growing winter sports and can be done by anyone who can walk or run.It is easy to get started.
The sport of snowshoe running has a competitive element with races around the world. The snowshoe running of athletes starts just like a marathon and there is no limit for participants.
Farooq Ganderbali, president of the Snowshoe Association said the association provides an opportunity for players to take part in Olympics. “There is already track for the game in Gulmarg and for the first time in history we have held snowshoe event at Sonmarg,” he said, adding “It aimed to explore other winter sports destinations of Kashmir. Sonamarg is a well-known tourist destination but in winter it remains off-limit for tourists. With events like this, it can also be promoted as a winter destination.”
Ganderbali also said that snowshoe is one such game in which children can make their career as well adding that so far 500 players have been affiliated with snowshoe association across the valley.
“Fortunately the national of the game is played in Kashmir only and players do not need to go outside the valley. It will benefit the players and give them more and more opportunities. These players can also get opportunity in government jobs,” he said.
Ganderbali said many states and countries move to European countries to take part in snowshoe running which is very expensive. They can also come to Kashmir and it will help to push the tourism sector to the next level, he said.
He said, it is an emerging sport in Kashmir and The Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council also felicitates the players. ”We are working to involve players at the grass root level.”
