The countries of the Barents Region take part in the 18th traditional international Ski Track of Friendship

On 14 March 2015, the traditional Ski Track of Friendship was held in Rayakoski, Murmansk Oblast. JSC TGC-1 was one of the organizers and partners of this international race.

“Today the borders are opening for this sporting event to take place. If you look at the map of our country, you will see nine points of the border intersection, and such an event is held only in one of them”, said Marina Kovtun, Governor of Murmansk Oblast. “We say welcome! We are sure that the Ski Track of Friendship will exist for a very long time. We are committed to the traditions established by us”.

The unique ski race has been held annually since 1994 in the three neighbouring states, Russia, Finland and Norway. No visas or foreign passports are required for participation.

“On this day, the small and quiet village of Rayakoski turns into a sports centre and a symbol of international cooperation”, commented Alexander Antipov, Director of the TGC-1 Kolskiy Branch. “According to a many years’ tradition, the opening and start of the Ski Track of Friendship take place near the Rayakoski HPP. Every year power engineers put a lot of effort to create a ski run and make arrangements for this sporting event”.

This year over 2,000 people participated in the Ski Track of Friendship. The representatives of the Border Services of the three countries started the race. They were followed by athletes and amateur skiers.

While crossing the borders, Segey Koriakin from Murmansk was the first to cover the distance of 12.5 km in 33.20 minutes.