The 2011

Asian Winter Games The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) featuring winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested creating a winter version of the ...

(; ), also known as Astana-Almaty 2011 (), were a continental winter multi-sport event held from January 30 to February 6, 2011 in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

and

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a large event since independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The documents for the hosting city were signed in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

on March 4, 2006.

Preparation

Costs

Kazakh Minister of Sports Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov notes the US$726 million for construction and renovation comes from the 2008 state budget. The Olympic village, on the other hand, will be financed by private investors. Overall, Kazakhstan is spending over $1.4 billion to get the area ready to host the games.

Venues

Ski Jump centre in Almaty, built for the Games. Astana Mayor Imangali Tasmagambetov announced venues being built include a multipurpose Sports Palace which will seat up to 15,000 spectators, a ski jump complex, a biathlon stadium, and an athlete village. Upgrades to existing venues included modernizing the Central Stadium, the B. Sholak Sports Palace, Medeo Skating Rink, and Shimbulak Ski Resort. The ski area was increased fivefold from the current 5 km to 65 km. In 2008 a gondola lift from Medeo Skating Rink to Shymbulak Ski Resort was planned to be completed, however, only in the summer of 2010 construction really started and was under serious time pressure. The Medeo Skating rink is an outdoor rink located in the Tian Shan Mountains, about a 30-minute drive away. In 2008, both Medeo and

Shymbulak Shymbulak (, cyrl, ''Шымбұлақ''), also known as Chimbulak (, ) is a ski resort near Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is the largest ski resort in Central Asia. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zailiisky Alatau mountain ra ...

Ski Resort were rebuilt in preparation for the Games. Vladimir Smirnov, deputy head of the national ski federation, said that the resort would soon be one of the largest in the world, which would increase the chances of a successful bid to host the Olympics.Almaty Considers 2018 Winter Olympics bid

Infrastructures

Upgrades to the Almaty airport were finished by December 2008; transport issues are also being reviewed. Millions of KZT are being earmarked for work on main transportation corridors, overpasses, a ring road as well as investment in light rail transit between Talgar, Almaty, and Kaskelen. The plan also included purchases of city passenger buses, taxis, and possibly the construction of a subway. Almaty also upgraded its power supply network of substations and transmission lines. Expansion and reconstruction of heating systems was also recommended. A portion also got into environmental stabilisation.79.4 billion KZT required for Asian Winter Games in Almaty
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Torch relay

The flame of the Games was officially lit at Kuwait Towers,

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

on January 11, 2011. The relay officially started in Almaty on January 12, 2011, and span around the cities of Kazakhstan for 16 days before arriving at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

on January 30, 2011.

Sports Events

''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport.'' Olympic sports

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

Luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

and

Nordic Combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

will not be contested.

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

and Ski Orienteering were included for the first time in the Games, while

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

was excluded from the list,

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

returns to the Games, after not being contested in the last Games in

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

. *

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

(6) *

(1) *

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

(7) *

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

(12) *

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

(4) *

Freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

(6) *

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

(2) *

Short-track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...

(8) *

Ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

(3) *

Ski orienteering (8) * Speed skating pictogram

Speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

(12)

Participating NOCs

26 countries have registered to take part and they are listed below, this is an increase of 1 from the 2007 games.

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

made their debuts, while

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

did not compete after competing in 2007. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Non-Competing nations

One country only sent officials. *

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2011 Asian Winter Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. Broadcasting International Games Broadcast Services (IGBS), a joint venture between Host Broadcast Services and IMG Media, served as the host broadcaster of the games. The joint venture previously served as the host broadcaster of the 2006 Asian Games under the name Doha Asian Games Broadcast Services (DAGBS).

Medal table

Kazakhstan won the same number of gold medals on the first day of the competition as it did in the entire 2007 games, topping the medal table for the first time. Iran and Kyrgyzstan won their first ever

medals, Iran in

ski orienteering Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical ...

and

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

and Kyrgyzstan in

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

. Eight countries won medals the most ever at an Asian Winter Games.

Stamps

File:Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010-25.jpg, Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010 File:Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010-26.jpg, Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010 File:Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010-27.jpg, Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010 File:Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010-28.jpg, Stamps of Kazakhstan, 2010

References

External links

Official website
{{Events at the 2011 Asian Winter Games

2011 Asian Winter Games The 2011 Asian Winter Games (; ), also known as Astana-Almaty 2011 (), were a continental winter multi-sport event held from January 30 to February 6, 2011 in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a larg ...

A Asian

Asian Winter Games by year Asian Winter Games 2011 Asian Winter Games 2011

Multi-sport events in Kazakhstan January 2011 sports events in Asia February 2011 sports events in Asia