MOLDOVA WILL BE THE FIRST COUNTRY TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM FOR YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN THE LUGE - CHRISTOPH SCHWEIGER, FIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

This was agreed at the meeting between Christoph Schweiger, FIL Executive Director and Dmitri Torner, the President of the Winter Sports Association of the Republic of Moldova the meeting took place at the FIL headquarter in Berchtesgaden (Germany).

During the meeting Mr Schweiger welcomed coming Moldova back after two years hiatus to the Luge, appreciated the Moldovan role in the development of the Luge and pointed out the country potential for the development as part of Fill.

"We consider Moldova as the first country to implement our programs for youth involvement in the luge. We see the effectiveness of this project in the development of the potential of small countries like Moldova.

I declare this officially and invite the President of the Winter Sports Association if the Republic of MoldovaDimitri Torner to visit the International Luge Congress in June this year. There we are planning to discuss our innovations in finding and involving talented athletes in the luge. We are moving forward with the FILdevelopment strategy to 2026. And we will support the renewal of Moldova's active role in FIL!", - said Christoph Schweiger.

Furthermore, the FIL Executive Director formulated, that the next step for the program implementation in Moldova could be the FIL President Einars Fogelis visit to the country. First of all, to meet with the Moldovan authorities and discuss the possibilities of the effective implementation of the project.

"This will demonstrate our interest to develop the Moldovan potential in the Luge," - Schweiger said.

He also stated his support to Dmitri Torner's initiatives for the winter sports revival in Moldova.

"I welcome the fact that Mr. Torner actively has taken up the promotion of the winter sports and that the luge has become important part of his project" - said the FIL executive director.

In the opinion of the FIL, the revival of the luge in Moldova will also be promoted byBogdan Macovei, a repeated participant of the Winter Olympic Games in the luge from Moldova . Now, he is a member of the coaching staff of the Luge School, which operates at the FIL

"We are confident that such a great coach will be able to successfully implement this project," Schweiger emphasized.

For his part, Dimitri Torner noticed that the support of international sports organizations will give a strong impetus to the winter sports development in Moldova.

"Moldova is already making sure steps in the biathlon, we are developing children's biathlon within the NEXTGEN project and now we are planning to do the same for the luge. True, the specifics will be slightly different. Talented children and youth will be able to find themselves in it and the support of FIL is invaluable in this issue. Our collaboration is just forming up . But seeing the openness and optimism by the International Luge Federation, i can confidentlysay that it will be successful", -highlightedTorner.

FIL President Einars Fogelis also welcomed Moldova's return to luge and expressed willingness to cooperate.

"FIL is happy that Moldova is returning to luge and looks forward to working together in the future to promote the sport in the region," summarized Fogelis.

As reported earlier,Dmitri Torner was elected asthe President of the Winter Sports Association in February 2024. The goal of the Association is the renewal of the winter sports in the country.

Christoph Schweiger is holding the position of the executive director of FIL since July 1, 2010. The International Luge Federationincludes 53 national luge associations and is headquartered in Berchtesgaden, Germany