Pyeongchang hosts the 2006 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup, followed by two more international events next month The 2006 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup was held in the mountainous county of Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province from January 22 to 27, with more than 150 athletes from 11 countries participating. The international ski competition for disabled athletes featured three alpine ski disciplines - the Slalom, the Giant Slalom and the Super Giant Slalom - under the three racing categories of sitting, standing and visually impaired. At the competition, world's finest skiers from Austria's Sabine Gasteiger to Chris Young of the United States raced down the slopes of the Rainbow I Course in Yongpyong Resort about 200km from Seoul. The Pyeongchang County and Gangwon Province co-sponsored the event and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled co-hosted the IPC World Cup ski competition, the first of its kind ever held in Asia. Prior to the competition, meanwhile, Kim Jin-sun, governor of Gangwon Province and executive president of the 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee, expressed his high hopes that the international event would not only provide an opportunity for Korea to make progress in the field of paralympic games but also allow Pyeongchang, as the mecca of winter sports in Korea, to demonstrate once again its proven record of hosting large-scale sports festivals. In the meantime, Gangwon Province will also be hosting the 2006 Snowboard Junior World Championships in Vivaldi Park from February 2 to 6 followed by 2006 Alpine World Cup to be held in Yongpyong Resort from March 4 to 5 with the participation by about 100 athletes from 12 countries.