Indian Olympic Association today announced the schedule for the 1st South Asian Winter Games to be held in Uttarakhand from 7^th to 19^th January, 2011. In addition to the host country India, all other SAF nations, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are expected to participate in these games.

The skiing event for South Asian Winter Games 2011 will be held at Auli from 7^th to 12^th January, 2011, while Dehradun will play host to the Ice Skating and Ice Hockey events from 14^th to 19^th January, 2011. The opening and closing ceremonies of the winter games will be held on 7^th and 19^th in Auli and Dehradun respectively.

Shri. Randhir Singh, Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association announced that, “India is extremely happy to host the first ever winter games at Uttarakhand. The state-of-the-art, newly built infrastructure will witness the best ever haul across SAF nations. Our main aim is to promote winter games and sporting culture and I am sure that these games will give a new boost to the future of winter sports in India.”

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Uttarakhand & Chairman, Organising Committee Winter Games said, “Uttarakhand is extremely delighted to host first ever South Asian Winter Games. We were given a mandate to create infrastructure for these Games and we are happy that the newly built winter sporting facilities are at par with any global infrastructure. The games will also provide a huge boost to the tourism industry in the state. Uttarakhand is all set to offer the best ever experience, which will be cherished by all participants and visitors alike.”

On the occasion, Brig. SS Patwal (Retd.), President of the WGFI said, “The infrastructure created at Auli for the skiing competition has got excellent slopes in terms of distance and vertical drop which has been homologated by the Federation of International Skiing. The artificial snow facility has given us a freedom to double the skiing time to 90 days. While the ice skating facilities at Dehradun are of world class standards and we have already tested the ice making there.”

“I am sure the 1^st South Asian Winter Games will pave the way for budding winter sports enthusiasts and will offer an international exposure to the professional sportspersons. These games will also help position India on the international winter sporting calendar and will give a new boost to our sportspersons to train and participate in more international events.” added Brig. Patwal.

“Bharal”, the Himalayan blue sheep, has been chosen as the mascot of SAF Winter Games. Keeping in view its agility, strength, sure-footedness and adaptability for survival in the snow-covered high altitude areas, the basic qualities of a skier, the WGFI chose Bharal as its mascot for 1st South Asian Winter Games 2011.

As a part of the 30 days to go celebrations for South Asian Winter Games, Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) will organise the coaching camps from December 7^th to 16^th at Auli for skiing and from December 14^th to 23^rd at Dehradun for ice skating and ice hockey. Winter sportspersons from SAARC countries are also invited to participate in these coaching camps.

In addition, there will be an Open Skiing Championship from December 18 to 23 in Auli and Open Ice Skating Championship from December 25 to 30 in Dehra Dun. Men, Women across senior, sub-junior and junior categories can showcase their skills at these Open Championships. 

The South Asian Winter Games 2011, Auli Open Ski Championship will include three event categories: Alpine Skiing, Nordic and Snow board. The Alpine Skiing Competition will include Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G.

The South Asian Doon Open Ice Skating Championship will include Speed Skating (Men & Women); Figure Skating (Single – Man & Woman); Figure Skating (Pair – Man & Woman) and Ice Hockey (Men).

Miss eWorld 2010, the first of its kind innovative online International beauty pageant is all set to change the format of talent hunt across boundaries.  US based leading media and entertainment player, Lafango, the owner of world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform which has launched Miss eWorld 2010, has brought revolutionary changes in the business of spotting right talent across categories.

Lafango’s “Miss eWorld 2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

Any female contestant between 18 to 40 years of age from across the world including India is welcome to enter this free of cost contest and win the crown of Miss eWorld 2010 together with prize money of $10,000. The “Miss eWorld 2010” contest will be open for submission till September 2, 2010. Contestants can register at www.misseworld.com or http://lafango.com/miss-eworld-2010-beauty-pageant to submit their entries.

Davinder Singh, the US based CEO and Founder of TalentTrove Inc. said, “With the sheer passion to nurture talent, Lafango has been instrumental in offering a unique way to showcase hidden abilities. Miss eWorld 2010 beauty pageant is another step in this regard and it has changed the traditional style. Miss eWorld 2010 has made it open to girls across the world to share their talent with akin contestants, keeping aside all other barrier. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era and the true talent will be the winner.”

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has an immense pool of untapped talent and not many opportunities galore for them. We at Lafango wishes to provide a global platform to talent in India. “Miss eWorld 2010” is all set to transform the process of selecting a world class beauty. The verdict by the voters and simplicity of the participation process with no entry fee involved makes “Miss eWorld 2010” a unique contest to watch for. Moreover contestants have chance to directly compete and get noticed with participants from across the world.”

For the first round contestants need to submit 4 photographs each including one head shot, one frontal body shot and two photographs of her choice. Shortlisted 100 contestants then need to submit 3 photographs each for the round two and thereafter 50 selected contestants making it for third round need to upload 3 photographs each for full body shot, side ways shot and photo of contestant choice. The top 10 contestants chosen for the fourth and final round will have to submit a video. This video must be in response to a question that will be provided just prior to the start of this final round. The voter’s choice final contestant with highest numbers of votes will be crowned as Miss eWorld 2010 and will be awarded a prize of $10,000.

US based leading media and entertainment player, Lafango, the owner of world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform has launched first of its kind innovative international beauty pageant, “Miss eWorld 2010”.

Any female contestant between 18 to 40 years of age from across the world including India is welcome to enter this free of cost contest and win the crown of Miss eWorld 2010 together with prize money of $10,000. The “Miss eWorld 2010” contest will be open for submission till May 15^st, 2010. Contestants can register at www.misseworld.com or www.lafango.com to submit their entries.

There will be four rounds in total, with number of finalists being reduced after each round by way of online voting by the Lafango community. Contestants need to upload their photos. The requirements for these photos will vary for each round and will include; Evening Wear, Casual, and the contestants choice.

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has an immense pool of untapped talent and not many opportunities galore for them. As a part of our commitment at Lafango, we wish to provide a global platform to talent in India. “Miss eWorld 2010” is all set to transform the process of selecting a world class beauty. The verdict by the voters and simplicity of the participation process with no entry fee involved makes “Miss eWorld 2010” a unique contest to watch for. Moreover contestants have chance to directly compete and get noticed with participants from across the world.”

Davinder Singh, the US based CEO of TalentTrove Inc. and Head of International Operations said, “With the sheer passion to nurture talent, Lafango has been instrumental in offering a unique way to showcase hidden abilities. Miss eWorld 2010 beauty pageant is another step in this regard and it has changed the traditional style. Miss eWorld 2010 has made it open to girls across the world to share their talent with akin contestants, keeping aside all other barrier. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era and the true talent will be the winner.”

For the first round contestants need to submit 4 photographs each including one head shot, one frontal body shot and two photographs of her choice. Shortlisted 100 contestants then need to submit 3 photographs each for the round two and thereafter 50 selected contestants making it for third round need to upload 3 photographs each for full body shot, side ways shot and photo of contestant choice. The top 10 contestants chosen for the fourth and final round will have to submit a video. This video must be in response to a question that will be provided just prior to the start of this final round. The voter’s choice final contestant with highest numbers of votes will be crowned as Miss eWorld 2010 and will be awarded a prize of $10,000.

Lafango’s “Miss eWorld 2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

Lafango.com is wholly owned by TalentTrove Inc., a three-year old company in the US, which boasts of 5 million online hits per month and holds the biggest global multimedia platform for talent and talent seekers who scout such communities to find the next big star. Lafango aims to strengthen on the largest internet user base here in India.

Lafango is putting together the required technology to effectively leverage the strong mobile phone user base in India. The company has 24×7 Lafango Radio and Lafango.tv that features only original content uploaded by registered members.

TalentTrove Inc. can be visited on the web at www.lafango.com.