Riyadh Season Launches Its First 'Saudi Snow Blast' Activities

The Saudi "SnowBlast KSA" activities began at the Kingdom Arena on the northern outskirts of Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi "SnowBlast KSA" activities began at the Kingdom Arena on the northern outskirts of Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Riyadh Season Launches Its First 'Saudi Snow Blast' Activities

The Saudi "SnowBlast KSA" activities began at the Kingdom Arena on the northern outskirts of Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi "SnowBlast KSA" activities began at the Kingdom Arena on the northern outskirts of Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

As part of the Riyadh Season activities, the Saudi "SnowBlast KSA" activities began at the Kingdom Arena on the northern outskirts of Riyadh, SPA said on Tuesday.
The event, the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to take place on snow areas weighing more than 500 tons, shared by snow slopes for freestyle skiing, areas for games and family activities, and events accompanying the championship. Within the four-day event, the Saudi Snow Blast Cup, in which more than 30 Olympic and world champions in the sport of freestyle skiing are participating, will be launched tomorrow.
The activities also include family activities such as playing with snowballs and making snowmen, in addition to theatrical and light shows, roaming shows, and an area dedicated to food.
The organization of the Saudi Snow Blast Cup comes as one of the international sports activities with a wide audience that aims to attract professionals and amateurs of freestyle skiing sports this month amid a group of distinctive winter experiences to create world-class sports and entertainment activities for the residents of the Kingdom and visitors to the Riyadh Season.
The cup events will witness great competitions between freestyle skiing professionals, which will be the focus of attention of those interested in this type of winter events all over the world, and will contribute to making the Riyadh season a hub for hosting events of wide global interest, and giving visitors an exceptional experience in the Riyadh winter.



Paralympic Triathlon Events Postponed Because of Poor Water Quality in Seine River

 View of the Seine river where the triathlon competition has been cancelled, during the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
View of the Seine river where the triathlon competition has been cancelled, during the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
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Paralympic Triathlon Events Postponed Because of Poor Water Quality in Seine River

 View of the Seine river where the triathlon competition has been cancelled, during the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
View of the Seine river where the triathlon competition has been cancelled, during the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)

Paralympic triathlon competitions in Paris scheduled for Sunday have been postponed because of concerns about water quality in the Seine River after heavy rainfall, organizers said.

The 11 para triathlon events are now scheduled for Monday, if upcoming water testing allows, the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Triathlon said in a joint statement.

Rainstorms hit the French capital Friday and Saturday. Heavy rains cause wastewater and runoff to flow into the river, leading to a rise in bacteria levels including E. Coli.

This is the second scheduled change for the para triathlon events. They had initially been scheduled to take place over two days, Sunday and Monday, but were moved to Sunday because of rain forecasts.

The disruption is another hiccup for the city’s efforts to clean up the river for future public swimming, one of Paris’ most ambitious promises ahead of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. The men's individual triathlon event during the Paris Olympics was delayed and several test swims were canceled because of high E. coli levels after rainfall.

Some Olympic triathletes fell ill after swimming in the Seine, though it is unclear whether that was linked to the river water.