(Daejeon = News 1) Reporter Kim Ki-tae = Unlike the news of Korean athletes’ medals resonating in Italy, it is pointed out that the current state of Daejeon winter sports is still in the ‘thirst for infrastructure’.
The Republic of Korea dispatched a delegation of 130 people, including 71 athletes, to the 2026 25th Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with the goal of winning at least three gold medals and ranking within the top 10 in the overall rankings. Although the team is doing well on the world stage, not a single player from Daejeon was included in the delegation list.
The local sports community views this as a structural problem, not simply the ‘absence of this competition’. One official pointed out, “There are no elite players left in the region who can challenge for the Olympics,” and “The vicious cycle of promising players moving to other cities or provinces is being repeated because the training system that extends from elementary school to higher level schools is weak.”
The ice skating community cites poor facility conditions as the biggest cause of slump. In Daejeon, the only ice rink that meets international standards (60m x 30m) is located in the Namseon Park Sports Complex in Tanbang-dong, Seo-gu. However, it is assessed that there are limitations in holding a national-scale competition due to the lack of spectator seats and auxiliary facilities.
This facility was built by Seo-gu Office in 2002 and is currently operated by the private sector. The explanation is that the ice rink is a special facility that requires enormous costs to maintain refrigeration and ice-making facilities, so there is a significant financial burden on operating it at the autonomous district level. An official from the Seo-gu Office said, “The ice rink is a facility that requires a lot of budget, and it is not easy for the autonomous district to afford it.” He added, “The city needs a system in which the city is responsible for managing and operating the sports infrastructure at the metropolitan level.”
An executive of the Daejeon City Sports Association Ice Skating Federation also emphasized, “Namseon Ice Rink is poor in size and facilities, so it is not easy to host short track national competitions as well as amateur competitions,” and added, “There is an urgent need to build a dedicated ice rink that can host national competitions.”
It is pointed out that the training environment also needs improvement. The ice rink is open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Player training time is only 2 hours a day from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Even this time must be shared among short track and figure skaters, as well as general, hobbyist, and elite athletes. After 8 p.m., the ice hockey team uses it.
The financial burden is also considerable. Officials explain that the rental fee for one hour at Namseon Ice Rink is around 130,000 won, and even excluding holidays, monthly training costs amount to several million won. For this reason, some players are going on away training to other regions such as Gwacheon or Asan. There are concerns that as travel time and cost burdens increase, there are cases of giving up on exercise midway.
The player development base is also weak. Currently, Hanbat Elementary School is the only school in Daejeon that operates an ice skating club, and there are no high school ice skating teams. As career paths are blocked after elementary school, promising students are repeatedly choosing to transfer to the metropolitan area. The analysis is that this is leading to the collapse of the local elite player base.
These structural limitations are also revealed in the performance of the National Winter Sports Festival. The Daejeon team ranked 14th overall with one gold and one silver at the 106th National Winter Sports Festival in 2025. In recent years, it has not been ranked 12th to 15th, and some of its medals came from solo events.
Daejeon City plans to participate in the 2026 National Winter Games with 97 athletes in 5 sports, including 22 ice skaters (16 players, 6 officials), 22 ice hockey players (18 players, 4 officials), 11 skiers (7 athletes, 4 officials), 14 curlers (10 athletes, 4 officials), and 7 mountain climbers (3 players, 4 officials). However, the local sports community points out, “What is more important than simply increasing the number of participants is how thick the competitive athlete base can be created.”
Experts emphasize that beyond simple facility renovation and repair, the construction of a new dedicated stadium that can host national and international competitions, the establishment of a nurturing system linked to elementary, middle, and high schools, stable training cost support, and the establishment of a long-term development plan must be done in parallel.
presskt@news1.kr
date: 2026-02-14 21:07:00
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