The Iraq Ski Rally is an ambitious, challenging and newsworthy event
conducted by an experienced international team of seasoned athletes and adventurers from the U.S., Great Britain and Kurdistan. In addition to appealing to Kurdish and other Middle Eastern athletes, the Ski Rally also appeals to an ever-increasing number of international tourists with a passion for sporting adventure and challenges in remote and beautiful areas of the world. The founders of the Iraq Ski Rally are looking for companies, NGOs and governments to sponsor the festival as part of their social responsibility portfolio. In doing so, they would contribute to tourism that sheds a positive light on a country filled with history, nature and culture, rather than one so closely associated with war and terrorism. A sponsorship would also empower refugee girls and boys to expand their horizons and capabilities through the sport of skiing. The Iraq Ski Rally seeks entities who wish to support it, as well as the Choman Ski Club, through:
Title Sponsorship: Financial support to help offset the cost of running the event. This includes materials, equipment, transportation and publicity. A full and detailed budget of the event is available upon request.
In-Kind Donations: Ski equipment, including skis, poles, boots, jackets, pants, helmets and other accessories.
James Wilcox: The founder of adventure travel agency. Untamed Borders, Wilcox helps provide unparalleled access to some of the world’s most interesting and inaccessible places, including Pakistan, India, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, East Africa and Afghanistan. Wilcox has guided hundreds of people to hard-to reach destinations since 2010, including Iraq, where his company arranged Iraq’s first ever ski touring trip, in addition to the first ever ski descent of Mt. Halgurd, the tallest mountain in Iraq.
Omar Hussein: An Iraqi Kurd who founded one of the first travel, tourism and logistics companies in Iraqi Kurdistan, Hussein specialises in outdoor activities in the Choman and Haj Omran regions, including hiking and skiing. He is responsible for organizing logistics and operations for the Iraqi Ski Festival and Rally in the Zagros mountains near the Iranian border. Hussein, who was born and raised in Choman, has a degree in International Relations from Salahaddin University in Erbil.
Ashley Hartz: An American International Development Professional, Hartz has worked for the United Nations, international NGOs, corporate sustainability programs and private research organizations. Hartz, an avid backcountry skier, has skied Afghanistan, Iraq and all over North America. Hartz began traveling to Iraq in 2017 and immediately saw the potential for ski touring. Since the, she has brought bags full of ski, poles, boots and other kit to help build the Choman Ski Club and its refugee program.
Jakob Fuglsang: A native of Denmark and founder of Linguista Education and Sport X, Fuglsang helps run refugee schools in Europe and education projects in the Middle East. In the Sport-X Tribe community, Fuglsang leads sport charity work in difficult and inaccessible places such as Iraq, Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria and others. Fuglsand started his ski career in Norway, but has competed and skied in countries from Scandinavia to the Middle East to Central Asia.
