Only One Professional Team for Skeleton and Hockey… LG to Cultivate Winter Sports Ecosystem

The reality of winter sports in South Korea is harsh. While there are athletes throwing themselves intensely onto the ice, the environment in which they can continue their sports is very poor. In the case of skeleton, there is only one professional team, the Gangwon Provincial Government, and in ice hockey as well, there are many athletes who quit their sport because they cannot find a career path after graduating from university.

The winter sports sponsorship pursued by LG Group goes beyond simple logo exposure and focuses on creating a "virtuous cycle of the ecosystem" so that athletes do not give up their sports and can continue them. This is done by expanding leagues so that athletes can play more matches and establishing a draft system to discover prospects.

"If there is no professional team, there is no job"... Winter sports athletes standing on the edge of a cliff

National ice hockey player Lee Chong-min defined the reality of Korean ice hockey as an "imbalance of opportunity." Having started at age 6 and stayed on the ice for 22 years, he said he has witnessed countless colleagues giving up their sports because they could not obtain opportunities at the gateway to turning professional after university graduation. This means that due to the low popularity of the sport, there is a lack of stages where athletes can continue to be active.

The situation in the skeleton discipline is even more desperate. Skeleton coach Jung Sophia said, "Currently, there is only one professional team, the Gangwon Provincial Government," adding, "For an athlete, a professional team is their job, so athletes not belonging to the Provincial Government are essentially the same as having no job." She also explained that due to the nature of the sport, where costs for sleds and equipment can reach tens of millions of won, it would have been difficult to even start sliding without basic equipment support.

Coach Jung reached a world-class level by overcoming extreme situations, such as suffering a concussion on overseas tracks in the past, but she emphasized that institutional support is as essential as individual passion for athletes to continue their dreams.

From inviting overseas coaches to league expansion... 'LG Hockey Dream' that doubled the athlete pool

LG has been implementing specific support measures to fill these gaps. First, to improve the skills of the 'goalie (goalkeeper)', a core position in ice hockey, they invited overseas experts such as coach Dave Rock of the London Knights in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) in Canada. They brought into the country an environment where, in the past, Korean athletes had to go to Canada themselves to learn.

The expansion of the league's foundation is also a notable achievement. The 'LG Korea Ice Hockey League', which LG and the Ice Hockey Association have been operating through long-term sponsorship for over 10 years, has dramatically widened the athlete pool. The number of registered athletes, which was around 2,000 in the past, has nearly doubled to close to 4,000 following the revitalization of the league. In particular, the scope of support, which was previously concentrated on university teams and professional teams, was expanded to include boarding (youth) athletes, laying the foundation for athlete development.

Discovering prospects through nationwide touring drafts... A 'development cycle' that will continue until 2030

The method of finding prospects is also changing. Unlike in the past, when information had to be obtained through personal connections and participation in competitions, recently, prospects from all over the country are getting opportunities to prove their skills through the 'LG FUTURE SLIDE Draft Combine'. Park Gyu-bin, a member of the sledding team at Sangji Daegwallyeong High School, said, "This combine is the first start of the prospect development stage," and "Since competitions are held nationwide, it is easier to encounter the sport and the training environment has improved."

LG's goal is not one-off sponsorship, but to create a complete 'cycle' where youth grow into adult athletes and ultimately into Olympic medalists. It is a determination to build a foundation where athletes can realize their dreams, rather than simply leaving a corporate logo. LG plans to continue this winter sports development project until 2030.

Source: original video (YouTube)