Winter Spartakiada Games open in Yekaterinburg
RELEASE
Release
On March 2 the Uralochka competitive sports center of Yekaterinburg hosted a festive opening of Gazprom's Winter Spartakiada Games.
The ceremony was introduced with a theatrical show about the history of Yekaterinburg, capital of the Middle Urals. After the show, 20 adult and 11 children's teams from 22 Gazprom's subsidiaries took part in a festive parade.
Sergey Khomyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee greeted sportsmen, guests and supporters with a welcome speech. He congratulated everyone with the competitions opening and noted: “It is a special time for our Spartakiada Games. Just days ago we watched the Sochi Olympics fade away – the Games that brought fame to the national sport and showed how strong and solid Russia could be. Let the best sportsmen win the Spartakiada Games of Gazprom!”
Athletes and numerous guests cheered biathlon sportsman Anton Shipulin, Champion of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and Russia's Honored Master of Sports. Addressing the audience, Anton Shipulin expressed his gratitude to Gazprom for supporting and promoting sports activities and wished the Spartakiada athletes impressive achievements and good luck.
David Gaidt, Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Yekaterinburg had the honor to open Gazprom's Winter Spartakiada Games.
Background
Yekaterinburg will host Gazprom's Winter Spartakiada Games from March 1 to 8. The one-week competition will be spread across eight Yekaterinburg sports grounds, where the athletes will be fighting for over a hundred medals in six sports. Adults will compete in cross-country skiing, polyathlon, futsal, table tennis and rifle & pistol shooting. The Children's Winter Spartakiada Games will include cross-country skiing, ice hockey, table tennis and futsal.
Gazprom annually holds Winter and Summer Spartakiada Games. The events take place in cities of Gazprom's subsidiaries. The Spartakiada Games are held for employees of Gazprom's subsidiaries and organizations, as well as for children active in sports clubs of Gazprom's subsidiaries. Men and women over 20 years of age are permitted to compete in senior Spartakiada Games. Moreover, the future rivals are expected to have at least one year employment with Gazprom, be properly trained and have no medical restrictions.
The main aims of Gazprom's Spartakiada Games are establishing a healthy lifestyle, strengthening the physical and intellectual abilities of Gazprom's employees and their children, maintaining sports traditions and bounds, as well as sharing the experience in physical training and mass sports.
Provision 'On Spartakiada Games among Gazprom's Subsidiaries and Organizations' contains criteria that limit the abilities of sportsmen being trained as professionals to compete in the corporate sport events, i.e. members of Russian national teams, participants of zonal competitions, official national, European and world tournaments and championships as well as the Olympic Games.