Between 1 and 7 November, the Spartakiad of the union states, Russia and Belarus, were held in Gomel. Over 200 athletes took part in sport competitions. According to the results of the national superfinal of the championship of the Association of Student Sports Clubs of Russia, our students became participants of the Spartakiad, and the team included eight tennis players and eight badminton players. Evgeny Solovyov and Yevgenia Kozyreva, teachers from the Department of Physical Education and Sports, helped the sportsmen to train for the competition.
Maxim Kulinchenko, a student of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Informatics, and Mechanics, took the hard-won first place in individual table tennis competitions.
“The atmosphere at the competitions was wonderful. I met a lot of new people and enjoyed myself greatly. The Spartakiad was well-organised: the athletes were provided with everything they needed and there were daily excursions to see the sights of Gomel. The competition attracted the strongest athletes, including the best university players as well as masters of sports and members of the junior national teams. When I found out the level of my competitors, I thought that I would have a chance to win the prizes, and I was right. At the critical moments I was supported by other Voronezh athletes and members of other teams that represented the Russian national team, and it was really helpful. I felt energetic and motivated. I will always remember this competition!”
Mikhail Kartashov, a student from the Faculty of Economics, took third place in the individual badminton championship.
“The Spartakiad was interesting, and I mean both the games and the cultural education. Unfortunately, there were some complaints about the organisation and conduction of badminton competition, but I can say that the team did their best to achieve their results.”
Marina Chernikova, a student from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Informatics, and Mechanics, told us about her impressions.
“The Spartakiad was really cool for me. It was the first time that I’ve taken part in such event. It was well-organised, and the eventful programme allowed learning more about the culture of Belarus and especially Gomel. The competitions were held in a friendly atmosphere, and people supported not only the athletes of their national team, but other participants as well, and it helped a lot. I’m really glad that I had the chance to take part in the Spartakiad.”
