Over the past 5 years, the Sakhalin region has entered the top 30 regions in terms of the number of sports facilities

At the recent XI International Forum “Russia is a Sports Power” in Perm, Vladimir Putin supported the initiative to declare 2024 the Year of Sports. The President of the Russian Federation has repeatedly emphasized the importance of popularizing a healthy lifestyle and developing sports infrastructure in the country to improve the quality of life of Russians. Over the past five years, the Sakhalin region has achieved good results in this direction. For several years now, the island region has become a leader in the number of residents systematically involved in physical education and sports, and is among the top 30 regions in terms of the provision of sports facilities. Since 2019, two dozen large and small sports facilities have been built on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, some of them were built thanks to the national project “Demography”, which is being implemented in Russia on the initiative of the head of state. Read more in the material “MK on Sakhalin”.

Stadiums, sports and recreation centers, complexes

In the Sakhalin region, 63% of residents regularly engage in sports and physical education—that’s about 280 thousand people. At the same time, the region’s indicator significantly exceeds the Russian average, which is 53%. By 2030, the number of Russians should grow to 93 million people – this is the goal set by Vladimir Putin at the XI International Forum “Russia – a Sports Power”.

“We will pay special attention to mass sports. Our goal is to involve 70% of Russian citizens in systematic sports by 2030. That is, to make sport a norm of life for 93 million people, of all ages and health groups,” the president said.

The island region is paying increased attention to the creation and modernization of sports infrastructure so that even more residents can join a healthy and active lifestyle. Over the past five years, dozens of sports facilities have been built and put into operation in the region, including within the framework of the federal project “Sport is the norm of life” of the national project “Demography”. These are the Triumph ski and biathlon complex, a stadium in Tomari, hockey courts in Kurilsk and the village of Kostromskoye, a universal training sports complex with an ice arena at the Crystal sports school, the AquaCity water sports complex, sports and recreation complexes with a swimming pool in Severo- Kurilsk and Aniva, stadium and sports complex in Gornozavodsk, sports complex in Kholmsk, gym in Shakhtersk, K-40 springboard in Uglegorsk, open sports grounds in Bykovo, Dolinsk, Smirnykh and Tymovsky, stadium in Poronaysk, roller ski track in the village of Vostok, sports complex in Ilyinsky .

Another long-awaited event will soon take place – a new martial arts center will open in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the reconstruction of a sports school for oriental martial arts will be completed.

“Thanks to him, the area of ​​the institution has tripled, and the sports area has doubled. We now have four gyms, men’s and women’s locker rooms for athletes and coaches, a medical office and much more. I am sure that in the new comfortable conditions our employees and students will feel at home,” said Leonid Kim, director of the sports school of oriental martial arts, president of the Sakhalin Karate Federation.

According to the chairman of the Voskhod wrestling sports club and the president of the regional Russian wrestling federation, Evgeniy Ivanov, thanks to the construction of a water sports center, an athletics arena, a martial arts palace and other facilities, residents of the region have more opportunities for sports.

“There are many types of sports, new ones are constantly appearing, and existing sports facilities are becoming insufficient. In my opinion, it is necessary to build more recreational centers and specialized sports facilities like the Martial Arts Palace. I think that we could use a center for national sports. After the opening of the SakhalinTech campus, I would like it to have a sports department, and for the region’s enterprises, including new ones, to open gyms and clubs for various sports. In general, the Sakhalin region is moving in the right sports direction, and this makes me happy,” shared Evgeny Ivanov.

New large sports facilities make it possible to open additional children’s and youth sections in the region. Thus, in the Sakhalin region, about 87 thousand children and teenagers already attend them, and in the coming years the number of children interested in sports will only grow.

Equipment and “smart” sites

Also, as part of the “Sport is the norm of life” project, institutions are equipped with modern equipment and sports equipment. For example, in 2022, the Crystal sports school received more than 20 pieces of equipment and technology: an ice-filling machine, hockey boards and goals, an ice trimming machine, a target for practicing shots on goal, as well as a set of interactive simulators for practicing receiving and passing the puck, attacks , jumping, sliding, developing reaction speed, accuracy and throwing speed.

“It’s very good that there are additional places to practice stick and puck handling. The simulators are good, they develop reaction speed, thinking, and throwing accuracy. We practice with this equipment more actively during pre-season training camps, which helps improve the players’ skills and strengthen them,” said Alexander Skvortsov, senior ice hockey coach at the Kristall School.

Many sports facilities in the island region are being built with financial support from the federal center. For example, in August 2022, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko visited the Sakhalin region. He ordered the construction of four “smart” sports grounds and a large modular hall in Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Uglegorsky and Kholmsky districts. Over 160 million rubles were allocated for this.

According to the Minister of Sports of the Sakhalin Region Artem Podshivalov, in parallel with the construction of new facilities in the region, overhauls and modernization of existing sports facilities are being carried out. Among the already reconstructed facilities are stadiums in Uglegorsk and the village of Vostok, as well as the SSHOR winter sports jumps in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

“Sports infrastructure is rapidly developing in the Sakhalin region. In recent years, dozens of sports facilities have appeared in the region, even in remote areas. Accordingly, the number of people involved in physical education has increased significantly. This is good news. It is no coincidence that the country’s President Vladimir Putin often notes that Russia is a sports power. It is so, and our authorities are doing everything necessary to ensure that the Sakhalin region continues to be the most athletic region. This year, the jumps of the Vysota complex of the SShOR winter sports in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – K-20, K-30 – were reconstructed. The K-10 springboard is about to be handed over. Now our guys can study all year round. And this will definitely have a positive impact on the results of the competition,” said Vladimir Spivakov, senior coach of the Sakhalin region ski jumping team.

From schoolchildren to professionals

To involve islanders of different ages in physical education and sports, several social projects operate in the region. For children, as part of the “Sports to School” project, training is organized in cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding, skating, swimming, sambo, kyokushin, parachuting and other sports. Today, about 21 thousand young Sakhalin and Kuril residents are involved in sports under such a program.

For representatives of the older generation, the Sakhalin Longevity project has been implemented since 2019. It includes free classes in swimming pools, gyms, hockey, table tennis, Nordic walking and other sports. More than 40 thousand Sakhalin and Kuril residents have already taken advantage of this opportunity.

“Russia is a sports power that pays great attention to the development of both mass and professional sports. In our region, we provide maximum opportunities for athletes to participate in all necessary events. After all, it is competitions that allow you to improve and move to a new stage. There is an opportunity to take high places in more prestigious competitions, win medals and thereby raise the prestige and reputation for the entire region,” noted Artem Podshivalov.

Supporting professional athletes is another important area in the work of regional authorities. In addition to creating conditions for comfortable training, their individual needs are also taken into account. For example, last year, Olga Averkina, Master of Sports of Russia in bullet shooting, acquired a new Walter LG400-E Monotec rifle from the Sakhalin Region Sports Training Center.

“This is a new generation rifle, which has more accurate accuracy and stable operation of the gearbox, which significantly affects the results in bullet shooting. Thanks to updating my sports equipment, I almost immediately improved my results in competitions. “I won three gold medals at the Far East championship, won the National Cup and was selected for the Russian national sports team for 2024,” the athlete shared.

Let us note that the development of mass sports in Russia is one of the state priorities. Vladimir Putin instructed to make physical education and sports as accessible as possible for Russians, regardless of their age, profession, place of residence and health limitations. According to the program “Development of Physical Culture and Sports” approved by the president, by 2030 the number of Russians involved in physical education should increase from 50% to 70%. The creation of a developed and modern infrastructure will allow us to raise new sports stars and make Russia one of the centers of international competitions. Several major sporting events will take place next year. Thus, in June Kazan will host the BRICS games, and in September the World Friendship Games will be held in Yekaterinburg and Moscow.