SPORTS
Development of mass physical training and sports is one of the foreground directions of social politics in the Yaroslavl Region. Programs of development of sports and technical facilities in cities and districts of the region, involvement in regular sport and physical exercises of as many people of different categories of population as possible are being successfully realized. Mass sports actively develop, the region organizes different sports event: skiing contests, sport contests for non-professionals, days of healthy life-style with participation of people of different age.
Active position of the Governor Sergey Vakhrukov in these issues helps the region not only to keep and strengthen existing sport infrastructure, but also to acquire additional possibilities for its development and improvement.
During recent years an active reconstruction of sports objects, construction of new health and physical culture complexes takes place in Yaroslavl and municipal districts of the region. Stadiums, sport complexes and swimming pools are becoming indeed centers of leisure and sport now, where training of sport resources is successfully combined with organization of fitness trainings of people who want to exercise for health.
About 1000 mass sport events in 78 kinds of sport take place in the city of Yaroslavl every year.
Yaroslavl disposes of 739 sport constructions, among them 6 stadiums, 3 sport palaces, 320 plane sport facilities, 160 gyms, 7 swimming pools, 11 skiing lodges, 25 shooting galleries, 28 hockey courts.
233 physical culture and sport groups exist in enterprises, organizations and educational institutions. 56,036 people attend different physical culture groups and sport sections. In this sphere work 1,258 permanent employees, among them 874 people with higher education.
Children sport schools (28) and sports and health centers play an important role in physical culture system. 23,785 children attend these schools.
Total number of sport facilities in the Yaroslavl Region is about 2 thousands, more than 50 thousand people can do sport in them simultaneously. Number of permanent employees for the end of the 2005 is 2,381 people.
PROFESSIONAL SPORT TEAMS
The most famous of Yaroslavl sport teams, that represent the region in different sport events, are hockey club “Lokomotiv”, football club “Shinnik”, volleyball club “Neftyanik”, female volleyball team “Yaroslavna-TMZ”, handball team “Yaroslavna”.
Hockey Club “Lokomotiv”
In recent years this Yaroslavl club is by right considered to be pride of the city and the region. Three times the team became champion of Russia. First it won the championship in 1997 (then the club was named “Torpedo”), and then it became champion two more times successively in 2002 and 2003. This was for the first time in the history of the Russian hockey. Such famous masters as Andrey Kovalenko, Vyacheslav Butsaev and Aleksey Yashin performed as members of this club.
“Lokomotiv” players often take part in national, junior and other combined teams of Russia; they become champions and prizewinners of different championships of the World, Olympic Games and other international tournaments. Dmitriy Krasotkin, who has been the captain of the team for many years, is a record-holder of the Super League in number of games played for the Yaroslavl club.
“Lokomotiv” has become the first club in Russia, who offered a foreign specialist to be club’s coach. And the club has counted well. Under the leadership of Czech coach Vladimir Vuytek Yaroslavl players has twice won golden medals.
Chief Coach of the Hockey Club “Lokomotiv” Paul Gardner
Born on March 5, 1956, Canada Province Ontario.
From 1976 to 1986 was a central forward in the clubs of National Hockey League:
“Colorado”, “Toronto”, “Pittsburgh”, “Washington” and “Buffalo” – he participated in 463 matches, has got 410 points (203+207).
In 1986 he began his career as a coach: was a chief coach in the American Hockey League club “Newmarket Saints”, coach assistant in “Baltimore Skipjacks”, “Portland Pirates” (AHL) and “Nashville Predators” (NHL).
“Arena-2000”
Construction of a new Ice palace has become the starting point of the new stage of Yaroslavl sports. The Finnish company “Skanska” became the winner among building companies contesting in the best project competition, it offered the design plan of the modern, equipped with up-to-date services and utilities complex, that met all requirements for holding international sport events. As early as in October 2002 the new sport complex hold the first hockey matches. Nowadays the Universal Culture and Sports Complex “Arena-2000 Lokomotiv” is one of the best sport complexes in Europe.
The total area of the building is 33,620 square meters. Court size is of international standards – 60x30 meters. Maximum capacity during hockey matches is 8,905 spectators, during other events – 8,795 people.
Ice arena can be transformed to provide place for basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis matches, sport dances, gymnastics, box, weightlifting, equestrian events – it has possibility of changing different surfaces.
Reequipment takes only a day and a half; this allows preparing the main arena of the Palace for holding of concerts, circus performance, and exhibitions in short time periods.
Sportsmen and coaches have comfortable conditions for work and trainings in the “Arena”. Besides ice arena, the complex provides comfortable changing rooms with toilet and shower rooms, facilities for referees, medical personnel and team doctors, coaches and 3 massage rooms. Fitness room is available. A convenient media-hall for 20 places provides necessary facilities for conducting negotiations.
“Arena-2000” is designed not only for professional sportsmen, every Yaroslavl dweller and guest of the city can come here and feel himself a champion on the ice, where teams contend for hockey cups. The Arena is available all the year round, everyone can visit it, hire skates and skate on the champion’s skate-ring. Also bowling and billiards are at the disposal of sports adherents.
Football Club “Shinnik”
The club was founded in 1957. For 50 years the team has ascended from the second and first football leagues to the Russian Football Premier League. The best result of “Shinnik” is the fourth place in fixture list in 1997. The next year the team got the right to play in European championships. Certainly football fans remember games of “Shinnik” with the champion of the Spanish football “Valencia” club. On the opponent’s field “Shinnik” lost the game, but on its home stadium the club won the game with the score 1:0.
In 2006 the Governor of the Yaroslavl Region Anatoly Lisitsyn has become president of the club, and the team has got necessary financial and moral support. Struggle for championship is the main task for “Shinnik” on the threshold of the 1000-year anniversary of Yaroslavl. We hope that soon on the stadium “Shinnik” we will be able to watch matches of the Football Champion League with participation of the favorite team.
Center for Skiing and Recreation “Demino”
This skiing center near Rybinsk began its work in 1975. Beautiful and environmentally clean area – pine and mixed forest, hilly plain with smooth elevation changes – became the basis of stadium creation. In 1979 the Championship of the USSR with such famous ski champions of the country participating as Sergey Savelyev, Evgeniy Belyaev, Raisa Smetanina took place here. Since 1978 the Children Sports School № 4 of winter sports exists on the territory of the Center “Demino”. In 2001 “Demino” carried out the Cup of Russia in skiing, a stage of the Cup of Russia in archery biathlon, in March 2002 the Championship of Russia in skiing among young people took place here.
In January 2003 under the patronage of the Governor Anatoly Ivanovich Lisitsyn the Championship of Russia in skiing took place in the Center for Skiing and Recreation “Demino”.
In January 2007, a stage in the World Cup ski competition took place in “Demino”, with participation of the best sportsmen of the world.
Development of the International Center for Skiing and Recreation “Demino” provides the following:
1. Creation of a contemporary center for training sportsmen and a site for international competition in ski racing and biathlon;
2. Creation of a tourist recreational center on a European level of quality to meet the needs of people of Yaroslavl and the neighbouring regions for active recreation and relaxation
Besides the existing infrastructure (3,75 kilometer ski track and 5, 10 and 15 kilometer ski coursed, ski lodge, spectator stands, Press Center building, restaurant and 24 cottages) various stages of the project “Demino” will include system of creation of artificial snow cover, construction of a biathlon shooting-ground, springboards, two cottage communities, a hotel for sportsmen and tourists, a rental center of sports equipment, a sport and fitness center, and a ski slope.
Demino was chosen as a place for the FIS World Cup in winter season of 2007 http://www.demino.com/worldcup/en