The opening ceremony of the XII All-Russian Student Sports Festival took place today in Ulyanovsk. The sporting event is held as part of the Year of University Sport.
"This is not the first time Ulyanovsk region hosts such competitions of such level. I would like to thank management of the Ministry of Sports of Russia and the Russian Student Sports Union for the confidence in our region, for the opportunity to see the best young Russian athletes perform," said Ulyanovsk Region Governor Alexey Russkikh.
Rafis Burganov, 1st Vice-President of the All-Russian Public Organization "Russian Student Sports Union", Rector of the Volga Region State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, was the guest of honour at the event.
"The festival was initiated by the Russian Student Sports Union and has been held since 2009. It promotes healthy lifestyles among students and helps establish communication between participants from different regions. Our goal is for the spirit of university sports to reach every corner of our vast country. The festival's geography is vast, and perhaps only the Ulyanovsk region can boast of hosting the event for the second time. Many thanks to the leadership of the region for their support of university sports," said Rafis Burganov.
Some 500 athletes as members of national teams from 18 regions are taking part in the festival. They will compete in 11 sports: basketball 3x3, table tennis, swimming, sambo, chess, mini-football, men's and women's volleyball, multiathlon, track and field, and computer sports. The programme also includes a quiz on the Olympic and Paralympic movement, World Universiades and Russian athletes.
Today the first mini-football, table tennis, streetball and track and field competitions were held at regional sports complexes.
The competitions will continue until November 13.
According to the press service of the Governor and Government of the Ulyanovsk region
