At the end of October, the Volga region Academy of sports together with the Russian Union of martial arts and sports federations of the Republic in seven sports will hold all-Russian student games of martial arts. With the support of the Federal Agency for youth Affairs, the Academy will gather on its base representatives of such popular youth areas as Aikido, karate, kickboxing, Kyokushinkai, Sambo, Thai Boxing and Taekwondo-VTF from all over the Volga region. On the eve of the Festival, representatives of the organizing Committee shared their thoughts, expectations from the sports festival and news about the latest preparations with us. 
    "The most difficult thing for the judge is the emotional component, – says the chief referee of the Festival Viktor Kopyrin.  - The judge shouldn't have it. I always teach everyone to throw emotions away. In sports, there is no place for subjective assessments based on preferences, not facts and figures. If we talk about the venue of the upcoming Festival, we like the venue – high ceilings, plenty of space and a lot of air. This is very important, because athletes often suffocate during the fight, and on the basis of the Academy they will breathe well even with a large number of fans gathered."
    "Fifteen people will represent the Volga region Academy in kickboxing, - comments ilnaz Saifullin, the head of the organizing Committee for kickboxing. - We consider the festival of martial arts among representatives of the Volga region as a stage of preparation for the Spartakiad of universities of the Republic of Tatarstan, which in our mind will be held in November. Kickboxing at the festival will be presented in two directions:" full-contact "and"K-1". Hope in all directions, where will the selection process, we go through it, and in the future will embark on the final stage in Moscow to participate in most of the balance. I expect great interest from students and healthy competition between the participants of the Festival! We will be glad to guests and opportunities to fight, to show ourselves!»
    "Preparations for the festival are in full swing, - says the head of the Executive Committee of the rsbi branch in the Republic of Tatarstan Alexander Darenkov. – However, it is a few know. But this is not a difficulty, but rather a stage of development, because the Festival is held for the first time. But there are responses, which means that there is interest. The fact that the competition will be held at a high level, there is no doubt, because its co-organizer was the Volga Academy of sports, which has not only a great platform, but also a wealth of experience in the competition. Participants of the Festival will go home and talk about the magnificent base of the Volga Academy and an interesting event in the world of martial arts. Our task is to raise the status of the tournament in the eyes of its potential participants by joint efforts of the Academy and the Russian Union of Martial Arts. I think that in the future the Festival will become traditional, and the participants will be no less than at the Olympics".
     The first festival of martial Arts will be held on the basis of the Volga Academy of sports and tourism from 26 to 28 October. It will bring together seven sports that will be presented by participants from all over the Volga Federal district. Students of Russian universities under the age of 25 can take part in the Festival.