Ready for the winter festival
For the third year in a row, the GTO winter festival provides sport aficionados with a chance to test their strength and find out more about their physical abilities.
The municipal stages of the festival took place in the end of January in all regions of Russia. They will last till the end of March, and in the most remote areas with severe weather conditions they will be under way till April.
Work communities, physical culture and sports organizations, media representatives, pupils and pensioners participated in the event.
The municipal stage of the festival in Saint Petersburg was opened by the 2012 Summer Olympics champion Natalya Antyukh, who also led the warm-up training, assessed the exhibition of the standing long jump and passed the test herself with a result of 230 cm.
"Children want to achieve a GTO pin of excellence, it's an honour for them. I heard myself kids sharing with each other their emotions about it. It is great to see how people start enjoying physical activities and sport," said Natalya Antyukh.
In the Sakhalin Oblast, advanced sport enthusiasts participated in skiing competitions in the 2, 3, and 5km. Everyone of them knew what time to aim for to get a GTO pin thanks to the information stand set on the track.
"Ski races were held for 3 days. All conditions are provided in the city for a comfortable practice of the sport, there are tracks and a free equipment rental. To succeed at the test you will certainly need to train for it, it's virtually impossible to finish the ski track without a training," summed up an instructor of the sports school of Yuzhnosakhalinsk.
"It is wonderful that the GTO complex involves people in sport and healthy lifestyle. I participated as well. It was challenging and rewarding at the same time. Here is a piece of advice I want to give: practice sport regularly, take part in the GTO complex, and you will feel better and more confident," said a participant of the festival.
The municipal stages wrapped up already in some regions, and they are still taking place in the Komi Republic, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen Oblast.
It is remarkable that relatives and friends of the participants always cheer for them from the stands. Mariia from the Khabarovsk Krai shared her feelings: "I've been watching my husband now and I've made up my mind to participate as well. For now I'm just supporting him, he's doing his best to get a gold pin!"
The GTO festival movement is gaining momentum across the country. The winter festival takes place in January-April, and the summer one kicks off in May and lasts till August.
The final event among the students will take place in October in the International Children's Center Artek in Crimea. It is expected to bring together around 700 children aged from 11 to 15 from all members of the Russian Federation.
"This April we are also holding the first GTO festival among the work communities of Sochi and students of our country. The GTO festival is scheduled on 20 September and will be dedicated to the International Day of University Sport. We are also planning to host the family festivals and the events for eldery people. We are already working on it.
Thus, the GTO festival movement is going to become a year-round event. We are sure that as a result we will have a bigger number of participants and will involve more people in grass roots sports," said Head of the GTO Department of the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Eroshov.