58 - Inside news page
Bjorn Delhi and Anfisa Reztsova...
16:59 14.11.2005
In 2005, the Russian Amateur Ski Union (RLLS) celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. Over the years, amateur skiing has come a long way from almost complete oblivion to real recognition. high level- in February of this year, a prestigious tournament was held in Krasnogorsk - the World Cup of Masters, at which legendary Bjorn Delhi and . The vice-president of the World Association of Masters of cross-country skiing(WMA) and RLLS Maya Black and RLLS press secretary Svetlana Fuginfiorova.
- Maya Mikhailovna, what is RLLS, who does it unite? What are its goals and objectives?
The Russian Amateur Ski Union was established at the Founding Conference on May 12, 1990. At first it was called the Association of Amateur Ski Clubs, and then in 1993 it was renamed RLLS. The Russian Amateur Ski Union was created to unite amateur skiers. Previously, we were called "middle and older age", even earlier - "veterans". Now the RLLS unites really amateur skiers. The main goal of the RLLS is to introduce people to skiing, and not only to introduce, but to extend longevity in sports, because many of our strongest skiers are former professionals, masters of sports, masters of sports international class. But now we have at the championship of Russia and completely young athletes– The youngest member of the RLLS is 14 years old.
- And the oldest?
- Vladimir Nikolaevich Arseniev, War veteran. This is the 12th age group - born in 1916, that is, he is 89 years old.
- Tell us more about the history of the creation and the stages of the formation of the RLLS.
Of course, the RLLS did not arise from scratch. We had about the same development as in Europe, in America. In the 70s, there was a moment of revitalization of amateur sports in the world. In our country, this interest was caused by the fact that age restrictions were introduced in professional sports - up to 23 years old, guys could be in the national team, compete at international level competitions. Then they were out of work, and there was a lot of strength left. Marathon runners, for example, only reach their peak by the age of 30. Of course, they continued to compete with pleasure. So spontaneously, exclusively on enthusiasm, clubs of amateurs began to arise. The first ones are in Moscow and Sverdlovsk. Recently, the Sverdlovsk Regional Amateur Ski Union, the strongest in Russia, celebrated its 25th anniversary.
- What is the structure of the RLLS now?
The governing body is the Executive Committee. There is a president and three vice presidents. All vice-presidents are representatives of different cities of Russia. The Executive Committee includes the strongest regions of the country where skiing is developed. In total we have more than 50 regional branches and clubs. Every year a calendar is made up by analogy with the Ski Racing Federation. There are over 15 events on the calendar. The Executive Committee meets twice a year to discuss plans for the future, changes in the rules. That is, we are a serious public organization.
- How is the RLLS working with the regions?
Thanks to the RLLS, the regions no longer stew in their own juice. Of course, competitions in the regions have been and are being held at the level of club championships. Now the situation in the country is such that mass starts, even if they are included in the city calendar, are carried out by enthusiasts, that is, our people. To be honest, sports officials are not up to these competitions. We, of course, do not put cars on the podium for a draw. At best, the winners receive a medal and a diploma, that is, it is exclusively sports direction, we hold competitions, and there are no mass runs. There are people who want to compete here. Therefore, the participants are divided into five-year age categories. This is very cool, because a person competes with his peers. For example, roller skaters have larger age groups. For example, 40 and older. And such gaps immediately reduce the interest in fighting. After all, it is clear that it is difficult for a man of fifty to fight with a man of forty. And a 60-year-old will not go to compete with a fifty-year-old. Our five-year plans have already been confirmed by life not only here, but also abroad. This year we have created a 12th age group - 85 and older.
- How many people are included in it?
There were three participants from this group at the Masters World Cup.
Svetlana Fuginfiorova : One of them - grandfather from Canada - was 90 years old! And the Italian Carlo Ferrari is 88 years old, so he completed a 20 km marathon, and when he was awarded, he jumped onto the podium!
- How does RLLS interact with state and public organizations?
-Maya Black: Of course, we are trying to interact with them. Recent years have seen clear progress. We have excellent relations with the Russian Ski Racing Federation. We are officially collective members, that is, we pay a fee, and our president is present at all meetings of the Federation, as he is a member of the presidium of the Russian Ski Racing Federation. Two of our Executive Committee members are members of the Federation Executive Committee. As for communication with government agencies, we have constant communication with sports committees. Now, through the Ski Racing Federation, we have adopted the following formula: we send our calendar to the Ski Racing Federation, and they send it out to sports committees. But, unfortunately, for sports committees, amateur sports are in last place.
Therefore, we constantly say at all meetings that it is necessary to create amateur clubs. What is needed is an independent legal cell that would have its own checking account so that it could find sponsors and somehow live. There are regions where skiing is in last place, even in Siberia. Schools are closing, and this phenomenon is very common and sad. The coaches are leaving. There is a certain decline. But other regions are on the rise. A positive shift occurred during the preparation for the Masters World Cup. We seriously showed up in Rossport. Received support from, he was at the opening of the competition in Krasnogorsk. We are included in the International Calendar federal agency on physical education and sports. It was difficult, but we were able to do it.
- How is the calendar of domestic competitions prepared?
We start preparing it in the spring. In June, after the end of the season, the Executive Committee meets, where we approve it. Previously, we held territorial cups, but now we keep up with the times and this year we are holding competitions in federal districts. Take part Central federal district, Siberian Federal District, Ural Federal District, Volga Federal District. This year, for the first time, the championship of the Far Eastern Federal District. Kamchatka came up with this initiative, it is very strong club. These are regional launches. Then the championship of Russia, the Cup of Russia among amateur clubs takes place. In 2006 the championship of Russia will be in Togliatti, and the Cup of Russia in Yekaterinburg. The season starts in January with city championships, followed by district championships. The season ends with the holiday of the North in Murmansk. For the fifth year we have been playing the RLLS mara championship
AMATEUR SKIING
IN THE WORLD:
The official birth of amateur skiing can be considered the beginning of the 80s of the last century, when in 1982 a ski international association masters (as amateur athletes are called abroad). This association, abbreviated as WMA (World Masters Association, see below). http://www.world-masters-xc-skiing.ch/mambo/ ), annually holds the World Championship (WCH) among the masters, which in recent years has been gathering about one and a half thousand ski athletes from 25-30 countries of the world. Competitions are held at three distances ranging from 5 to 45 km in accordance with the age of classical and free styles (optional) and in relay races national teams in age groups from 30 years with an interval of 5 years. Only the highest age group does not have an upper bar - 85 years and older.
There are a number of other international organizations holding competitions among amateur skiers. Almost all 19 ski marathons of the Worldloppet series determine the winners and prize-winners, not only in absolute category but also in amateur age groups. In 2010, the first Winter (Olympic) Games of Masters took place, one of the six types of which was cross-country skiing (Slovenia, Pokljuka), see http://www.imga.ch.
IN RUSSIA:
Russia joined this amateur movement in 1990, when the Russian Amateur Ski Union (RLLS, see below) was organized. http://rlls.ru/ ). By the mid-2000s, 52 regional amateur ski unions appeared in Russia, which are branches of the RLLS, about 150 ski clubs were created. In general, 50-60 thousand ski lovers all over Russia are involved in the movement. Thanks to this fairly developed organizational structure, dozens of municipal and regional competitions among amateur skiers are held annually in the country. The RLLS competition calendar consists of zonal championships (championships of Moscow and the Moscow region, the Center of the Russian Federation, the North-West of the Russian Federation, the Volga region and the Urals, Siberia and the Far East) and the final competitions - the Championship and the Cup of the Russian Federation, and the Championship of Russia (ChR) gathers about 500 athletes from different regions of our country. Since 1997, for successful performances at the World Championships and the Czech Republic, the honorary title "Master of Sports of the RLLS" has been awarded with a certificate and a badge. By 2010, this title was awarded to 330 athletes. RLLS has been cooperating with WMA since 1990 and, as component WMA, is responsible for the formation of the Russian sports delegation to the World Cup. In recent years, the Russian delegation to the World Cup is one of the largest (usually 150-200 people) and the most successful in terms of the number of medals won.
IN THE SAMARA REGION:
In the Samara region, amateur skiing has been developing since the beginning of the 90s of the last century, when competitions with the participation of amateur skiers began to be held. At first, these were the starts of the multi-stage cup of the amateur sports club Zenit in Samara, the AvtoVAZ cup in Togliatti, a few official regional-scale starts (for the prizes of the Volga Commune, trade union races). In the 1995-1996 season. The Samara City Ski Racing Federation (Chairman Shchennikov S.N.) made an important decision for the development of Samara skiing to hold all city competitions with the participation of amateur skiers with a gradation by age groups. An essential step towards the development of amateur skiing in the Samara region was the creation of the Samara city ski club (the first chairman Polyanin V.P.) and the ski club of Togliatti AvtoVAZ (the first chairman Kolotukhin M.I.). These clubs became part of the RLLS as regional branches. Their representatives in different years were members of the RLSS Executive Committee (Solovov A.V., Lyubchenko Yu.P., Kovrizhnykh V.P.). The active position of these clubs, primarily the AvtoVAZ sports club, made it possible to hold a number of championships of the Volga region and the final championships of Russia among amateur skiers on their basis. In recent years, he has been actively organizing, including the organization of competitions, the sports club of the city of Novokuibyshevsk (Chairman Chudaev V.). By the mid-2000s, any Samara amateur skier had the opportunity to score at least 20 starts per season, without even leaving the region.
By 2012, the total number of amateur skiers actively training and regularly participating in competitions in the Samara region (Samara, Togliatti, Zhigulevsk, Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Kinel, Sergievsk) reached about 250 people. And this number is constantly growing, and not only due to young riders coming from professional sports, but also at the expense of people who joined ski racing already in adulthood. At the top of this pyramid there are winners, prize-winners and participants of World and Russian Championships, Worldloppet and Russialoppet marathons, other international and Russian competitions.