2013 SU Update: Tatarstan Universities to train Athletes for 2013 Summer Universiade

KAZAN – Six higher education institutions of Tatarstan assumed the responsibility for developing university sports on the threshold of the 27th World University Summer Games in Kazan. The corresponding cooperation agreement was signed with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan on Tuesday, October 4^th.

The agreement signing ceremony took place during the session of Tatarstan’s Rector Council chaired by Rector of Kazan Federal University (KFU) Ilshat Gafurov. The event that proceeded in KFU’s Lobachevsky Research Library also saw the attendance of Rafis Burganov, Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan. In his report the Minister provided a detailed analysis of university sports development in the republic, and delivered the presentation of the FISU Flag Relay. Rafis Burganov stressed the social significance of the project purposed to consolidate Russian youth around the preparation for the 27th World University Summer Games in Kazan.

The cooperation agreement was signed by Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University,Tupolev Kazan StateTechnical University, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, TISBI University of Management, Kazan State University of Culture and Arts and Volga Region State Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism. Signing the agreement, Tatarstan’s leading universities assumed the responsibility for training student athletes in basic sports, creating conditions for strengthening students’ health through development of sports infrastructure and popularization of university sports, improving social and living conditions of promising athletes and coaches.

There are over 200,000 students studying currently in higher education institutions and specialized secondary education establishments of Kazan, the Minister said. 35.77% of students are doing sports on a regular basis and this number is increasing. There was a double increase within a four year period, but still this number is far behind the level of developed countries where the percentage of people involved in sports reaches 60-80%.

The Minister also noted that the Kazan Universiade had given a strong boost to development of national sports legislation and sports infrastructure. 16 out of 17 venues that are to be handed over to universities and institutes of Kazan are already constructed. 12 of them are put into operation and used for physical education classes, extracurricular activity and training sessions of students and educators of children and youth sports schools.

The Minister complained that university sports development was first of all held back by such factors as lack of attention to students’ physical education and university sports, disinterested attitude of physical culture teachers to extracurricular classes, limited financing for sending athletes to competitions, inadequate sports equipment. «This process must be planned, managed and conducted by a sports club in direct contact with a rector’s office, deans of faculties, a department of physical education and sports; the club must be a structural subdivision of the university. Our official strong recommendation is to open sports clubs in all higher education institutions of the republic», the Minister said.

The signed agreement must become an additional impetus for a systemized training of student-athletes for the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate – Images: Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan)