2013 SU Update: Future Kazan 2013 Medical Volunteers Gather for Sports Festival

KAZAN – The sports festival among Volga Federal District students majoring in medicine and pharmacy kicked off in Kazan on March 27.The festival held under the slogan ‘Physical Education and Sports – A Doctor’s Second Vocation’ is aimed at promoting sports and a healthy way of life in the lead up to the 27th Summer Universiade.

The solemn opening ceremony of the festival took place in the Central Stadium’s indoor track and field facility and saw the presence of Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan Andrey Kondratyev, Deputy Minister of Health Care of Tatarstan Rinat Zalaldinov, Rector of Kazan State Medical University (KSMU) Alexey Sozinov and Chief of Staff/Advisor to the Director General of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Larisa Sulima. In his opening speech, KSMU Rector Alexey Sozinov called upon medical students to keep in mind how prestigious their profession is and regardless of a very tight schedule to show through a personal example that sport is an important factor for staying healthy. Sports veterans – doctors and teachers ofKazanStateMedicalUniversity– were presented to the young audience as an example of a lifelong commitment to sports.

One of the highlights of the solemn opening ceremony was the presentation of the Tulpar Balloon Club; the viewers were impressed with a huge balloon with the official logo of the 27th Summer Universiade printed on its side as it floated up into the space under the dome. For her part, Larisa Sulima mentioned the important role of sports in a many-sided development of a personality, especially in the run up to the 2013 Summer Universiade inKazan.

«We take pride in the fact that the Partner University of Kazan 2013 – Kazan State Medical University – has assumed the responsibility for promoting a healthy way of life in the Republic of Tatarstan and brought top medical higher education institutions together for a joint training of medical volunteers and chaperones in the lead up to a grand sporting event due to be held in Russia», Larisa Sulima said proudly.

Students of medical universities from Saratov, Izhevsk, Ufa, Samara, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod and Orenburg assembled in Kazan for the sports festival. They all earned the right to compete in the all-Russian event after having qualified through a series of preliminary tournaments held in their home education institutions. Those who win the competitions in the capital of Tatarstan will be granted an opportunity to represent the team of the Volga Federal District in the all-Russian final of the festival.

The competitions among teams of federal students majoring in medicine and pharmacy are held in such sports as badminton, darts, table tennis, streetball (men’s and women’s), student combined events, chess, swimming, volleyball (men’s and women’s).

The would-be doctors and pharmacists promised to show through their personal examples that sport is an important factor for maintaining and enhancing human health.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate)