The Alexey Kozlov Winter Sports Festival took place in Tobolsk
6 april 2023
The festival is named after Alexey Kozlov, the man who was the pioneer of downhill skiing and snowboarding in Tobolsk and who rallied local athletes around his love of the sport and in 2004 founded YETI, a public movement / sports club. The festival was organized with the support of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program.
The first 2 weeks of the festival were dedicated to competitions of downhill skiers and snowboarders that attracted more than 100 competitors, with the youngest of them being 7 years old, and the oldest, 70. That's what makes this tournament so valuable as it is a festival for all fans of downhill skiing and snowboarding, open to athletes of all ages. It is not unusual for people representing 3 generations within a single family to take part in the competitions. All these people are sports aficionados and lovers of active living!
One of the core objectives of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program in the field of sports is to create an enabling environment and provide opportunities for all who are interested in promoting children's and youths’ sports. By developing the necessary infrastructure, by sponsoring trips to away tournaments and by organizing local events here we are helping our athletes develop their professional skills as a way of not only strengthening their competitive position in the sports arena, but also instilling healthy habits in our city's youth, Artur Tereshchenkov, a leading specialist with ZapSibNeftekhim's Department of Government Relations and Socio-Economic Projects, noted.
The festival fielded its own true heroes in Maria Vasiltsova and Ekaterina Lokteva-Zagorskaya, members of the nation’s Olympic team, winners of national and European championships, and of the World Cup, who offered a series of really packed and fast-paced master classes at the gym, at the Maximum skate park, and on the Tobol stadium’s pump track. These classes were attended by 27 pupils of Children's and Youths’ Sports School No. 2, aged between 8 and 17.
At every master class we have given, we saw that the eyes of all these children were sparkling! They took in enthusiastically everything we had to share with them. They demonstrated diligence and dedication, trying hard to perform all the exercises to the best of their ability. It is truly unique that in as small a town as this, there is such a big team, packed with talented and strong kids who are ready to conquer their summits! It was a very productive week that will hopefully help these kids with their development, because we shared a full training cycle and our professional tips and secrets with them, while they were really working their hardest at every training session, Maria Vasiltsova, a member of the Russian Olympic team, a national and European champion, and a winner of the World Cup, noted.
Those seven days of intensive training really gave our snowboarders a powerful boost! Our champions were delighted to see how motivated our athletes were, while the kids were clearly 100% committed. They practiced a lot, learned new techniques and tried them in action. I would like to thank all the participants for not missing a single training session and for being really involved in the process. Your shining eyes were our best reward! Svetlana Chipizubova, director of the YETI sports club, commented.