I.Metshin: “The United Games by the Special Olympics rules will allow to check the convenience of our infrastructure”

More than 150 sports events in 11 sports are planned in Kazan this winter season. The main sporting event will be the United Games by the Special Olympics rules, which will bring together more than 2 thousand athletes with intellectual disabilities from all over Russia in January. “This is an important event for us, we will do everything possible to ensure that sports competitions are held at a high level,”- Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, said at the Business Monday meeting.

The United Games by the Special Olympics rules will comprise competitions in 6 winter and 12 summer sports, which will be held at 14 modern venues. The participants of the competition will be accommodated in the Universiade Village and the Sviyaga Hills ski resort. “We are closely engaged in creating conditions for the disabled. It will be useful for us to check the convenience of our infrastructure, both sports and hospitality, by holding such a big event,”- the head of the city said. He instructed the head of the Executive Committee of the city Rustem Gafarov to inspect all the infrastructure involved in the events by the end of the year.

Linar Garipov, head of the Physical Culture and Sports Committee of the city, said that more than 800 volunteers will be involved in holding the United Games. The opening ceremony is scheduled for January 22 at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center.

Traditionally, the Golden Puck All–Russian competitions of young hockey players will take place. From January 13 to 18, a hockey tournament among the Islamic countries will be held in the capital of Tatarstan as part of KazanSummit. From February 1 to 4, the third Friendship Cup – Duslyk annual interconfessional ice hockey tournament will be held, which is held on the initiative of the Kazan Diocese and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the republic of Tatarstan.

In total, 20 main ski competitions are planned in Kazan this winter. The series of prestigious races included in Russian Loppet includes the 56th Kazan Ski Marathon, in which more than 500 of Russia's best athletes will run distances of 5 km, 25 km and 50 km.

The most popular Ski Track of Russia will take place on February 11 in the Gorkinsko-Ometyevsky forest, on Gavrilova St., in the birch grove of the village of Nagorny, at the Lokomotiv stadium and at the Ski and Biathlon Complex.

The best athletes-sprinters of the country will gather at the Cup of the Mayor of Kazan in cross-country skiing Top sprint.

The open championship of Kazan in cross-country skiing in memory of the hero of Russia Sergey Ashikhmin will be held on the new track in the village of Mirny. All-Russian, republican and city competitions in figure skating and speed skating will be held on indoor and outdoor ice rinks of the city. The Kazan Winter Triathlon Championship will be held at the Central Stadium.

In addition to competitions, the Committee of Physical Culture and Sports, together with the Directorate of Parks and Squares, plans to hold master classes on skating and skiing and other sports activities in public spaces. The culmination of the season will be the third winter sports festival, which will be held in the Black Lake Park.

The Mayor of Kazan noted that many tournaments will be held in the city. “We will participate in ski competitions and hockey tournaments as well,”- the head of the city said in conclusion.