A children's hockey tournament was held in Naberezhnye Chelny. The "White Bears", "Meridian", "Smena", and "Yunost" courtyard clubs, with children born in 2010-2011, competed for the cup.
On February 7, in a spectacular final, the "White Bears" beat "Yunost" in a penalty shootout. "Smena" won the bronze medals, and "Meridian" took fourth place. Everyone received valuable prizes: equipment, a snow blower, and equipment for ice rink maintenance.
The tournament was organized by the Charitable Foundation of City Council deputy Ruslan Nigmatulin and the "Podrostok" Youth Club Center. It was supported by business representatives: General Director of "Aktiv-NCh" Farid Safin, General Director of "Avtotekhplast" Aidar Mannanov, and Maxim Semenov, head of the "Niko.RF" company.
"Courtyard hockey, as well as children's sports in general, needs support. Whether children become athletes in the future or not is up to them. The main thing is that they have such an opportunity in Chelny," commented Ruslan Nigmatulin. "Three years ago, our company took patronage over the "Smena" rink in the 41st complex. Its condition was depressing then. We carried out repairs, replaced the lighting and boards, and brought in several KAMAZ trucks of soil to level the surface. To maintain the children's interest in training, we organized a tournament."
Deputy Director of the "Podrostok" Youth Club Center Albert Gilmanov noted the importance of such competitions. Currently, there are 14 hockey rinks in Chelny, but not all of them have coaches and teams.
"It is important that the rinks do not stand empty. Firstly, it attracts children to sports. Secondly, it popularizes hockey. Thirdly, it is a prevention of delinquency and drug use, which is also important. In this way, we distract children from the negative, they are occupied. The tournament is competitive practice, which is very necessary. Training is one thing, but children want to play. This is one of the most important conditions for the growth of athletes," he said.