14.07.2015 On the prospects of ice sledge hockey in Ugra.

Today on July 14 presentation of Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” was held in Khanty-Mansiysk Territorial Committee of the Public Chamber of Ugra. The meeting was devoted to the state support of legal entities developing playing, priority sports in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra. Director of the club Valentina Sivkova presented a report on sledge hockey development.Today on July 14 presentation of Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” was held in Khanty-Mansiysk Territorial Committee of the Public Chamber of Ugra. The meeting was devoted to the state support of legal entities developing playing, priority sports in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra. Director of the club Valentina Sivkova presented a report on sledge hockey development. Sledge hockey has been developing in Ugra under the guidance of Director of the Adaptive Sports Centre Eduard Isakov and with the support of the Physical Training and Sports Department since 2009. Activities of the Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” are financed at the expense of the state programme “Development of Training and Sports in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra for 2014-2020” according to the subsidy “On paying subsidies to legal entities (except for public (municipal) institutions) developing playing, priority sports in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra”. Specialized sports centre “Ice Arena” is the main material, technical and sports base for athletes training. It was completely reconstructed for sledge hockey and meets all the requirements not only for training but also for Russian and international competitions. Powerlifters and track-and-field athletes were included in the team. And the team got through the complicated process of formation. In April of 2011 experienced coach Aleksandr Zykov, who had played at professional level, began to train the team. On February 2, 2012 Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” was officially established, Eduard Isakov became the president of the club and a month later the club had the fist success - the silver medal of the international tournament in Poland. In December of 2012 the first open sledge hockey tournament among club teams was held in Ugra for the first time. Six teams from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ugra, Moscow and Udmurtia participated in it. According to the results of the tournament our team took the third place. In 2013 “Ugra” club won the hardest final match against two-time champion of Russia the team “Pheonix” and justly became the champion of Russia. At the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi-2014 Konstantin Shikhov, Vladimir Litvinenko, Vasilii Varlakov and Nikolai Terentiev as the memebers of the national team of Russia won the silver medal of the Paralympics. In 2014 the Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” won the international tournament which took place in the USA. At the beginning of 2015 at the international tournament held in Germany between the national teams of the countries-participants the Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” was allowed taking part without ranking. Although the leading players were absent our team could take the third place. Currently Ugra team is one of the leading sledge hockey teams of Russia and bears the title of the silver medalist of the country. The team includes 21 athletes. Four of them are Merited Masters of Sports, 10 athletes bear the titles of Matsers of Sports of Russia. Now the national team of Russia includes seven athletes of the Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” who are at the same time the candidates for the members of the national team at the XII Paralympic Games in Korea. Cooperation with mass media is conducted via the official website of the Sledge Hockey Club “Ugra” in the Russian and English languages. On this website you can see the latest news on club’s matches at the competitions, preparation training activities, participation of sledge hockey players in mass cultural events. The club cooperates with regional, federal mass media which receive actual news. Social networks are actively conducted. Success and achievements are also shown on the website of the Adaptive Sports Centre of Ugra. A book “The PARAllel World” in three languages (Russian, English and German) and an information booklet transited in English were published on the theme of sledge hockey. At the present time the management of the Club allots the following tasks: participation of Ugra athletes in Russian and international tournaments among sledge hockey clubs, maximum increase of our athletes in members of the national team, improvement of the training system for sledge hockey players, organisation and holding of Russian and international hockey tournaments in the territory of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra, development of cooperation with national federations and hockey leagues of foreign countries.