Eight Pridnestrovian schoolchildren – six volleyball players and two tennis players – spent the first week of June in Moscow, representing the republic at the VIII World Games of Young Compatriots. The young people were accompanied by the team leader, coach-teacher of the Bendery sports school for children and youth of the Olympic reserve No. 2 Kristina Lobanova. The guys and their mentor shared their impressions with the President today. The meeting at the presidential executive office was initiated by Vadim Krasnoselsky. The PMR President invited advisor Pavel Prokudin, who oversees the sports department, and director of the Dubossary table tennis school Valery Grosul to the conversation.
The conversation was preceded by an award ceremony. Vadim Krasnoselsky presented Valery Grosul with the Order “For Merit in the Development of Sports in the PMR”. The President emphasized that the award recognized half a century of mentoring work, and congratulated Valery Grosul on his birthday, which he celebrated the day before.
The interlocutors said that the Dubossary table tennis school is very strong and has a rich history. The Olympic training center for the USSR national team functioned on its base some time ago. They haven’t lowered the bar to this day. More than three hundred young sportsmen train at this site. The students adequately represent the republic at international competitions. Pridnestrovian tennis players brought four gold medals from the Moscow games.
Volleyball players have something to strive for. This was their first time participating in a mix competition, where a mixed team of four players entered the court. The ninth place in the standings this time. They say they carefully watched the more experienced teams. There was a proposal to develop this type of volleyball in schools. This system is democratic – it requires fewer players (teams play 4 on 4), allows girls and boys to train and compete at the same time, the rules of the game are simpler than in classic volleyball. The idea came up to hold school competitions similar to the Leather Ball football tournament. Another advantage is that it is all-season – you can play both on open volleyball courts and in gyms.
Discussing future plans, they talked about preparations for the autumn trip to Moscow for the International School Sports Festival. The Pridnestrovian team made a bright debut last year and is now seriously preparing for new starts.
They talked not only about sports in the course of the meeting with the President. The young people talked about the rich cultural program of the trip, meeting foreign schoolchildren, and plans for the future.
The President congratulated the youth on their successful competitive activities, thanked them for representing the country with dignity, and wished them new victories.
