Multisport Association of Russia

4th World Games TAFISA Sport for All Busan-2008

From September, 26 to October, 2 2008 in Busan (South Korea) the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games were held under the IOC and UNESCO patronage. The delegations of 73 countries were represented by 2500 participants.

The organizing committee of Russian delegation preparation and participation was headed by the Multisport Association of Russia secretary general – Alexey Kylasov. Among other members of the organizing committee there were the first vice-president Alexander Kuznetsov and the vice-president Sergey Eliseev.

Demonstration program – traditional games and native sports;
Sport program – competitions of 10 International Federations representing neo-Olympic sports.

For the first time due to the efforts of the Multisport Association of Russia the program of the TAFISA World Sport for All Games patronized by the IOC and UNESCO included three of the Russian national sports – Sambo (sport program), Kettlebell lifting and Northern Polyathlon (demonstration program). Besides, the organizers of the 5th TAFISA World Sport for All Games Siauliai-2012 agreed to include the Kettlebell Lifting in the program.

Russian delegation represented by the Multisport Association of Russia consisted of 93 persons (sportsmen – 77, officials, coaches, journalists – 16):

- Kettlebell lifting (4)
- Northern Polyathlon (6)

- Belt wrestling (2)
- Gate-ball (17)
- Muaythai (27)
- Sambo (19)
- Tango (2)

Russian sportsmen participated in 5 out of 10 contests and won 22 medals (11 gold medals, 7 silver medals, 4 bronze medals):
- Belt wrestling (2) – gold – 1, silver – 1, bronze – no
- Gate-ball (0) – no
- Muaythai (13) – gold – 3, silver – 6, bronze – 4
- Sambo (7) – gold – 7, silver – 0, bronze – 0
- Tango (0) – no

It is the best result among all the national teams. Our sportsmen did not participate in the competitions of Kite flying, Iranian wrestling Zurkhaneh, Yoga, Chinese wrestling Qigong and Lawn-bowl because of the absence of the corresponding federations in Russia.

It is known that the TAFISA World Sport for All Games have made a huge contribution to preserving and discovery of traditional games and national sports in the whole world. The first games were held in Bonn (Germany) in 1992. The host cities of the following Games were Bangkok (Thailand) - in 1996 and Hannover (Germany) – in 2000. The 5th TAFISA World Sport for All Games will take place in July 2012 in Siauliai (Lithuania).

Belt wrestling team proved to have the most effective result in comparison with other performances of Russian sportsmen. The team was represented by two sportsmen from Karachai-Cherkess and their coach Soltan Chagarov. Both athletes on the pedestal: Buzzhigit Budaev won gold medal in the weight category of 90 kg and Elyas Misirov won silver medal in the weight category of 81 kg.

Sambo is a new sport in the program of TAFISA World Sport for All Games. 62 sportsmen out of 18 countries participated in the competitions.
The All-Russian Sambo Federation president, the Multisport Association of Russia vice-president – Sergey Eliseev – took active part not only in the preparation and participation of Russian delegation but also in including sambo in the program of the Games program.

Russian team prevailed at the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games and won almost in all weight categories. In the men weight category below 68 kg Mongolian sportsman Sandzhasuren Miragkha was the best. The second prize went to Nikita Kletskov from Russia. In the rest of the weight categories our sportsmen had convincing victories. In the weight category of less than 74 kg Ilya Hlibov won the final struggle the Hungarian Lucas Boregales. And in the weigh category of less than 82 kg Rais Rahmatullin won over Ruslan Aktaev from Kazakhstan. In the weight category of less than 90 kg 25-year-old Alsim Chernoskolov got the gold medal. Evgeny Siomochkin from Bulgaria was the second.

In the final duel of martial sambo competition Stanislav Shushko prevailed over Daurne Eshiimkhanova. Our women were also distinguished at the contest. Marina Korneeva won the gold medal in the weight category under 56 kg and Olga Usoltseva was the best in the weight category under 68 kg.

Muaythai competitions were the most spectacular part of the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games according to its organizers’ opinion. International Federation of Muaythai (IFMA) decided that in the bounds of the World Games Muaythai World Championship would take place. As a result the best Muaythai wrestlers arrived at Busan and made a great show.

The final duels were broadcast for 7 hours on the Korean main channels. People who were watching the competitions at the stadium got the brightest impressions from the tension of the duels.

Representatives of 36 countries reached the final part of the competitions. Among them there were Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Sweden, Iran and Thailand. The sportsmen won 36 medal sets. Sportsmen of the native country of Muaythai – Thailand – won the most gold medals – 6 ones. Russia got most of all medals of other value in total: 13. Among them there are 3 golden, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals.

The performance of Russian team in this tournament was provided due to the personal presence of the Russian Thai Box Federation, Council of the Russian Olympic Committee – Artur Arutyunian.

Gate-ball competitions appeared to be the most numerous. 95 teams competed for the right to be called the best in the discipline. Russia was represented by two teams from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The two teams appeared the second in their sub-groups but did not manage to get into the final. Tatyana Bykova – coach from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has been developing gate-ball at the Far East for 3 years already.

According to the head of the Organizing Department of Sakhalin Sport and physical Culture Committee – Tamara Butorina – who was present at the games in Busan – the development of gate-ball is called forth by strengthening cultural interaction and it also promotes mutual understanding between the countries. Gate-ball is popular with in Sakhalin neighbor territories: China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

In the tango contest Russia was represented by a pair from Argentinean Tango Club and Modern Choreography School (Saint Petersburg).

The fact of including north all-round events and weight sport in the demo program of the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games was the result of the Multisport Association of Russia membership in the Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA). Active organizations-members of the TAFISA were granted a quota for the participation of the sportsmen in national sport demonstration. The Multisport Association of Russia provided this quota to the federations of Northern Polyathlon and Kettlebell lifting.

The team of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area – Ugra presented Northern Polyathlon in the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games. This team was the winner in the Russian Championship. The leader of the team was the vice-director for national sports of Khanty-Mansiysk “Ethnos” Sport Centre.

The governor of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area – Ugra (KMAA) Alexander Filipenko provided complete support to the sportsmen. KMAA administration sent a representative delegation to Busan. Among the delegates there were Vice-governor Alexander Zakharov, head of Khanty-Mansiysk Duma Vasily Filipenko and Head of KMAA Department for Sport and Physical Culture Viktor Maygurov.

Not only Koreans in Busan but also American, Asian and African delegations were interested in the presentation of north all-round events. American Indians found the competitions similar to contests in tomahawk and lasso throwing. The only difference is that instead of deer the Indians try to catch mustangs. Australian aborigines compete in a resembling way when they catch kangaroos by boomerang. Africans from Kenya also have such contests but they catch antelopes and throw spears.

North all-round events originate from traditional activities of the Northern ethnicities. Northern people cannot do without accurate throwing of tynzyan (lasso), jumping and running across gullied territories and mountain roads. These skills are necessary for fishers, hunters and deer farmers.
Now the sport attribute of north all-round events are a tynzyan (lasso) – for catching deer, “horey” (a three-meter wooden pole) necessary for driving a deer relay, ‘narty’ (sleigh) and a hatchet.

North all-round events include 5 exercises:
- running with a stick for 1,2 and 3 km;
- national triple leap with simultaneous two-leg repulsion;
- throwing a tynzyan to horey;
- jumps over a narty;

Kettlebell lifting demo programs at the World Games consisted of the following exercises:
- classic double-event men (simultaneous performance of two participant on two stages): short put of two kettlebell from breast, one kettlebell burst with hand change;
- men performance: “Long put”: simultaneous performance of two participant on two stages;
- women performance: “Burst” (one kettlebell lift with hand change);
- women power juggling.

The last part of the contest – women power juggling – gave special pleasure to the spectators. Oxana Nikifor, master of sports and Russia champion whose performance was brilliant managed to ensure the audience that it was quite easy to operate with kettle bells.

During all the competitions days there constantly were a lot of people who would like to try weight sport. The equipment was especially popular during the breaks. Africans from SAR brought their musical instruments because they were sure that accompanied by their own music they would succeed in the exercise. They would not though. When the Iranians found out the equipment weighed two thirds of Oxana’s weight, embarrassed they asked to touch her biceps.

Most of the visitors came on the second day of the competitions after TV reports about the sport had been broadcast on TV. The day before TV reports about exotic sports of the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games had been transmitted on TV. The success of the TV presentation exceeded all the expectations.

The International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL) President Imants Lochmels (Latvia) and general secretary Vasily Ginjko who were present at the Games hardly managed to give their business cards to all those who would like to develop kettlebell lifting. “It was exactly what we expected”, said the organizer of kettlebell lifting demonstration the head of IUKL executive committee, Russian Kettlebell Federation vice-president Igor Solodov.

‘After such presentation and advertisement on TV and in newspapers we will have no problems in creating a Kettlebell Lifting Federation in Korea’, said the head of the Games organizing committee Wan-Shik Hong when receiving the equipment for kettlebell lifting.

The IUKL President Imants Lochmens specially thanked the secretary general of the Multisport Association of Russia Alexey Kylasov for the provided opportunity to represent kettlebell lifting at the Games and to include Latvian IUKL officials in the delegation. According to Lochmels such cooperation strengthen friendly connections between Latvia and Russia

On September, 28 at 10 am the opening ceremony of the World Walking Day was held. The World Walking Day was organized with the support of the 4th TAFISA World Sport for All Games and more than 10 million people in 70 countries took part in the event.

In the bounds of the WWD a charity initiative was organized: each participant gave one US$ to the Charity Fund of Starving Children.

At 7 am people already were gathering at Busan central square and at 9 am (an hour before the ceremony was opened) the square was full of people. At the opening ceremony Korean pupils came out in the national costumes accompanied by Korean national music.