Tiraspol, 1 February. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The establishment of an army sports club is currently under way. According to the deputy defence minister, Igor Dovgulich, a meeting has already been held with the involvement of servicemen to approve the charter of the organisation. Now the documents are passing through the necessary legal procedures, and the club may well be registered (established) by the end of this week.
As we have reported, President Vadim Krasnoselsky ordered the Ministry of Defence to establish a sports army club (SKA) during the enlarged governmental meeting. The club will be organised following the time-proved model of the police sports club Dynamo.
"The task is to establish a similar sports movement in the army with the involvement of not only active servicemen but also their families, young people under service age, retired military and so on. Any person who wants to train and compete for SKA will be able to join this movement.
It is natural that SKA will primarily develop military-applied sports: boxing, wrestling, track and field; however, games – such as football, volleyball and basketball – will also be included.
Athletes support this idea, saying that this movement, which may become popular, will provide the basis for raising the Pridnestrovian sport to a higher level.
"The initiative is very good. The whole sport of the Soviet Union was upheld by such physical training and sports organisations as CSKA, Dynamo. We must revive these organisations, which will benefit not only athletes but also coaches as it will be the base for building something bigger. In addition, it does not include top-class sports but also mass sports, national idea and the health of the nation. This is is important, and these small steps will bring very good results in the future," said honoured judo coach, a representative of Bendery's school of wrestling and boxing, Anton Popov.
Both coaches and trainees have already appreciated the advantages of the army sports company. For several years it has enabled athletes to continue training and stay in the republic without leaving it to avoid losing a year.
"I had long practised judo, and when in 2014 I learnt there was such a sports company, I wanted to join it. Now I'm serving here. It is very important because many young athletes lose this year, which is unacceptable for an athlete. I have achieved good results during the service: I have become a sambo champion in Moldova and am preparing now for a championship of Europe in the Czech Republic," said Bendery judoist Sergey Shilov.
In legal terms, SKA is almost established, but the current material resources leave much to be desired. It will employ for the time being the facilities of various military units and sub-units: gyms, sports areas and playgrounds, but work is now under way to create a base sports centre.
