Belarus is no stranger to clinching a spot on the podium when it comes to sports such as aerial acrobatics (freestyle), biathlon, rhythmic gymnastics, or tennis in which they produce consistent and frequent medalists. President of the Belarusian NUSF—or Republican Center of Physical Education and Sports for Pupils and Students (RCPES)— Mr. Vitaly Strigelsky explains, why this is a growing trend in the nation of Belarus.
According to Strigelsky, in 2007 RCPES opened the first ‘Specialized Children and Youth Olympic Reserve Schools’ in the country. This was related to various sports, who’s outstanding graduates are already conquering Olympic level podiums.
“In my point of view, a combination of school and college sports is the thing that makes our NUSF special,” said the RCPES President. “The specificity of the RCPES is that the centre conducts its activities not only in the field of student sports, but also in school sports. Together with other sports organisations, we are able to identify, track and help potential Olympic champions at the very beginning of their formation,” Strigelsky explained.
In addition, the complexity of sports activities both in school and student sports promotes a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the activities of the RCPES educates not only the athletes but, is also key in raising a healthy generation.
In Belarus today, there are more than 50 universities within the nation with a total of 111,000 students and counting. RCPES interacts with these students through all possible means of communication such as social networks, their official website, e-mail newsletters, as well as collaboration with university authorities to keep students informed. The NUSF is constantly working to increase the number of students participating in both national and international sports events at a high level.
“It is always our goal to improve the quality of sports events,” said Strigelsky. “We are constantly working on organising new sports competitions in various formats and plan to increase the number of participants in events held under the auspices of FISU and EUSA. There are also plans to attract international sports events to our country,” he continued to explain.
The next two years will be key for the nation of Belarus, as RCPES as it is set to host the 2022 FISU World University Championship Waterski & Wakeboard. With opportunities like these to put Belarus on the world stage, they hope to continue this momentum and host the world to many more sports events for years to come.
Republican Center of Physical Education and Sports for Pupils and Students (RCPES), Vitaly Strigelsky at the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade
By FISU Student Ambassador of Belarus: Nadia Proleskovskaia