October 9, 2019
Astrakhan. Championship. Afterword.
At the end of September, more than a hundred athletes from all over Russia gathered in Astrakhan. The city for the first time hosted the championship and championship of Russia in sailing in the classes Luch, Luch-Radial and Luch-Mini.
© Denis Pronnikov
In the May 1896 issue of the Astrakhan Leaf in the article “On the Yacht Club in General and on Our Future in Particular,” a certain “caring Astrakhan” joyfully welcomed the news of the opening of the club and rhetorically asked: “I have to be surprised at such a late appearance of the yacht club, taking into account the location of the city and its insignificant distance from the sea ”, which, however,“ is better late than never, because amateur swimming is undoubtedly one of the noblest sports … ”.
"Noblest" for a century, in principle, has not changed. The same sail, the same boat. There are more caring people. Like those who want to stay incognito. A modern hero who wants to remain anonymous is also ironically motivated: he is not indifferent. And now he has the opportunity for a “sharp” dialogue on the pages of a respected metropolitan publication:
– Why did the Russian Sailing Federation choose our city as the venue for such a serious competition? Astrakhan, alas, is not a place where sails “tremble” in the wind and pennants “rinse”. Neither any traditions, nor special achievements – and a sail on the Volga rarely pleases the eye of a city dweller …
Answers Valery Prokopenko, organizer of the competition, president of the regional branch of the Russian Sailing Federation:
– The allegation. Traditions are not born from scratch. They are formed quite naturally in the cultural community, and then sport, and in particular yachting, becomes life, such a form of existence. Now we know a lot about our yachting past. And what traditions were laid in the basis of this idea. But in the fire of the revolution and the Civil War, almost the entire amateur fleet, which was formed for 22 years, like the building of the yacht club itself, literally burned down. The very phenomenon of yachting as the fun of the “rich” (that is a complete untruth) simply ceased to exist.
Before the war, neither the fleet, nor yachting sports in the city simply did not exist. After – they were engaged in by single enthusiasts. A single organizational and sports center for this work appeared only in 1953 with the opening of the Sailing and Rowing Club. And again, rowers were preferred. One could name dozens of wonderful names of athletes and coaches who left a bright mark in regional yachting. All these materials are on the website of our yacht club. Unfortunately, our athletes did not show themselves in the republican and all-Russian competitions.
In the 70s and 80s, yacht clubs organized at specialized educational institutions, in particular, the Caspian Maritime College, did not fade away a wonderful sport. The real breakthrough was made with the organization in the late 80s of the Rivmar Water-Sailing Center, the Astrakhan Yacht Club, and the establishment of a regional branch of the Russian Sailing Federation. Dozens of regatta trips, competitions and the participation of our teams in national and international competitions were the result of the hard work of the organizers of sailing. That is our history in general terms. She is humble. But she is ours!
As for the competition of such a high rank in our city – this is the right, pragmatic decision, which we consider as an advance and an act of great confidence. And do not forget that holding the championship and the championship of Russia here is a resonant action that popularizes this sport, attracts the attention of not only citizens and guests of the city, but also the authorities, from which we expect more attention and financial support …
– The championship is over, how do you assess its organization and did you manage to fulfill the “huge plans”?
– It’s not for me to evaluate the quality side of the preparation of the competitions, the direct participants – coaches, athletes and judges will tell about this. There was no “debriefing" of flights. But, something is obvious: there are mistakes, there are miscalculations … The championship, like litmus paper, sharply outlined all our problems. We really hope that as a result of such competitions of an all-Russian scale, we will finally have our own sailing sports school. We strengthened our ties and worked closely with the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Sports. We had no problems with them, except for one thing – not a penny of money was allocated for the competition … Thanks to the sponsors: "Astrakhan branch of LUKOIL-NIZHNEVOLZHSKNEFTEPRODUKT"!
– You are one of the most experienced competitors, have been measuring ships for fifty years, are we very interested in your point of view on the championship and championship in Astrakhan?
This question is answered by Yuri Ignatievich Degtyarev, the oldest member of the judiciary, judge of Russia, measurer:
– It was a great competition. Impeccably organized and conducted. I have been to many places, but I have never met such a reception anywhere. Of course, the athletes had their own difficulties. As elsewhere in competitions. The water area of the Volga River, on which the competitions took place, was very difficult. Due to the flow and many ducts. But everyone was on an equal footing. I did not see the work of the coaches with my students on a daily analysis of the races held, where it would be necessary to take into account the hydrology of the river, the speed of the current. Hence the mistakes of sailors at a distance …
– What are the successes of our team? What did you, as the organizer of the contest, point out?
Answers Andrei Lyukshin, organizer of the competition, member of the Presidium of the regional branch of the FPS of Russia:
– Success is more than modest. So far, our achievements are our coaches, technicians, volunteers. The championship was held in extreme weather conditions: cold rain and calmness gave way to a short “bucket” with a breeze, and again rain. Two days athletes just sat on the beach in anticipation of the conditions for the race. As a result, out of the twelve planned, it was difficult to carry out only eight …
Lack of resources was felt very strongly. Boats, motors, and other equipment necessary for the championship were collected in crumbs. Some funds appeared at the last moment, and all the time they felt limited, that in prizes, in paying for the work of people … We live on the water, and there are no conditions for creating the development of sailing sports. All equipment is built literally on his knees. No pontoons, no slips, no fleet … Of course, the lack of experience in conducting such events affected.
I personally have nothing to compare the result of the organization of the championship with. There is no experience of traveling to other competitions of this level. First of all, this is the result of the lack of funding for our sport. There is no way to assess the validity of the claims of the participants – we do not know again who has better conditions, who has worse. I don’t want to learn from my mistakes, but I have to …
– What are the impressions of the competition for those who were on the water? Is criticism from some racers justified?
Answers Andrey Paltsev, captain of the second referee ship:
– For Astrakhan – this is the first time! For Astrakhan – this is an event! More than a dozen teams and one hundred and thirty participants! How many people – so many opinions. Of course, the lack of experience and knowledge of the nuances that for some yachtsmen turned out to be decisive in their negative assessment affected them.
In fact, I accept only one claim – the lack of locker rooms. Annoyance was about the water area, beach, parking for cars, weather and strong currents. Well, you can disassemble each individually. Something refers to the unsolvable (rain and current). Something was supposed in advance (parking is not in a racing clearing). Something is not in the competence of the organizers (refereeing). The water area was cramped and needed to be quickly understood. Hydrology – when the river spreads over four branches is unique – and who could figure it out, he was in a winning situation. In any case, everyone was in the same conditions.
There was a competitive drive, but the ones who were dissatisfied with the distance or the location of the starting line were always and everywhere … So, if we were in the same “field” for the first time, then let's work together to make it the second time already a real sports base.
Be that as it may – for Astrakhan it is a holiday, and thanks to everyone who prepared it and participated in it!
– What did you personally endure while being on the river in the thick of the competitive process?
– I think for all of us this is a huge experience and an occasion to think about the correctness of the training process and the technical preparation of the fleet. You can’t buy it for any money. Acquaintance and communication with Athletes with a capital letter, the opportunity to see technical and tactical training are worth a lot.
– And how do our young compatriots evaluate their participation in the competitions?
Answers Vladislav Glazkov, club "Young Yachtsman" of the Astrakhan Center for Aesthetic Education of Children and Youth:
– It was not easy to chase. This is a bit not our level. Strongly not ours … Unfortunately, sailing in Astrakhan – unlike other regions of the country – is very poorly developed …
Alisa Belkina, Astrakhan water-sailing center "Rivmar":
– Of course it's hard. For example, my race. Now it’s more about gaining experience than results …
xxx
Well, well, together with the "caring Astrakhan" we dare to say that the sports took place. And the competition near the Sail in our city "by the river, by the sea" – to live and be!
Evgeny Degtyarev,
Astrakhan
Photo by Denis Pronnikov
503 October 9, 2019 # 9543
Chief Editor
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