Kites over the river, snakes over the city

February 25, 2019

      Kites over the river, snakes over the city
      On February 24, in Tolyatti, the SNOW KITE WORLD CUP IKA-2019 World Cup in snowkiting finished in Togliatti and at the same time the legendary “Zhiguli Sea” marathon was completed.

The Volga sky was painted with 145 bright kites. The athletes took the gold, silver and bronze of the competition to all corners of Russia and Ukraine.

Dmitry Shlyakhtin, Minister of Sports of the Samara Region, came to greet the kiters, who emphasized:

“Togliatti is the basis for the development of sailing in our province. Nature itself has created such an arena here that it is impossible not to hold world-class sailing competitions here … We have everything to host international competitions in Tolyatti every year! ”

The wind in the waters favored athletes. It was possible to fulfill the entire plan and hold competitions in all the planned directions. Masters of ski and snowboard competed in the disciplines of “course-flight”, “freestyle” and “marathon”. Separately, the tube kite division (standard) was allocated.

According to the results of 4-day competitions, the best in the course-race among men in the class “ski” at the stage of SNOW KITE WORLD CUP IKA 2019 were Dmitry Yasnolobov (Kharkov), Ilya Gibadullin (Yekaterinburg), Dmitry Nikulichev (Petrazavodsk); “snowboarding” class – Stepan Koncha (Chelyabinsk), Artem Renev (Ekaterinburg), Gennady Shelyganov (Kolomna).

The best among women in the class of “skiing” in the course-flight discipline at the stage of SNOW KITE WORLD CUP IKA 2019 were Maria Bukreeva (Novosibirsk), Sofia Nikogosova (Moscow), Yuliya Baidyuk (Moscow); “snowboarding” class – Tatiana Sysoyeva (Chelyabinsk), Alisa Naugolovov (Moscow), Evgenia Cherkashin (Moscow).

A total of 145 athletes from 34 cities of Russia and Ukraine took part in the races of the World Cup and the Zhiguli Sea marathon in Tolyatti.

“In Russia, the ideal conditions for the development of snowkiting. Especially in Tolyatti. Such a wide river and such winds – I am not surprised that there are strong athletes here. But I'm surprised how many children I see among the participants! This is a real indicator of the popularity of snowkiting in your region, ”said Markus Schwendtner, Executive Director of the International Sideboard Federation (IKA), who attended the competition as an international observer.

Indeed, out of 145 participants, 20 were children. For them, the organizers arranged separate races by age. And taking into account that kiteboarding is already included in the program of the Olympic Games of 2024, it is quite possible that we have seen a future champion among these children!

It is noteworthy that in Tolyatti snowkiting has its own fans' tribune. For the fifth year in a row, in parallel with the competition on the shore, the festival of active rest “Zhigulevskoe Sea” has been held. Its participants become not only spectators of races of international importance, but also try to catch the wind. The best kiting school in the region “The Power of the Wind” is responsible for the master classes for beginners. And besides, winter activities for the whole family are widely represented at the festival: relay races, metlobol, throwing felt boots, curling on teapots, and riding from slides.

“Zhigulevskoe Sea” is an important and pleasant event for Tolyatti. One of those that makes our city better and more interesting. We are glad that 13 years ago it started as a regional snowkiting competition. And today we are already taking the World Cup, we are holding our own marathon and are gathering several thousand fans on the shore. This is a good trend for the development of the city and the region, – said the head of Togliatti Sergey Antoshev.

The organizers of the SNOW KITE WORLD CUP IKA-2019 World Cup in Snowkiting, the legendary Zhiguli Sea marathon and the festival of the same name were ROQETA, the project SNOWKITERUSSIA and the Strength Wind Sports Club. The Russian Sailing Federation, the Ministry of Sport of the Samara Region, the administration of Tolyatti, PJSC KuibyshevAzot, PJSC AVTOVAZ and SKY COOL company became partners of the events.

It is symbolic that the festival participants massively launched colorful kites into the sky. Huge kites over the river and small snakes over the city – this is how Togliatti votes for the desired status of the sailing capital of Russia.

The authors of the pictures are Svetlana Abramova, Vladimir Miro.

414 February 25, 2019 # 8819
                                                    
      
    

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