On January 24, the inaugural presentation of the Winter International Sports Games “Children of Primorye” took place, alongside the stage of the Games flag relay. The event saw the participation of ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, and renowned athletes, all hosted at the international exhibition-forum “Russia” held at VDNKh.
During the ceremony, Stanislav Pozdnyakov affixed the coat of arms of the Russian Federation to the banner of the sports competitions, thereby officially endorsing our team’s participation in the “Children of Primorye” Games.
Another event was the ceremony of honoring several Russian and Belarusian Olympians as “Children of Primorye” ambassadors. The first in the history of Russia’s history winner of the World Cup Final in skeleton, member of the Athletes’ Commission of the ROC Olga Potylitsyna (Denshchikova), Master of Sports International Class in ski cross (freestyle) Semyon Denshchikov, winners of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in the discipline of ski acrobatics (freestyle) Alla Tsuper and Anton Kushnir (both – Republic of Belarus) received name certificates and scarves with the symbols of the upcoming competitions.
In addition, two-time European curling champion Anna Sidorova and Olympic figure skating champion Dmitry Soloviev were among the Games’ ambassadors.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov:
⁃ The projects that the Primorsky Krai has been implementing recently are landmark and important sporting events. I say this with full responsibility: the “Children of Asia” Summer International Sports Games in Primorsky Krai and Vladivostok were a great success and became a benchmark for such international sports events. I am sure that such a large-scale project as “Children of Primorye” will unite not only the regions of our country, but also the neighboring countries of the East.
Returning Russian sports to the international arena involves a strategic focus on Asia, and the geographical position of Primorye plays a key role in achieving this objective. Children’s and youth sports will be instrumental in addressing this task, among other measures. We are talking about training Olympic reserve and athletes who in the medium term will be able to adequately represent our country in the Russian Olympic team. From this point of view, the “Children of Primorye” project fully meets our strategic objectives.
I am grateful to Oleg Nikolaevich Kozhemyako for such an attentive attitude to physical culture and children’s and youth sports. The future of Russia is being laid down now, including in the Far East. So I’m excited to invite everyone to these great competitions!
Oleg Kozhemyako:
– “Children of Primorye” is another symbol of peace and friendship. I am sure that young athletes – future participants of these competitions will further glorify Primorsky Krai and our country on the international arena. And most importantly, thanks to this project, friendship between the countries will become stronger, which will allow, despite any sanctions and political cataclysms, to live in harmony and joint efforts to develop sport, which has always been and remains an ambassador of peace in the world.
The inaugural Winter International Sports Games “Children of Primorye” are scheduled to take place in Primorsky Krai from February 18 to 23, 2024. The event aims to bring together over 1,000 young athletes from 30 municipal units, including Primorsky Krai, Amur, Magadan, and Sakhalin, as well as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Republic of Buryatia, Transbaikal, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk Krai, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Republic of Belarus, People’s Republic of China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Uzbekistan.
