Putin Pushes Student Sport

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Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for a revival of sports clubs in Russian universities and schools as part of a raft of measures aimed at reviving Soviet-era sports structures.

MOSCOW, December 12 (R-Sport) - Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for a revival of sports clubs in Russian universities and schools as part of a raft of measures aimed at reviving Soviet-era sports structures.

Putin’s remarks came a day after he ordered the Russian Army to bring back dedicated sports units to protect talented prospects from the full rigors of conscript service.

At an annual State of the Union-style speech to parliament, Putin called for an increase in compulsory sports at school and university level and said he wanted to involve more young children in sport.

“We need new forms of working, a wide choice of not just sporting but also health activities, especially for young children,” he said.

“It’s exactly at that age that habits and interests are laid down, and we must form them.”

Russia has many specialist sports colleges, the descendants of a Soviet system that produced generations of Olympic medal winners, while students at many standard universities are required to undertake compulsory physical education classes.

“I regard it as necessary to support the idea of creating an association of student sports colleges,” he said in an address to both houses of parliament.

“This organization is designed to promote not only the development of university sports, but to become, in a sense, a social elevator for talented, focused and active youth.”

Putin did not specify what form this organization would take or whether it would organize competitions, but stressed it should be “outside all politics.”

One of Putin's pet projects in his third term as president is to restore the country's sporting might, which was lost with the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Russia is to host many top-level sports events in the coming years, including next year's world athletics championships, the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 football World Cup.

 

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