On August 13-19, 2018, the 1st International Summer School on Orienteering was organized by the Department of Physical Training and Sports at PSU. There were 26 participants of various ages from Moscow, Brest, Slutsk and Minsk.
The week was very productive. The participants tested their knowledge and skills in orienteering on different terrain types of Polotsk land and competed with the people from other clubs and regions. The main trainings were on orienteering maps “Zarechki”, “Trosno”, “Voronichi”, “Gomlya” and “Stadium Atlant”. Every day the participants were offered the new technical distances on orienteering to cover.
The youngest participants (10 – 12 years) were offered easier versions of distances. They practiced orienteering and covered the distances with the help of a coach.
In the spare time, the excursions to Saint Euphrosyne Monastery, Saint Sophia Cathedral and an observation excursion around Polotsk were organized. Moreover, there were Savior of the Honey Feast Day celebrations during the tour of the city.
Furthermore, the participants visited a rope park of Tourist, Local History and Excursion City Department in Polotsk. Besides, they could test their courage, agility and resourcefulness. The participants had a great fun and rest between the trainings.
Master class in kinesio tape was one more exciting and interesting part of the Summer School. The master class allowed the participants to learn about new ways of rehabilitation after sport injuries and effective ways of recovery after and during training.
Every participant was given a certificate and a souvenir at the end of the Summer School.
We would like to thank the athletes and the representatives of the orienteering club “Eridan”: Anton Novichenko (group 15-FS, Faculty of Humanities), Eugene Zhakhovsky (group 15-MV-1, Faculty of Mechanics and Technology), Victoria Redkova (group 16-FS, Faculty of Humanities), Dmitry Popov (group 17-MA, Faculty of Mechanics and Technology), Dmitry Mikhalkin (a graduate of PSU, Faculty of Mechanics and Technology), Maria Tambasova (a pupil) and Petr Mironov (the teacher) who helped to organize practical part of the Summer School and went to training together with the participants. Apart from that, we would like to express our gratitude to Polotsk Regional Centre of Tourism and Sports for Children and Youth for the assistance in organizing the leisure activities and for the providing of the electronic timekeeping system SportIdent.
This week we have studied together, got a lot of positive feedbacks and your suggestions that we will take into account next year.
Ludmila (38 years, Brest): “I really enjoyed the time spent here. There were a lot of memorable moments and a lot of practice! It would be great to introduce group warming up before the trainings and the discussion of the route with the elite sportsmen using multimedia.”
Andrey (15 years, Brest): “Thanks, everything was at a high level! The excursions around Polotsk and the training ‘Brainstorm’ on the map ‘Gomlya’ were unforgettable.”
Olga (15 years, Minsk): “I would like to thank you for the carefully prepared trainings. What I remember best, is the master class in kinesio tape. It would be good to introduce trainings on physical fitness, discussions of the World Championship routes, European Championship routes and World Cup routes. Moreover, it would be great to extend the duration of the school. Without any doubt, I’d like to come here next year!”
Marianna (17 years, Minsk): “Thanks to the friendly stuff for the high quality trainings! I wish we had a competition at the end of the school. I’m looking forward to the next summer school on orienteering!”
Vladislav (17 years, Moscow): “Friendly people and a good organization! Unusual terrain and well-planned routes! Savior of the Honey Feast Day celebrations, where we could taste everything， were unforgettable. It would be great to add the final competition at the end of the school. I’d like to come here next year!”
Timofey (14 years, Moscow): “The things I liked best were the interesting maps with a difficult terrain. The food was tasty but sometimes there were little food. I enjoyed everything very much and would like to come here again!”
Elena Bogdanovich, Methodist of the Polotsk Department of Tourism and Sports: “We are glad to have such a number of guests interested in orienteering. Thank you for being interested in extreme leisure time activities. We hope that you enjoyed the rope park. See you next time!”
See you next time!
Natalia Grishanova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Physical Training and Sports, Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus in Orienteering, Curator of the Project
Photos provided by Polina Kosarevskaya