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Подготовили Ольга ЕРМОЛИНА и Илья ТРИСВЯТСКИЙ
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Chronicle
The oldest purely Russian volleyball club tournament is taking place in Nizhnevartovsk - the 32nd edition of the Siberian and Far East Cup. Starting from this season, these competitions, held under the auspices of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VFV), are dedicated to the memory of the honored coach of the USSR and Russia, Yuri Furaev. Eight teams from a vast region are fighting for the trophy, with exactly half of the participants representing the Super League.
At the preliminary stage, teams in two groups determine their places in the playoff bracket, which will begin with the quarterfinals. Quartet “A” includes: “Lokomotiv” (Novosibirsk), debutant of the elite division of the Russian championship “Kuzbass” (Kemerovo), “Tyumen”, “University” (Barnaul). Four “B” includes the host of the tournament “Yugra-Samotlor” (Nizhnevartovsk), the winner of the 2007 CEV Cup “Fakel” (Novy Urengoy), “Gazprom-Yugra” (Surgut district) and “Dorozhnik” (Krasnoyarsk). In the first round, the Samotlor team won a landslide victory over Fakel - 3:0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:19). Even though the Novy Urengoy team has several people currently involved in our national team, and setter Kevin Hansen is with the American team, Samotlor’s success can still be considered very significant. After all, the main diagonal Mikhail Beketov, libero Alexander Sokolov, who was recruited to the national team, and other famous volleyball players play for “Fakel” in Nizhnevartovsk. The Surgut team defeated the Krasnoyarsk team in five games - 3:2 (22:25, 25:20, 25:19, 21:25, 15:13). In the other group, the "railroad workers" prevailed over the "University" - 3:1 (25:12, 23:25, 25:16, 25:17), the Tyumen team lost to the Kemerovo team - 1:3 (18:25, 26: 24, 21:25, 21:25).
Russian “artists” will show super programs in Moscow
As part of the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships starting on September 20 in Moscow, Russian athletes will for the first time show completely new programs, where each will perform exercises with not one, but two different or identical apparatus.
The programs will be presented at the final gala concert, which will also be broadcast on TV channels all over the world for the first time. In addition to the current "artists", titled gymnasts of past years will take part in it - Olympic champion Yulia Barsukova, Irina Chashchina, Olga Kapranova, Vera Sesina and many others, with the exception of Alina Kabaeva. This non-standard scenario for the world championship - superbly prepared opening and closing shows - was dictated by several circumstances. The current World Championship is the 30th anniversary and for the first time in the history of this sport is being held in Moscow.
According to preliminary applications, 800 gymnasts from 55 countries will take part in the tournament, which will be held in the capital's Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex. The Russian team is the main favorite of the competition and a contender for gold in all events.
According to the President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Irina Viner (pictured), the Moscow championship will show not only the present, but also the future of rhythmic gymnastics. It is possible that unusual new programs with several subjects will eventually be included in the competition regulations. “I hope that the World Championships in Moscow will become a turning point in the development of our sport. As for medals and titles, as the famous song says, you can’t catch us,” summed up Irina Viner.
NHL fines New Jersey
The leadership of the National Hockey League (NHL) fined the New Jersey club $3 million for attempting to sign an illegal contract with forward Ilya Kovalchuk, RIA Novosti reports.
According to the first version of the contract, which the league did not accept, Kovalchuk would have received $102 million over 17 years. The league considered that the agreement was drawn up in order to avoid exceeding the “salary cap.” As punishment, in addition to paying the fine, the Devils will also forfeit a third-round pick in next year's rookie draft and a first-round pick in one of the next four years' drafts. Under the new contract ratified by the league, Kovalchuk will earn $100 million over 15 years in New Jersey.
Selzhnik is no longer the coach of the Russian national team
At a meeting of the VFW Presidium held yesterday in Moscow, a decision was made to terminate the contract with the head coach of the national beach volleyball team, American Dane Seljnik. The results of its work in 2010 were considered unsatisfactory.
Meanwhile, the calendar of domestic competitions has been exhausted. The last of the tournaments was the Russian Open Cup held in Anapa, which simultaneously has the status of the championship of the East European Zonal Volleyball Association (EEVZA). For the men, the trophy was won by a couple from the Baltics for the second season in a row. If last year it was the Estonians Christian Kais and Rivo Vesik, now the Latvian representatives Alexander Samoilov and Martin Plavins became the winners of the honorary prize. In the final they prevailed over Konstantin Birlov and Yaroslav Koshkarev from the Moscow-based VTsMO - 21:19, 12:21, 15:7. Third place went to Estonians Vesik and Karl Jaani. 2007 world vice-champions Dmitry Barsuk and Igor Kolodinsky did not make it out of the group for the playoffs. However, their failure has an objective reason. Due to Badger's shoulder injury, players in this particular combination have been out of domestic and international action since mid-June.
In the women's tournament, Anna Vozakova and Ekaterina Khomyakova, girls from VC "Obninsk" of the Kaluga region, consolidated their success at the final tournament of the national championship. In the battle for the title, they beat their teammates Natalia Stepanova and Judette-Flores Yalovaya - 17:21, 21:14, 15:6. On the bottom step of the podium is the pair of the national team Maria Bratkova and Evgenia Ukolova, defending the colors of SC Volleyball-Primorye (Vladivostok).