Pridnestrovian youth participated in the International School Sports Festival. This traditional event is held at venues in Moscow. The 2025 festival is the twelfth. The Pridnestrovian team was invited for the third time. They performed well, winning bronze in the overall standings. The competition took place from November 16th to 23rd. Our team included 38 schoolchildren born between 2009 and 2015. This year, 22 participants (the largest number) were from Rybnitsa. A representative from the village of Blizhniy Khutor in Slobodzeya District, five from Dubossary, seven students from Bendery, and nine school-age athletes from the capital. The young athletes competed against 21 other teams from the CIS countries in sports such as futsal, streetball, volleyball, chess, badminton, and table tennis.
The young athletes and their leaders shared their impressions with the PMR President today. The meeting was held in the conference hall of the PMR Presidential Administration. Welcoming the young athletes, Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that participation in the international festival is a significant event for each athlete and for the country as a whole.
The President was informed that the Pridnestrovian team has a gold medal. Andrey Mishishin won the table tennis title. The men's streetball team also took first place. A sensational victory for the Pridnestrovian team was the victory of the youngest tennis player Elizaveta Balta (born in 2015) over the experienced Armenian athlete, who is five years older. Unfortunately, Liza didn't make it to the finals, but she made a name for herself and Pridnestrovie, becoming the only opponent to defeat the winner of the competition. An interesting situation arose for 10-year-old chess player Vladislav Tsurkan, who faced a 15-year-old competitor. Vlad lost to him, but outplayed the others. The talented young chess player dreams of playing football, as the President was told today. Vadim Krasnoselsky advised not to limit children in pursuing their aspirations.
The trip and the competition weren't without incidents, sports injuries, and even an investigation, which was necessary to defend the fair result of one game.
The educational, cultural, and entertainment program was no less intense than the competitive portion of the trip to Moscow. The children visited the Official Representative Office of Pridnestrovie in Moscow, explored the exhibits at Patriot Park, strolled through the historic center of the Russian capital and the pavilions of the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VDNKh), and visited a Moscow school, where "Rodnina" film screening was held for Pridnestrovian schoolchildren. They were later fortunate to meet the heroine of the biographical film in person: three-time Olympic figure skating champion Irina Rodnina participated in the festival's closing ceremony. Another memorable encounter was with Olympic silver medalist Valeria Koblova. The renowned athlete spent almost two hours with Pridnestrovian youth instead of the originally planned 40 minutes. It is hoped that this interaction will continue in Pridnestrovie: Valeria Koblova has expressed a desire to visit the republic and hold master classes and other events aimed at developing freestyle wrestling. The VTB United League basketball match brought intense emotions to both the children and the coaching and administrative staff of the Pridnestrovian national team. MBA-MAI (Moscow) and Avtodor (Saratov) played on the court of the magnificent Basket Hall sports complex. This was perhaps the only reason for the division of the Pridnestrovian delegation: the children and adults were rooting for different teams.
Concluding the meeting, Vadim Krasnoselsky wished the children continued success – both in sports and in life. The President was presented with a Pridnestrovian national team T-shirt and pin as a souvenir. The children received souvenirs, including Anna Volkova's book "Stories from the History of Pridnestrovie". This new, brightly illustrated edition has just been published. Today's guests of the President are the first recipients of the collection.
