Deputies of the Kazan City Duma assessed the conditions created in the city for the development of adaptive sports

They visited the Kasatka Sports School, the school №78, and the Center for the Physical Development of Children with Disabilities.

(KZN.RU, October 18, Alina Berezhnaya). The on-site meeting was held the day before, deputies of the Kazan City Duma assessed the work carried out in the city in terms of assisting the development of physical culture and sports of people with disabilities, adaptive physical culture and adaptive sports.

Lyudmila Andreeva, the deputy head of the Kazan Municipality, Svetlana Vostrikova, the chairperson of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, deputies of the City Duma standing Committees on Youth and Sports, on the Health of Citizens and the Environment, on Education, Culture and National Issues, representatives of the structural units of the Executive Committee attended the meeting.

The first object visited by the deputies was one of the two swimming pools of the Children's and Youth Sports School “Kasatka”, located on Zorge Street. Today, about 222 children train there, 20 of them with disabilities. Wellness lessons are held for special children in the pool. Twice a week, professional coaches work with them for one hour.

“The pool is not suitable for all categories of citizens. The pool facilities are excellent: good coaches, a program of classes, but due to the nature of the building, it is impossible to create all the necessary conditions there. Together with the architects, we should think about how to work with old objects, how to use them, the potential in this matter is large”, said Svetlana Vostrikova.

The second building of the Children's and Youth Swimming School “Kasatka”, located on Kul Gali Street, is the legacy of the Universiade. It fully complies with the requirements of the program “Available Environment”.

In total, 30 modern sports facilities were commissioned in preparation for the 2013 Universiade. These objects were designed and built taking into account their availability for people with limited mobility. When adapting such objects, the task was to make them available both to the participants of the competition and to the spectators. Special zones for disabled fans were allocated, changing rooms and showers were equipped with handrails and folding seats, and lifts were installed to move to the upper floors and to go down to the pool. Many objects have become more accessible and free to visit.

Also, work was carried out at 10 municipal sports facilities as part of the implementation of the long-term target program of the RT “Available Environment”, in the period from 2011 to 2017.

In turn, the deputies noticed that the number of people with disabilities who are engaged in physical culture and sports increased in Kazan due to the work being carried out.

The next object of the visit was the school №78 “Farvater”. The main feature is that the children study in mixed classes there. Thus, 1240 children study at the school, and 12% of them have limited health opportunities. According to Alfia Gusmanova, the director, the institution works according to the model of interaction with the Rehabilitation Center.

The school continues to develop inclusive education. The deputies are convinced that all the necessary conditions were created for the students: comfortable desks, classes of sensory development, there is educational literature developed by a special technique. The children are trained by experienced teachers who have passed special courses and have a specialized education.

All participants in the meeting noted the uniqueness of the institution and the need to develop similar experience in other educational institutions of the city since there are two such schools in Russia.

The last object of the visit was the Center for Physical Development and Sports Education for Children with Disabilities in Adoratsky Street.

Lev Alimov, the director of the institution, said that along with sports training, children with disabilities are given free medical massage in the center.

At the end of the meeting, the deputies agreed that it was necessary to create a coordinating council that would supervise the activities carried out in Kazan for the rehabilitation and physical education and sports of persons with disabilities. “The sports schools have their own system, the medical system has its own system, the schools have their own, but there is no general coordination”, said Lyudmila Andreeva. “Having such a huge base in the city, it is necessary to create special coordinating councils that would supervise all persons with disabilities and send them to specialized institutions”.

Summing up, the participants noted that the formation of an accessible living environment for people with disabilities is one of the priorities of the socio-economic development of Kazan.