2.5 thousand athletes from 11 countries will participate in the I CIS Games in Kazan

230 sets of medals in 21 sports will be awarded at the competition.

In Kazan, an extensive business and cultural program is planned during the I CIS Games. This summer, the capital of Tatarstan will host the VI Russian festival of national and non-Olympic sports, the sports forum “CIS - territory of sports” and the big festival of culture of the CIS countries. This was announced today during the briefing at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan by Director General of the Directorate of sports and social projects Azat Kadyrov.

It is expected that about 2.5 thousand athletes aged 14 to 23, about 2000 volunteers and 1239 referees from 11 countries will come to the CIS Games on August 20-27. Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine will come to Kazan. The program of the Games consists of 21 sports - basketball, boxing, beach volleyball, table tennis, artistic gymnastics, water polo, judo, athletics, swimming, wrestling, sambo, fencing, football (mini-football), belt wrestling and kurash, karate, dance sports, arm wrestling, mas-wrestling, kettlebell lifting, Thai Boxing and chess. A total of 230 sets of medals will be awarded.

As A.Kadyrov noted, the age of the participants was chosen with a reason. “The CIS Games will be held after the summer Olympic games in Tokyo, which end on August 9. We decided to focus on the younger generation, on future Olympians”, - he said.

Competitions will be held at 15 sports facilities in Kazan, including 8 venues of the Volga region Academy of physical culture, sports and tourism. The opening and closing ceremonies of the games are scheduled to take place on August 20 and 27 at the Basket Hall”.

In addition to competitions, an extensive business and cultural program is being prepared for visitors and residents of the city. From August 20 to 24 in the Gorky park at the stadium “Trudovye Rezervy” it is planned to hold the VI Russian festival of national and non-Olympic sports. The visitors can participate in gorodki sports, mas-wrestling, draughts, cheer sports, tug of war, traditional archery, floorball and Russian ball game. Previously, such a festival was held in Bashkortostan, the Republic of Komi and other regions of Russia.

Besides, on August 23 a festival of culture of the CIS countries, dedicated to the traditions of various countries, including national cuisine will open in the Gorky Park.

As part of the CIS Games, a sports forum “CIS - territory of sports” will take place, where the issues of the development of physical culture and sports will be discussed, as well as a meeting of the Council of Ministers of sports of the CIS countries.

The initiative to host the first CIS Games was put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first tournament will mark the 100th anniversary of TASSR. It is assumed that the tournament will be held every two years.

A.Kadyrov also announced the start of a contest for development a logo, mascot and look of the games. Applications are accepted from January 27 to February 16 by e-mail: konkurs@dspkazan.com. The results of the contest will be announced on March 1.