Early growth: the share of children involved in sports in Russia has exceeded 93%

In Russia, it is necessary to zero or minimize contributions from parents at children's sports events. Vladimir Putin stated this on November 6 at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports. The proportion of children who regularly engage in sports already exceeds 93%, but now it is necessary to assess the impact of this on the health, physical and general development of the child. Innovations should be expected for children's coaches: a separate registry will be created for them, where parents will be able to check the qualifications of a specialist. The President also supported the proposal to take into account in the new regions the qualifications of coaches they received while working in Ukraine. What will be included in the sports development strategy until 2030 and what physical education teachers and school health workers should prepare for — in the Izvestia article.

Harassment of Russian athletes

Vladimir Putin arrived in Samara on November 6. This is the third visit of the head of state to the region over the past year. The program this time was especially intense. One of the main points was the performance at the forum "Russia — a sporting power", which takes place from November 5-7 in one of the largest sports and concert complexes, the Vladimir Vysotsky Sports Palace. Thousands of participants gathered at the forum site — athletes, coaches, foreign guests and experts to discuss professional challenges.

— This year the forum is hosted by Samara, one of the most beautiful and distinctive cities of our Volga region, famous for its achievements and traditions, including sports. Many athletes whose names have entered the annals of world sports are natives of the Samara region," the head of state said at the plenary session.

Since 2022, Russian athletes have regularly faced bans or restrictions on participation in international competitions. In particular, in a number of sports, Russian and Belarusian representatives were not allowed to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2026. The Russian Federation has already appealed this decision. The 2026 Olympic Games in Italy are scheduled for February 6-22, and the Paralympic Games for March 6-15.

— Russia, like most countries on the planet, stands for cooperation between countries and peoples on the basis of equality, strict observance of each other's interests, and respect for national cultures. Sport is designed to unite people and build bridges between nations. This is also a high mission, one of the main meanings of the activities of international sports organizations," the President emphasized.

The Head of State recalled that the Russian Federation's position on sports remains unchanged: athletes' access to international tournaments should be equal, justified by their sporting achievements, and politics has no place in sports. "I repeat once again: sports, cultural and humanitarian cooperation should not become hostages of various conflicts and geopolitical contradictions," he continued.

Vladimir Putin also noted the importance of developing infrastructure for mass sports. Currently, there are more than 370,000 sports facilities in Russia, and over the past five years, more than 2.5 thousand such facilities have been created and renovated in Russia. The Head of the Russian Federation personally inspected one of the largest and most modern sports centers in the Samara Region, the Orbita sports and recreation complex. There, Vladimir Putin watched the athletes train and found out how comfortable they were in the new conditions. The complex has a multi-purpose sports hall, adult and children's pools, an ice arena, boxing, martial arts halls and a gym, as well as four halls for group classes.

— We introduced Vladimir Vladimirovich to our complex, told him about the sports in which we are being trained here. Overall, he really liked it. We visited the ice arena where the figure skaters were training. Next, we went to the gaming gym, where Vladimir Vladimirovich attended a training session for young basketball players," Dmitry Mamkaev, head of the Orbita Sports Complex, told Izvestia.

Right on the playground of the sports and recreation complex, Vladimir Putin was presented via video link with a whole series of new sports facilities that were opened in the regions of Russia. Among them are the Krymsky Sports Training Center for national teams in Alushta, the Volleyball Center in Ulan-Ude, the Martial Arts Palace in Izhevsk, the Football Development Center in Kazan, and the Table Tennis Academy in Orenburg.

How will the accessibility of sports be improved in the Russian Federation

In the late afternoon, the President convened the Council for the Development of Physical Culture to discuss the state of youth sports and further work to promote the health of the younger generations. There has already been considerable progress in this area: now the proportion of children in Russia who regularly engage in sports reaches 93.8%, the president noted. Now the authorities will have to determine how these activities affect the child's health, studies, physical and general development. To do this, Putin instructed the government to synchronize the activities of the healthcare, sports and education systems.

Physical education teachers also play a significant role in this. It is important to create maximum opportunities for their work: from reducing formal reporting to ensuring modern working conditions, the president instructed. We should also not forget about school health workers, who, according to his estimates, should be responsible for the physical development of children together with teachers. To do this, it is necessary to form training plans taking into account individual characteristics, the head of state said. The objectives of physical therapy in sports should also be reflected in the strategy for the development of sports medicine until 2030.

Another important topic was the availability of sports activities after school. The head of the Ministry of Education, Sergey Kravtsov, believes that the infrastructure outside of school hours should also be open to children. At the same time, students should also be able to play sports outside in the evening. By the way, the share of schools with sports clubs has increased from 36% to 99% in four years, said Dmitry Milyaev, Governor of the Tula Region and head of the State Council Commission on Sports. Now, according to him, it is necessary to clearly define the procedure for financing such clubs, as well as stimulating physical education teachers who organize their work. Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), said that in the period from 2017 to the end of 2024, the amount of funding for sports schools more than doubled - from 145.5 billion to 312 billion rubles.

Putin called for eliminating fees for children's participation in competitions

During the discussion, the gaps faced by young athletes and their families were also identified. So, the head of the executive committee of the Popular Front, Mikhail Kuznetsov, said that the costs of children's sports are still sensitive for many families, because parents have to pay fees at tournaments. Vladimir Putin agreed that parents should not finance their children's participation in sports competitions. He instructed to minimize and reset unreasonable contributions from parents. Putin is also confident that in Russia it is necessary to determine a list of free competitions, where, among other things, you can get a sports category.

— I've been involved in sports all my life, and the region has paid for trips. Yes, we rode, maybe, in shared carriages there, but we rode, not even in reserved seats, but I rode in a shared carriage. But everything was free, my parents didn't pay. If they had to pay something, I would never have fulfilled the Master of Sports standard. Neither one nor the other. Well, never. Because my parents didn't have the opportunity to pay for all this, you know? Well, are all our families well-off? Especially those with many children, try to allocate this money, pay for the tickets. Therefore, it is necessary to synchronize this work with the regions," the president said.

They also touched upon a problem that worries the coaching community of Donbass and Novorossiya. Some are now not equated with an honored worker of the Russian Federation, although almost all began their work in the Soviet Union.

— It was their fate that they worked and received this status in Ukraine. And, accordingly, today they continue to teach our children, continue to study with them. It seems that it would be fair to equate this status," suggested Mikhail Kuznetsov.

The Head of State supported the idea and ordered to equate the titles of Honored workers of physical culture and sports of Ukraine, the DPR and the LPR, received by residents of Donbass and Novorossiya, to similar titles in force in Russia.

How will the work of children's coaches be regulated in the Russian Federation

A serious discussion has developed around determining the qualifications of coaches. Chairman of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) Peter Fradkov proposed, first of all, to create a unified register of these specialists in the country.

— It seems to us that regulation of coaching activities is required by law. The main thing is to monitor compliance with the position. First of all, we propose to amend the law on sports regarding the introduction of a unified register of coaches. As part of this registry, it is necessary to have access to information about the relevant qualifications of the coach, including for the comfort of parents," he said.

Vladimir Putin agreed that quality control of coaching should be obvious so that children do not have injuries and overloads. Parents of a child involved in sports should also be confident in the professionalism of the coach. The State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports told Izvestia that they were ready for the necessary work to make changes.

— We are working on the idea of a registry, it has been discussed for a long time, we do not see any contraindications. The logic is to reassure parents and give them confidence that qualified people are working with their children. I understand this as a minister and as a parent," Mikhail Degtyarev added.

In fact, the participants of the State Council unanimously supported the idea of normalizing the role and status of the first coach, creating a system of financial incentives for these specialists when athletes achieve high results. The Ministry of Sports also supported the proposal to encourage the first coaches whose wards have achieved professional success.