SKIING COMPETITIONS WERE HELD IN PERM, AS WELL AS CHAMPIONSHIPS S OF THE CITY OF PERM AMONG ATHLETES WITH DISABILITIES, IN MEMORY OF THE 3-TIME CHAMPION OF THE PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES T. KRYZHANOVSKOGO.

01 May 1970

Today, the participation of the Olympic champion in figure skating, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Alexey Yagudin in the opening ceremony of the Perm Region Cross-Country Skiing Festival and Championship and Championship of the City of Perm in Cross-Country Skiing among Adaptive Sports in memory of the Merited Master of Sports of Russia, 3-times Paralympic Winter Games Champion Taras Kryzhanovskiy was a big surprise for the participants and organizers. Such meeting of the great athlete with participants of cross-country skiing competitions became possible thanks to the "Sports Legends to Children" project managed by Gennady Sandyrev.

At the opening ceremony, the participants were welcomed by Tatyana Chesnokova, Minister of Physical Education and Sports of the Perm Region, Serguey Sapegin, Chairman of the Committee of Physical Education and Sports of the Perm Administration, Lyubov Paninykh, 4-time champion of the Paralympic Winter Games and Alexander Ivonin, Chairman of the Regional Branch of the Russian Paralympic Committee in the Perm Region and member of the IPC Executive Committee.

The competition was the final stage of the 11th Krai Paralympic Sport Festival under the motto: "Only forward! Only to Victory!" and was dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the Russian Paralympic Committee and the 15th Anniversary of the Regional Branch of the Russian Paralympic Committee in the Perm Region.

The Committee for the admission of 92 athletes with disabilities from the City of Perm and Perm Region: boys and girls of 10 to 17 years, men and women of 18 years and older in the following medical categories: disabled with damage of the musculoskeletal system, general illness, cerebral palsy; with hearing impairment, with visual impairment in cross-country skiing in 1 km and 3 km freestyle competitions.

Winners and runners-up in the individual championships were awarded medals, diplomas and valuable prizes for the best performance in each medical class, separately for men and women, and for boys and girls in each event. The organisers also honoured the participants in the sporting categories.

Alexander Ivonin:

- Every year the Regional Branch of the All-Russian Federation of Sports for Physically Disabled Persons in the Perm Region and the Regional Branch of the Russian Paralympic Committee in the Perm Region organize the traditional Regional Paralympic Sports Festival. This Festival is the only comprehensive mass event which encourages the disabled to engage in adaptive physical education and sports on a regular basis, restores lost contacts with the outside world, and creates necessary conditions for reconnection with the society and rehabilitation of one's health.

My heartfelt thanks go to the participants, parents, and representatives of the territories who found the opportunity and were able to come and take part in the competition. This competition was the main New Year's celebration, and for someone it is their first start and entry into the world of sport. A big heartfelt thank you for the charity, kindness and participation of our Partners, Sponsors, Active and caring people!