05 May 2017

Dedicated to the memory Andrei Shkala, a local coach; the 11th international annual tournament which bears his name commenced in Minsk, the capital of Belarus on Thursday 4th May; it will conclude on Saturday 6th May.

Prior to the proceedings commencing a training camp for players born between 2000 and 2008 was staged; in addition to Belarus; young players from Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia and Georgia attended.

by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor (Interviews by Elena Dubkova)

Matters were organized by Alexandra Sipach, the head coach of the Sports School No.1 BFSO Dynamo; like all who attended he was delighted with the outcome as were notable visiting coaches.

“The main goal of the camp is to popularize table tennis and to establish international relations; such events influence favourably the development and improvement of young athletes. We have an excellent hall with 24 tables and a modern gym. We are open to co-operation and we would like to continue to hold international camps with the involvement of a large number of countries. We are grateful to the Federation and the Republican Centre for Olympic Training for providing the opportunity to train alongside famous Belarusian players; my deep gratitude to the First Deputy President of the Table Tennis Federation, the head coach of the national team of the Republic of Belarus, Alexandre Petkevitch.” Alexandra Sipach

“I express many thanks to Alexandra Sipach for inviting us. I really like the hall; I think it is one of the best sports facilities for table tennis in Europe. Everything is organized perfectly, the children feel comfortable; they do not want to go home. There is a friendly and cozy environment, the children feel it, this can be seen with the naked eye. You have an excellent team that helps to develop table tennis.” Mironos Kreeris. President of the Table Tennis Federation of Vilnius

“It’s great that such a camp takes place; this is a very important element for the development of table tennis as a whole. Children receive a unique experience. They communicate with players from other countries, they have the opportunity to play against players of different levels and styles. They can see how to work and what you need to strive for; it is very important for athletes to communicate, sport is outside the politics. The camp is fun, the atmosphere in the team is comfortable and friendly, that is very important. In the training of young table tennis players, psychological preparation is very important, and now they can look and learn how to cope with difficulties and fight. Also the technical preparation is very important, the camp covers that aspect.” Sosnovy Bor Nina Romanyuta, Russian Team Coach

A state-of-the-art training centre (Photo: courtesy of Elena Dubkova)
General News Minsk