Local "You're in the game" projects are reaching the international level

By the end of 2024, 56%, or 70 million Russian residents, regularly trained and played sports. Regional initiatives play a key role in this growth. At the All-Russian competition of sports projects "You're in the Game", these initiatives compete for the victory in the "Scale" nomination, which has become the third most popular with more than 1,000 applications submitted since the beginning of the fifth season.

The most common format of events in this category are competitions in various sports (from curling to hockey, from motorsport to football) at various levels, including federal, as well as mass races, swims and ski races. However, there are other interesting projects that are becoming traditional and may attract a wider range of participants. For example, the Stones of the Karelian Isthmus orienteering festival has been held for 14 years in the Vyborg area of the Leningrad Region. Athletes take part in multi-day competitions for children and adults of any age and level of training, including the Pyramid night relay race for adults and the Kamenyukola children's relay race.

In addition, the festival organizes lectures on the basics of orienteering, injury issues, sports nutrition, master classes with special exercises for runners, as well as distance analysis by professional athletes. According to the organizers, the festival for many guests is not just a competition, but an opportunity to feel unity with people who share similar interests and pass on traditions from generation to generation.

As for the scale, the number of participants is in the thousands: in 2024, 3,200 athletes from 41 regions participated in the festival, and this year the organizers expect more than 3,500 people from 43 regions of Russia.

Another large-scale festival with a wide range of activities is being held in Yelets, Lipetsk region. We are talking about the project "Youth 48: strength is in unity!". The project has two important components – sports and patriotism. The target audience here is children and youth between the ages of 8 and 35, but only from the region. The festival includes competitions in mini-football, streetball, volleyball, table tennis, laser tag, sports and patriotic events (the quest game "Zarnitsa", which includes a Campfire meeting with a participant of the SVO, the military-patriotic game "Katyusha"), a physical education and recreation program for people with disabilities. "Every first person is here", family sports Saturday and others. Despite the fact that the project is designed for residents of the Lipetsk region, 1,737 people took part in the festival "Youth 48: strength is in unity!", and this is far from the limit!

In the Tyumen region, the authors of the "Best Prepared Person" initiative decided to expand their scope not only by increasing the number of participants, but also by reaching out internationally. In 2021, 49 people from 15 regions of the Russian Federation aged 18 to 36 participated in the competition, and a year later the number of participants increased to 200, which required holding events for two days. In 2023, due to the increased number of applicants, an online selection was conducted, which was attended by more than 700 people from more than 50 regions aged 14 to 53 years. 300 people participated in the final, which was held simultaneously at two venues. Last year, 350 finalists competed for the title of the best prepared, including representatives from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

This year will be a real breakthrough for the project in the international arena: athletes from China, Iraq, Iran, Serbia, Belarus, Egypt, the UAE and other countries have already agreed to participate. According to the organizers, the event will be attended by the cousin of the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Fujairah, President of the UAE Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation Abdullah bin Hamad bin Saif Al Sharqi.

There are hundreds and thousands of examples of such mass events all over the country. Thanks to the All-Russian sports Project competition "You're in the Game", these initiatives have the opportunity to make themselves known to a wider audience and attract even more participants, turning from small local events into global events.

Applications for participation in the fifth season of the All-Russian sports Project competition "You're in the Game" will be accepted until March 31, 2025.