The 11th international tournament dedicated to the memory of the coach Andrei SHKALA will be held from 4 to 6 of May in Minsk. The competition includes three different age categories events.
Before the competition the International training camp gathered players from Belarus Lithuania Latvia Russia Slovakia and Georgia. It was the 3-days camp. Boys and girls had the trainings two times a day. The athletes born from 2001 to 2008 took part of it.
The head coach of the Sports School # 1 BFSO “Dynamo” the organizer of the camp Alexandra SIPACH said:
“The main goal of the camp was to popularize table tennis and to establish international relations. These events favorably influence on the development and improvement of the level of young athletes. We have an excellent sports base: a game room with 24 tables and a modern gym. We are open to cooperation and we would like to continue to hold international children’s camps with the involvement of a large number of countries. We are grateful to the Federation and the Republican Center for Olympic Training in Table Tennis for providing an opportunity to train alongside famous Belarusian table tennis players.”
SIPACH also expresed his 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 for the assistance in organizing the international training camp and the tournament to the memory of the coach Andrei SHKALA.
President of the table tennis Federation of Vilnius former member of the national team of the USSR Mironos KREERIS added:
“I express many thanks to Alexandra SIPACH for inviting us to the camp. I really like the hall I think it is one of the best sports facilities for table tennis in Europe. Everything is done and organized perfectly the children feel comfortable they do not want to go home. There is a friendly and cozy environment the children feel it and this can be seen with the naked eye. You have an excellent team that helps to develop table tennis.”
Coach of the Russian team a member of the Russian national team a member of the public chamber of Sosnovy Bor Nina ROMANYUTA also praised the conditions for play and work in Belarus.
” Children will have a unique experience. They will communicate with players from other countries. In addition it is great they will have the opportunity to play with players of different levels and styles. It is very important to communicate between athletes the sport is outside the politics. The camp is fun the atmosphere in the team is comfortable and friendly that is very important for the athletes. 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 a lot is done for it during the camp.”