Despite the rainy weather, we went to the first day of the competition on the water and brought a vivid photo report and a bit of atmosphere.
Over 150 people
Not far from the Nemnovo lock on the Augustow Canal, all the kayakers of the country gather for competitions that mark the opening of the new season.
– This year we are celebrating 50 years since the formation of Grodno tourism. Starting from 1973, we regularly began to organize competitions in tourist-applied all-around in the technique of water tourism, – explained Sergey Kolyada, chairman of the Republican Tourist and Sports Union NGO.
In Soviet times, the best athletes from all over the big country gathered here. This year, more than 150 people compete in the tourist-applied all-around in the technique of water tourism. In addition to the Belarusian teams, water tourists from Russia came to the competition.
– This year 14 teams came to us, two of them are Russian. There are regarding 150 participants in total. Two distances were organized for national teams from the regions. 3rd class – for everyone, 4th – to improve tourist skills, – explained Vyacheslav Bazhansky, chief inspector of the competition, master of sports of international class, judge of international category.
I had to look literally in all directions. The instructors, fixing the course of the competitions, handed out recommendations to the participants from the shore. The most frequent sounded like an eternal reminder: “70% of all movements are made by a sailor, so it depends on him how the kayak will float.” Those who went too sharply in defiance of the impulsive Ostashanka were in for an invigorating somersault.
Route for Dummies
The traditional place for the congress of the participants was the Nemnovo tourist center of the same name, which lies on the fast and winding Ostashanka River. The fact is that this area is replete with rifts, rapids and a fairly strong current.
It was here that the participants of the competition showed themselves in agility and skill in maneuvering on the water. A new feature of the season was the 3rd class route, in other words, for dummies or beginners.
– In fact, this means that everyone can take part in the competition, including those who do not have a sports category. A separate water route has been worked out for them. The program will traditionally include “Slalom” – that is, a short distance for the accuracy of the route. And the Rally distance provides for overcoming natural obstacles (blockages, overhanging trees), and also requires the participants to be able to navigate the water, – Sergey Kolyada noted.
The initiator of the creation of such a lightweight water route was the Borisov sports club “Kayaks”, namely their leader Yevgeny Yakutsenya. The master of sports and the judge of the national category noticed that in tourism there are those who look not only forward, but also up.
Tomorrow, the participants of the “Neman Spring” will have a distance of regarding 10 kilometers, which will pass along the small August ring. By the way, a successful performance will allow you to win, for example, the title of master of sports.
