III Winter World Military Games 2017 in Sochi
On February 18, 2017, at 12:00 in Severomorsk, Murmansk region, on Primorsky Square, a unique event was held - the military sports torch relay of the III Winter World Military Games 2017!
The fire arrived in Severomorsk from the village of Samara, where it was lit by a shaman and handed over to a team of fire keepers (5 members of the Yunarmey), representatives of the All-Russian military-patriotic movement "Yunarmiya".
On the square, the fire was met by military personnel, residents of Severomorsk and senior officials.:
Marina Vasilyevna Kovtun, Governor of the Murmansk Region, Vice Admiral Nikolai Anatolyevich Evmenov, Commander of the Northern Fleet, Svetlana Ivanovna Naumova, Chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture and Sports of the Murmansk Region, Chairman of the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Family, Youth and Sports of the Murmansk Regional Duma, Chairman of the Olympic Council of the Murmansk Region, Honored Master of Sports, prize-winner Larisa Nikolaevna Kruglova and Svetlana Kruglova, Ambassador of the III Winter World Military Games 2017 in Severomorsk?on Vladi?Mirovna Kapa?nina - Russian pilot, seven-time absolute world champion in aerobatics, Honored Master of Sports of Russia, Honored Coach of Russia, instructor pilot at Sukhoi Design Bureau. She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most decorated sports aviation pilot.
The military Sports Flame of the III Winter World War Games was delivered to the Primorsky Square of Severomorsk on an armored personnel carrier accompanied by military personnel on snowmobiles. The Yunarmei soldiers handed over the Lamp to the Ambassador of the Games, Svetlana Kapanina, who opened the military sports torch relay in Severomorsk.
The lamp was in the hands of 2017 people, which corresponds to the year of the Games. After that, a torch was lit from her for a solemn race especially for residents and military personnel of Severomorsk. Svetlana completed a lap of honor with the torch of the military sports flame of the III Winter World Military Games 2017 on Primorsky Square.
It was an unforgettable event, which was accompanied by wonderful, and at that time, extremely warm North Sea weather.
What are the World War Games? This is an analogue of the Olympic Games among active military personnel, established by the International Council of Military Sports (CISM) by analogy with the Olympics. The motto of the International Council of Military Sports is "Friendship through sport". And just like at the Olympics, there are winter war games and summer war games.
The first Summer Games were held in Rome in 1995 and were dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The first winter games were held in March 2010 in the Italian city of Aosta. The motto of the International Council of Military Sports is "Friendship through sport"!
The III Winter World War Games will be held from February 22 to 28, 2017 in Sochi in seven sports disciplines: biathlon, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, ski mountaineering, short track, rock climbing, and ski orienteering. During the games, 44 sets of awards will be awarded in individual and team competitions.
The purpose of the World War Games is to promote world peace by establishing close and permanent ties between the armed forces of different countries in the field of sports and physical education!
The flame of the World War Games will be lit for the first time in Sochi. Russia, in agreement with the International Council of Military Sports (CISM), did not make this decision by chance. Since ancient times, fire has been more than just a means for heating and cooking, magical properties have been attributed to it, and people have taken burning coal from one source of fire and distributed it among their own kind, passing it from hand to hand, preserving it and not letting it go out.
The flame of the Games was lit in the period from February 12 to February 14, 2017 with the participation of representatives of the All-Russian military-patriotic movement "Yunarmiya" in five geographical locations on the territory of the military districts of Russia:
? Kaliningrad Region – Curonian Spit National Reserve
? Murmansk region – beyond the Arctic Circle
? Kabardino-Balkarian Republic – southern slope of Mount Elbrus
? Chelyabinsk Region – Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works
? Sakhalin Region – Aniva Lighthouse Plant
Simultaneously with Severomorsk, the capitals of the Russian military districts - St. Petersburg (Western Military District), Rostov-on-Don (capital of the Southern Military District), Yekaterinburg (Central Military District), Khabarovsk (Eastern Military District) - are taking part in the relay!
In each of these cities, on the main squares, there are military personnel, athletes, veterans, honored figures, a total of 2017 people (this figure corresponds to 2017, the year of the relay race) to touch the lamp!
On February 23, 2017, a ceremony of uniting lights from five Russian cities participating in the Relay Race will take place in Moscow at the State Kremlin Palace.
On February 24, 2017, the Olympic Park in Sochi will host the final stage of the Military Sports Torch Relay and the ceremony of lighting the Flame Bowl at the Opening of the III Winter World Military Games. Let's cheer for our Russians!
We wish them courage, good luck and victory!!!
See you at the Sochi Games!
Photos provided by Andrey Nikolaevich Luzik.
