About 4 thousand students of St. Petersburg Mining University in their free time are engaged in various hobby clubs, this is almost half of the students. Another 3,700 people attend sports clubs. Among the most popular sports are soccer, volleyball, basketball, all kinds of martial arts. However, many young people prefer to spend their time in the evenings and on weekends in a much more original way. Forpost decided to find out what motivates guys to choose such non-standard hobbies as, for example, rock climbing, cheerleading or winter car racing.
Angelina Koroleva is a sophomore. She says she has been doing gymnastics, swimming and track and field since she was a little girl. Climbing was not in the sphere of her interests before, but when she came to the fair of sports and creative clubs (this event is held at the university every year so that everyone could find a hobby to their liking), she immediately realized: this is what she needed.
"Climbing and mountaineering allow you to be in great physical shape. They unite active people who are ready to move forward, charge with optimism, allow you to catch the drive, which is enough for training, studies and for free time", - Angelina says.
In addition to almost daily classes at the mountain climbing site of the Mining University, she together with other students at least twice a year, in May and November, goes to the nature, to the Karelian Isthmus, where she reinforces her skills in natural conditions. By the way there are quite a lot of lovers of natural and artificial vertical terrain in Petersburg University - about 40 people, 15 of whom have become club members this academic year.
But far fewer students take to the track, which is not surprising. After all, you not only need to have your own car, but also be prepared to pay for its repair in case of a collision with other race participants or snowdrifts. Not everyone can afford it, but love of speed often makes you forget about potential financial losses.
"It all started during the pandemic. At that time I spent a lot of time studying the sport theoretically, and when the lockdown was over I decided to take it up in practice. I started competing in my Lada Vesta, but after a while I found it necessary to buy another car for racing. That's when "Galosha" - Lada Sputnik of 1999 model year - appeared. Among the advantages of this model - the original mechanics and differential lock, allowing the driving wheels to use the maximum traction force with the road surface," says Andrei Kovalenko, senior lecturer of the Department of Physical Education of the Mining University.
This season he managed to become one of the top three prize-winners at one of the stages of the championship on winter racing "Iron Racer", which is now over. But another participant, mechanical engineering student Vladislav Yanishevsky has not yet managed to get on the podium. But, according to the young man, this is not the most important thing. Much more important - to relax on the weekend, to get a charge of inexpressible emotions and go back to school on Monday with a clear head, without any unnecessary, distracting thoughts.
By the way, during the last race of the season Vladislav, despite the difficult because of the abundance of snow, showed his best time on the track.
"I've loved cars since I was a kid. My first car was my dad's Audi, but I also drove a BMW, a Lada and now a 2007 Civic. There are actually a lot of guys interested in the sport. But when they find out that they have to have their own car and bear all the financial costs of maintaining it, the vast majority choose something less expensive. But I and eight other students from Gorny always come to the track to take part in the races or cheer for our own guys," Vladislav said.
Anna Pytkina, a third-year student, was involved in acrobatic rock 'n' roll as a child, but in the 8th grade she became interested in cheerleading. Most people associate it with cheerleading during breaks in basketball games. However, it is actually a sport in its own right, involving separate competitions between groups of girls.
Anna, by the way, as a schoolgirl, represented the Russian team at the European Championship. The team included students of St. Petersburg Mining University, so one of the reasons for her enrollment in the first technical university of the country was the presence of a cheerleading team.
"It's great when you have the opportunity to get distracted and do a sport that you like. It motivates you, among other things, to study. Striving for results also gives you an extra incentive. We have a great team, we train 3-4 times a week, we win prizes at competitions and are ready to progress further," says Anna.
There are a total of 63 sports sections for Mining University students to choose from. These include rowing, rhythmic gymnastics, sports tourism, snowboarding, and much, much more. The goal of the university administration is not only to give the kids knowledge and competences necessary for work in the mineral resources complex, but also to get them involved in a healthy lifestyle.
It's not a secret that nowadays extraction of natural resources, necessary for development of the national economy, often takes place in hard-to-reach areas, in extreme conditions of the Polar Region. It is quite logical that specialists who will go to work there must be physically strong and hardy people. That is why the rectorate annually allocates enormous funds for the development of sports infrastructure and functioning of various sections in the university.
For example, on the eve of the current school year, an advanced gym was opened next door to Study Center No. 3 on Maliy Prospect, where both scheduled physical education classes and individual training sessions are held in their free time. There are not only barbells, dumbbells and cardio machines, but also unusual treadmills with a concave surface shape. Speed of running is regulated not by an electric motor, but by a user himself - with his feet, which allows him to move at a maximum comfortable pace, at any time abruptly decrease it or, conversely, increase it.
All in all, there are four modern sports complexes at different sites of the Mining University. They are a combination of halls for competitive sports and martial arts, as well as fitness centers.
