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Demino cup

DEMINO CUP – 1st SNOW

     November 2, Rybinsk. –   On Saturday, October 31, 2009 in SSC “Demino” (Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region) Demino Cup Cross Country took place with the sprinter group of Russian National team taken part.
     The competition organizers didn’t want to wait for the beginning of calendar winter and offered athletes to participate in a sprint race on the course made of artificial snow, what became a real present for professional athletes and cross country amateurs. For the first time in history of cross country ski races in Russia skiing season opened so early.

Wonder of Course

     While it is still raining on a bigger part of Russia, there’s snow in “Demino” already. And it’s not a natural phenomenon, but efforts of tens of people who didn’t pray for snow, they just made a wonder themselves. A white ribbon of course along Koloksha pine forest, and bare ground and green grass around it – this picture appeared before the members of Russian National sprint team, strongest skiers of Russia who came to “Demino”. If this picture seemed natural in Finnish Otepää, here, in “Demino”, it became a real miracle. The skiers were pleased. Leaving snowless Moscow, many of them didn’t believe that an excellent course of world level was waiting for them. Although it was snowing on the day of the competitions, the course installed could have been estimated as an incredible marvel. Certainly, this snow is artificial that’s why it differs from natural snow by its characteristics. It’s four times heavier, four times denser, and thaws four times slower. And what is more surprising – it was produced last winter and has been saved until now.

“It’s our first experience in producing an artificial course for early opening of the season in late autumn. There aren’t many examples in the world. First of all, these are Scandinavian countries. We visited Otepää for purpose: we got acquainted with foreign experience”, Race Director Andrei Arsenyev says. At first, people didn’t believe their eyes that this snow was of last year. A huge heap of snow was deposited in “Demino” last winter, and this heap has been kept under a one-meter-thick blanket of sawdust.

Alexei Petukhov doesn’t suppress his emotions, “We’ve got a maximalist coach; he thinks that there shouldn’t be any breaks in training process, that’s why we’ve been training from May. But when he said that we are going to “Demino” and should take classic skis, we were greatly surprised. Where did snow appear from in this time of year? But when we came to Rybinsk we didn’t believe our eyes. I have won twice today – I’ve won the distance and snow! It’s great!”
Olympic champion Mikhail Devyatiarov, an author of brilliant sport victories, has been training future champions, Russian national sprint team, for several years. The coach tells that they used to hold autumn training in the north of the country or abroad. This year a world-level course has been made in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region, “Normal snow, good course of highest level, I should say. We had held here summer training – a roller-ski course, cross, jogging, but it’s the first time that we are training on first snow in Rybinsk!”

Alexander Ignatiev, Director of Sport of Ski Sport Centre “Demino”, “We’ve managed to save only 6,000 m³ out of 20,000 – 25,000 for it is our first year when we use this technology. Last year’s snow doesn’t loose its characteristics, on the contrary, it’s more slippery.” It was a laborious task: they’ve been lifting the snow from under sawdust for several days, cleaning it, and only then they put it in 50 cm even layer on the course.

These are the emotions of Andrei Kondrashov, “I could say without any superficial bombast that on the 31st of October in “Demino” a real historical event for national cross-country races took place. A race on last year’s snow. Hardly could I remember a race on natural snow, on the course made by a heavy machine, at the end of October in the central part of Russia with Russian National team taken part. In general, there’s no need to go to any Finland in searching for early snow. Now we have it here, in Rybinsk. There was something and somebody to look at. Firstly, all future Olympic sprinters were present. Secondly, the very race was interesting. There were falls, unexpected tactical tricks, and even adventures! For example, what was the flight of Sergey Novikov from his rivals in the quarterfinal beginning with the very start! Confused competitors couldn’t get closer to him. But Sergey didn’t manage to repeat this maneuver in the final of the race. He was tired, and his rivals were ready to such a challenge.”

Several thousand cubic meters of last year’s snow were spent to lay the course of 1 km long. Almost all snow that we managed to save is on the track. But it’s our first experience. This year “Demino” is planning to stock two times more snow to make the course next autumn. They hope that this course will keep till summer, and only then the snow, which will have been of before last year by that time, will be deposited.

President of Cross Country Ski Federation of Russia Vladimir Loginov is sure that experience of “Demino” will stimulate other cities to make courses earlier. It will enable Russian athletes to prepare for international competitions on the banks of the Volga River, and not to spend a lot of money for training abroad. He thanked the organizers for their initiative, “Organizing skiing competitions in October is a phenomenon in the history of Russian winter sport. For the first time in history of our country cross-country competitions were carried out at the end of October, and not in Siberia or Ural, but on the Volga, in the central part of Russia!”

Athletes of Russian National team estimated all peculiarities of the course. Nikolai Morilov, silver winner of Sprint World Championship, says that he missed snow. Before in summer they could train only abroad, and now it’s possible in Rybinsk. “Of course, I had time to miss winter and snow, in spite of the fact that we had trained on snow in May, in October, in August – it doesn’t matter. I want winter to come.” On the day of the course opening everybody could go for a ride on the course. Students Artem and Vlad came from Moscow to see last year’s snow. Artem Vakheev, “It’s a sheer nonsense for the central part of Russia. This snow of last year is like in a cartoon. It’s unbelievable. An excellent course.”

     “From the organizing point of view the first official start of the season was really good”, tells Mikhail Devyatiarov-senior, “First, we have all the luck with weather. The temperature lowered till 2 degrees below zero which enabled not to damage the course of deposited last year’s snow. And it began to snow! As a result, a lap of 950 m was in excellent conditions. In addition to it, the competitions were held under the light of projectors, and it was very picturesque for the audience.” Mikhail Devyatiarov-senior also told about further plans of National sprint team. “We are going to stay in Rybinsk, “Demino” for a couple of days more. And on the 4th of November we go to Finland, where we’ll prepare to World Cup in Kuusamo, November 26-28.”

A unique race

     You have never experienced it before: all amateurs were enabled to perform abreast with ski elite of the country. According to Alexander Ignatiev, Director of Sport, best athletes of National team, having learnt about Demino snow, corrected their plans, returned from foreign countries and came to “Demino”. Sprint group started in “Demino Cup”. It consisted of titled and popular athletes: Alexei Petukhov, Mikhail Devyatiarov, Nikolai Morilov, Nikita Krukov, Ekaterina Chujkova, Eugenia Shapovalova, Natalia Naryshkina. Veterans of cross-country races participated in sprint races – President of Cross Country Ski Federation of Yaroslavl region Victor Popov of 63 year old among them. More than 50 cross-country amateurs from Rybinsk, Tutaev, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Sergiev-Posad weren’t afraid to compete with the members of Russian National team. Athletes from Sport schools for children and juniors of Rybinsk, Kostroma, Pereslavl showed their skills.

In the twilight and darkness

     After races of qualification 30 best athletes were selected. They were divided into 5 groups of 6. Six athletes ran a 1500 m distance (men and juniors) and 1 km (ladies and juniors) beginning with common start. Athletes won first and second places went into the next lap – semifinal. 10 plus 2 athletes started in the semifinal. The most impressive were final individual sprint freestyle races. The organizers flavored the competitions with some extreme. Participants had to be selected in the twilight on the background of the snow-covered pine forest. Finals were carried out in the dark. It became somehow a zest of the competitions. By that time temperature had lowered, quality of snow had improved, and speed had increased.

Cup owners

     Members of Russian National team were beyond comparison, when they got into the top three prize-winners in the final races. Eugenia Shapovalova became the winner among ladies in 1 km race. Second place was conquered by Ekaterina Chujkova, third – by Elena Turysheva.
     Alexei Petukhov became the strongest in 1.5 km among the sprinters. Igor Rysin won the second place, Nikita Krukov was the third.
     Lubov Skrebova, an athlete from Sport school for children and juniors № 4, won Demino Cup among juniors. Vladimir Rysin, a member of Russian National team, became the prize-winner among juniors. The third place was occupied by Eugene Kochegarov from Sport school for children and juniors № 4.
     Champions and prize-winners got cups, medals, and prizes as a keepsake of the first competitions in this season.

Welcome to “Demino”!

     National team will return to Finland to participate in World competitions and to win rating points, but the course made in “Demino” won’t disappear. From the 1st of November it’s open for everyone who wants to ski together with the wind, feel snow under feet, and breathe clear tarry air… We are waiting for you!