Sport

In 1923, the first government body with responsibility for sport was established in Yakutia - the Republican Committee for Physical Education. Its responsibility was to develop and promote public participation in sport.

In 1923, the first government body with responsibility for sport was established in Yakutia - the Republican Committee for Physical Education. Its responsibility was to develop and promote public participation in sport. Numerous sports societies were set up and the first football teams were organised. In 1924, there were only eight sports organisations, with 200 members. By the end of 1926, their membership had grown to 1,600 participants, doing activities like skiing, chess, gymnastics, cycling and athletics. Special attention was given to skiing. There were ski marathons: Yakutsk - Irkutsk and Yakutsk - Khabarovsk. The first marathon lasted for seventy- two days, while the second lasted for fifty-eight days including forty running days. During the Second World War, experienced Yakut skiers took part in the breaking of the siege of Leningrad.
During the war, physical education did not stop. In 1941, the first children's sports school was opened in Yakutsk, and seventy children enrolled for gymnastics and skiing. Today, more than 1,000 children train at the school and in 1956, the first Sports and Athletics Meeting of the people of Yakutia took place. Sakha State University students were also involved in the sports movement and the university coaches trained more than ninety Sports Masters in wrestling, skiing, athletics and other sports. In 1959, Sakha State University student Dmitry Danilov became a Sports Master in wrestling in the USSR; Nikolay Gogolev, became the wrestling champion of the Russian Soviet Socialist Federation.

The history of sport in Yakutia
In 1964, the first sports boarding school was opened in the rural area of Churapcha, where qualified coaches began to train freestyle wrestlers. Wrestling was the most popular sport in the 1960s and '70s and Sakha wrestlers from Churapcha were members of the Russian team. In 1969, Roman Dmitriev became champion of the USSR and in 1972, he became an Olympic champion. He was the first Olympic champion to come from Yakutia. In 1976, three Yakut athletes from the Churapcha School took part in the 21st Olympics in Montreal. Their success was astounding: Pavel Pinigin won a gold medal, and Roman Dmitriev and Alexander Ivanov won silver medals. The Churapcha School has turned out more than 160 Sports Masters of the USSR and Russia, ten International Masters and four Honoured Sports Masters in freestyle wrestling.
In other sports, the best results were demonstrated by the weightlifter, Valery Kuzminykh, who won a silver medal in the USSR championship in 1965. In 1978, Alexander Mikhaylov won a bronze medal in the world boxing championship. In 1992, Alexander Ivanov became a world kick-boxing champion. Later, Vassily Vassiliev was awarded this title three times.
More recently, wrestlers German Kontoev and Leonid Spiridonov, boxer and three-time European champion Georgy Balakshin, and athlete Bato-Munko Vankeev all participated in the Athens Olympics in 2004. Three Yakut sportsmen have become grandmasters, and Yakut sportsman Gavril Kolesov, is five-time world draughts champion in Russia and internationally. Nadezhda Karasyova and Tatyana Zhirkova are members of the national team in track and field athletics, and have won championships in the Republic of Sakha, Russia, Europe and the world.
More than thirty kinds of sports are practised in the Sakha Republic. There are more than forty sports schools and thousands of children do sports of one kind or another; special attention is paid to the importance of the involvement of children in sport.

National sports are part of traditional Sakha culture. The contests and games of the Sakha have been described in epic literature - olonkho. They reflect the experience of people living in northern conditions. They do not require huge sports halls or stadiums and can be played anywhere in any community. The sports include khapsagai (a form of wrestling), stick pulling, various
kinds of jumping, reindeer and dog sled races, a particular type of draughts, and so on.Read more...

National sports are part of traditional Sakha culture. The contests and games of the Sakha have been described in epic literature - olonkho. They reflect the experience of people living in northern conditions. They do not require huge sports halls or stadiums and can be played anywhere in any community. The sports include khapsagai (a form of wrestling), stick pulling, various
kinds of jumping, reindeer and dog sled races, a particular type of draughts, and so on.
Jumping as a sport goes back to the old days, when the Sakha had to jump over fallen trees, meadows, water streams and snowdrifts simply in order to move around. There are three kinds of Sakha national jumping sports. Kylyy involves running and jumping on one leg, taking for ten leaps, then on the eleventh leap the jumper has to land on both legs. Ystanga involves running and jumping on the right and left legs alternately for ten leaps, then on the eleventh leap the jumper has to land on both feet. Kuobakh involves jumping on both legs at the same time, eleven times without stopping.
Khapsagai is the Sakha form of wrestling, testing strength, will-power, speed and flexibility. The rules of this type of wrestling are very simple: as soon as any part of a wrestler's body touches the ground or carpet, that is considered a fall.
Stick pulling is a national sport that tests strength. The Sakha played it everywhere: indoors, out-of- doors, on the floor, on the grass or in deep snow. Stick pulling is a very popular sport in the republic.
Jumping over a sleigh is very popular among the Chukchi, Evens and Evenks and has its roots in the tradition of reindeer herding.
Throwing the cord loop is widely known among the indigenous minorities of the republic. Antlers are hung on a 1.5 m high pillar, at the distance of fifteen metres from the player. The participants take a run to their spot and throw the cord loop to the antlers. Three throws are allowed. The cord
must be held in a roll and should not be tangled. This kind of sport develops accuracy and precision skills and is very useful for young men as they are the future reindeer-breeders of the area.
National table games have recently been given the status of a sport by the State Sport Committee. Table games have deep roots in the Sakha Republic. They were widespread in the 16th and 17th centuries and there are various kinds, the oldest being Khabylykh. This is played with simple wood splinters, like those which were used by families for kindling their fires (kamelyok). In the past the rules became progressively more and more complicated, but now there is an improved variation of the game. In the 17th century, among the Sakha, a game called Khaamyska (pebbles) was very popular. It was brought to Yakutia by the Russian Cossacks who came to Yakut as part of Russian exploratory expeditions. Nowadays, the pebbles are made of cubes of wood, but the name 'pebbles' has stayed. These games develop flexibility of the body, especially fingers and hands, deftness, coordination and accuracy, as well as mental ability. Children play the game enthusiastically and develop their abilities at the same time.