But it’s not quite a matter of just looking at the timetable and showing up. A little bit of forethought and careful planning is required. And get ready for a difficult choice — not only does the university offer mainstream sports, but also some unusual — and very tantalizing — options.
ITMO University Sports Club "Kron Bars" opened its doors on September 25, 2013. The unusual name is actually an amalgamation of two words "Kron," short for Kronverksky, which is the name of the prospect where ITMO’s main building is situated, and, to conjure up the speed and agility you’ll soon be acquiring, "Bars," which is the loan-translation of the Russian word for "Snow Leopard.'
Since then it organizes sport competitions and events for students and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Among the achievements of the Club are tons of prizes and medals won at tournaments. For instance, in 2014 ITMO’s men team placed 4th at the Russian Mini Football Championship. In 2015 Girls from the cheerleading team presented the most fascination show at the Cheer League Contest and emerged victorious. One of the achievements made in 2016 by the sportsmen is the bronze medal at the Open Darts Championship.
The mission of "Kron Bars" is to turn sports activities into a trend, as its sport classes are free of charge and their doors are open for everyone, both beginners and skilled sportsmen. Everybody can try different kinds of sports — from traditional games like football or volleyball to new ones such as power fit and fitness. Over 30 clubs are offered to choose from to compete, win and have fun. All the classes are in the evening, so you don’t have to miss lectures to participate in sport.
Kron Bars mascot is a snow leopard called Tim dressed in a t-shirt with ITMO’s motto and colored with its' traditional deep blue color. The name Tim rhymes with the Russian word "nepobedim" (unconquerable), so fans and cheerleaders put this phrase in cheer up songs and write it on posters.
Before delving into the sports themselves, here are some things that one should know about sport at ITMO University. Firstly it is easy to reach — two main sport centers are located on 9 Ulitsa Lomonosova (Lomonosov Street) in "Bars Arena" (room number 4401) and on 5/7 Vyazemsky Lane in the Sports Center. Upon reaching the first location, you’ll find volleyball, basketball and cheerleading classes while on Vyazemsky there are discover Darts, Rock Climbing, ping pong, badminton clubs and so forth.
Kron Bars also has its online dimension. There are profiles on Instagram and Vkontakte outlining latest developments and classes. Students use them to share their achievements and post information about upcoming events.
So, finally: the sports on offer. Apart from traditional classes such as football, volleyball, basketball, Kron Bars offers different non-mainstream sports that can attract your attention. And the club is always ready to consider any suggestions for new sports, so the list is always expanding.There is, literally, something for everybody.
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Cheerleading
Did you know that cheerleading is much more than jumping around, waving pompoms and singing primitive chants? Cheerleading exercises require a surprising amount of choreographic and athletic prowess. Furthermore it is not only a female activity — it needs male supporters for holding "higher" people in a pyramid and tossing so-called flyers. So, guys, get out there and join the action!
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova, Small Hall)
Contact information: Cheer_nastusha@mail.ru, Anastasia Luchun, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday 19.00−22.45; Thursday 19.00−21.45; Saturday 15.00−19.00
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Arm wrestling
It may seem that the only thing an arm wrestler needs is strength so as to pin the opponent’s hand on the surface. However this activity requires tactical strategies and specific techniques. Thus arm wrestling training is appropriate for young people who want to want to develop both physical and mental skills.
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova)
Contact information: feliks9309@yandex.ru, Feliks Gogitsaev, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday 19.00−22.45; Thursday 19.00−22.45; Saturday 19.00−22.45; Sunday 15.00−17.00
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Ping Pong
The average speed of a ping pong ball during a game is more than 40 km/h. To gain this speed table tennis players spend much more energy than volleyball players. According to measurements, ping pong can be comparable with breaststroke swimming in terms of expended energy.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7)
Contact information: deexort@gmail.ru, Denis Gimaldinov, team manager.
Training schedule: Saturday 15.00−19.00; Sunday 17.00−19.00
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Rock Climbing
Do you know that rock climbing and mountaineering are two different kinds of sport? Rock Climbing is like mountaineering’s younger brother because before to conquer a peak of a real mountain one has to learn how to climb up a special indoor wall.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7)
Contact information: For-wild2008@rambler.ru Dmitry Kryzhanovsky, team manager.
Training schedule: Monday, Wednesday 17.00−19.30, Thursday, Friday 17.00−21.00; Sunday 15.00−19.00
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Frisbee
According to Frisbee players, the most difficult trick is to let the disc touch the ground. It started as a campus craze when Yale University’s students tossed empty pie tins. Today it is an Olympic sport popular all around the globe.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7) / "Bars Arena" (Lomonosova Street, 9, Main Hall)
Contact information: kultar@live.ru Nikita Kalinin, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday 17.00−19.00 ("Vyazemsky" Sports Center); Saturday 15.00−17.00 ("Bars Arena")
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Darts
Previously this was a dangerous pub game where the target resided on a door and anybody who came in could easily be skewered by a stray dart. It took this about four centuries for darts become an international sport. Now everybody can train his or her accuracy and motor skills at ITMO’s darts club.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7, 4th floor)
Contact information: ant.okhotnikov@yandex.ru Anton Okhotnikov, team manager
Training schedule: Wednesday 18.00−20.00, Saturday 12.00−15.00
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Billiards
The history of billiards runs deep. It is known that when the game appeared the first cues were very short and looked like wooden clubs. With the passage of time cues became longer and billiards gained more and more popularity. It was one of the favorite games of the upper class in many countries. Nowadays people still love this game and enjoy playing billiards at parties. However, it is also a serious sport discipline. At ITMO billiard class you can play both snooker and Russian pyramid, which differs from Western pool, as a table is larger and the size and color of balls also differs. All the balls are white or ivory and sometimes, depending on the game, they have no numbers, as any player can hit any ball into a pocket. It may seem that the Russian pyramid has no rules but there is incredible skill at work behind the chaos. It’s very lack of rules makes this one of the most difficult games to play. This is true not only about the sport; billiards can also be regarded as a metaphor for life in Russia!
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7, 4th floor)
Contact information: m383oe86rus@gmail.com Alexander Karpushin, team manager
Training schedule: Monday, Thursday 17.00−19.00
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Power Fit
This activity includes such modern disciplines as cross fit and power-lifting. According to the organizers of ITMO’s power fit club, this activity is not for those who want to lose weight or become a body builder but for those who want to become sportsmen and participate in power fit tournaments.
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova, room number 4401)
Contact information: pokoptsevitmo@gmail.com Yuri Pokoptsev, team manager.
Training schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday — 17.00−22.45
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Fitness
Today everybody knows this sport, as it has become very popular with young people who care about their shape and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Various exercises and special training systems help to make a body stronger and give you extra energy.
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova, Small Hall)
Contact information: katyasidorova12@gmail.com, Ekaterina Sidorova, team manager.
Training schedule: Saturday — 13.00−15.00
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Orienteering
How to find one’s way in a dense forest? How to use a compass if your GPS is broken? How to plan a route in a short span of time? Orienteering athletes know the answers. As a combination of different practices and complicated theory this sport give you a lot.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (5/7 Vyazemsky Lane)
Contact information: chopa1969@mail.ru, Cholpon-Ai Dadakbaeva, team manager.
Training schedule: Wednesday 17.00−19.00
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Tennis
The Tennis club is one of the youngest ITMO’s sport clubs — it was open in 2016 when Alexandra Bykova, an ITMO student and professional tennis player, became its head. Now everybody can join the club whether he or she is a professional or beginner.
Location "Vyazemsky" Sports Center (5/7 Vyazemsky Lane)
Contact information: khrabryl@gmail.com, Denis Khrabry, team manager.
Training schedule: Friday 17.00−19.00
You can also join the following more mainstream sports:
1 Basketball (men team)
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova)
Contact information: cherkasova@kronbars.ru Olga Cherkasova, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday-Thursday 21.00−22.45; Saturday 19.00−21.00, Sunday 18.00−21.00
2 Basketball (women team)
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova)
Contact information: liza15malik@gmail.com Elizaveta Malikova, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday-Thursday 19.00−21.00; Saturday 17.00−19.00, Sunday 11.00−13.00
3 Volleyball (men team)
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova)
Contact information: tikhomirov@kronbars.ru Alexander Tikhomirov, team manager.
Training schedule: Monday, Friday, Sunday 21.00−22.45
4 Volleyball (women team)
Location "Bars Arena" (9 Ulitsa Lomonosova)
Contact information: mbrataeva@bk.ru, Maria Brataeva, team manager.
Training schedule: Monday, Friday 18.00−21.00; Sunday 15.00−19.00
5 Football
Location "Moskovsky" Stadium (Moskovsky Prospect, 102)
Contact information: +7(911)758−61−72 Ilya Yakimuk, team manager.
Training schedule: Tuesday 20.00 — 21.30
6 Badminton
Location ITMO Sports Center (Vyazemsky Lane 5/7)
Contact information: zhirovm@gmail.com, Mikhail Zhirov, team manager.
Training schedule: Thursday 17.00−19.00; Saturday 19.00−21.00; Sunday 15.00−17.00
To get more information contact "Kron Bars" by email: mail@kronbars.ru
