The participants competed in 24 sports, including individual and team disciplines. Some of them (swimming, volleyball, basketball, athletics, table tennis and others) are Olympic sports. Others, such as darts, futsal, belt wrestling and national sports, have not yet received such recognition, but are loved by the people.
According to Vladimir Letsky, one of the organizers of the Games and chairman of the Republican Council of the Voluntary Society of Trade Unions of Physical Culture and Sports of Kyrgyzstan, beach sports are gaining popularity every year. Fortunately, on the coast of Issyk-Kul the participants have a place to go.
“I think that’s why the Games we’re holding today are the most important in Central Asia in terms of mass participation,” he says. “And more and more people want to take part in sports competitions in Issyk-Kul.
The participants of the competition also came to Kyrgyzstan with their support groups. The largest amateur team in 2024 was from Siberia. It brought together not only the athletes’ friends, but also their wives and babies. While the athletes competed for the right to be considered the best, the children sunbathed on the beach.
“We all combine business and pleasure on the shore of a beautiful lake,” admitted the captain of the Novosibirsk volleyball team Alexey Abrukovsky. – We compete, train, relax, swim and breathe fresh air. I am very glad that I have the opportunity to visit Kyrgyzstan and admire its nature.
Damira Karasartova, a resident of Bishkek, came to the lakeside just like her rivals to compete for the title of best darts player. A doctor by profession, she became interested in the game by chance, during breaks from work. Now, at 63, she is not inferior in accuracy to young and quick-witted athletes. I came to the Games just to win.
“Many people say that darts is not a sport, but rather a leisure activity,” he said. “I categorically disagree with this. To hit the target, you need not only excellent vision, but also strong nerves, clarity of movement and good coordination. Like other athletes, we have to train before competitions.”
“RG” dossier
Since 2001, the Issyk-Kul International Sports Games of the CIS and SCO countries have been held. The first competitions attracted only about two hundred people, but the site soon became very popular.
The Games are organised by the State Agency for Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republican Council of the Voluntary All-Union Society for Physical Culture and Sports with the support of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS member states.
The Games are intended to attract broad sections of the population to systematic physical education and sports, to develop national sports disciplines and to promote the exchange of experience and friendship between the peoples of the CIS and the SCO.
