Races of the Frost Proof

The World Championship was opened!

     On Tuesday, December 15, the 18th USIC World Championship Cross-Country was started in Rybinsk. Ski Sport Centre “Demino” regularly host biggest international competitions, that’s why the invasion of foreign railway men with skies in their hands wasn’t a surprise. But the guests of Yaroslavl region were a little bit shocked by their trip to Russia. At the beginning they were surprised by the fact that their baggage of skies and bags with accessories couldn’t fit into the van of the train from Moscow to Rybinsk. But 32°C frost in Rybinsk was a real shock! Got out of the train, the heat-loving French, Bulgarians, Swiss began to dance something like hopak (Ukrainian folk dance) on the platform to the Russian anthem whistled by a French skier.
      Having come to “Demino”, the guests rushed to their rooms in Sport Hotel and looked out of the windows with caution. The Opening ceremony was expected. Naturally, in the open air. However, the competitors came to the ceremony in an excellent mood. Representatives of the Swiss team confessed that several hours were enough to get used to Russian frost.
     The very ceremony was over in a short period of time because hard frost chilled everybody to the bone including hosts of the competitions – Chief of the North Railway Vasily Bilokha and Chairman of Russian sport club “Lokomotiv” Alexander Popov. Vasily Bilokha congratulated athletes on such a wonderful Russian winter and wished them show good results in spite of the weather. After that skiers began to dance, and that time it was a real dance because an ensemble of Russian folk song came to congratulate them on the opening of the event. And foreign guests decided to prove that dances in frost are a favorite thing not only for the Russians.
     The ceremony over, Alexander Popov said, “Members of the sport society “Lokomotiv” are always eager to achieve the best results, but they try not to mention about their great aims in advance. As for me, I’m sure that our guys will support rich traditions of Russian ski sport. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to take part in skiing competitions, I participate only in swimming. But now I see that “Demino” is one of the best ski centers not only in Russia but in the whole world. Where, if not here, in such a wonderful resort, should we show the highest results? Will the frost help our athletes? As they say, at home even the walls help, not only weather conditions. I’m sure that it will be hot on the course of “Demino” despite of severe cold. The Finnish and Norwegians are traditionally strong and they will do everything to take away from the Russians the title of the strongest railwaymen in the world. So, let’s support our guys together!”

Andrei Melnikov
Special correspondent of the “Gudok”
Rybinsk