A landmark event took place in the capital of Finland — the first open national sambo championship organized by the Finnish Sambo Federation took place in Helsinki on May 3.
“The competition took place in a friendly and working atmosphere and gathered 32 participants aged from 7 to 50 years old. The geography of athletes covered four Finnish clubs from different regions of the country, which clearly demonstrates the growing interest in sambo in Finland,” said Anatoly Skippari, President of the Sambo Federation of Finland.
A special moment of the opening ceremony was the speech of the guest of honor — World Sambo Champion Alexander Rannich. It was he who held the first sambo demonstrations and seminar on Finnish soil in the 1970s.
“His presence was a symbolic link between the history and the current stage of the sport’s development in the country,” said Skippari.
The tournament was organized by Sambo2000 club headed by Anatoly Smolyanov. According to the tournament organizing committee, for two decades of its work the club has established itself as a sports base and a center of sambo development in Finland. The championship refereeing was provided by Heikki Haapa-Aho from the club “Haka”, a multiple medalist of European and world championships.
“The championship became an important step in the development of sambo in the region and served as a basis for the formation of the national team. The Finnish Federation plans to select five athletes based on their performances to represent the country at international tournaments under the auspices of FIAS,” added Anatoly Skippari.