Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin open new sambo and boxing center in Luzhniki

On Moscow Day, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin opened the International Sambo Center and International Boxing Center in Luzhniki.

“Happy Moscow Day! Happy Capital City day! Have a look at this project you initiated, as you might remember. We started building something small, hardly even a gym. But we have some very creative colleagues, and gradually, it’s all grown into this unique facility,” pointed out Mr. Sobyanin.

According to him, the new sports center exceeded all expectations regarding its scope and construction time.

“They have built it all in two years, which is also a uniquely short time. Cutting-edge construction technologies were used extensively. We’ve made it all in two years. The usual time for such projects is five years,” the Moscow Mayor said.

Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin attended the final fight of the Cup of Stars. Combat Sambo League, watching the bout between Khakimzhon Ismaillov, 2021 World Championship bronze winner (Uzbekistan), and Denis Goltsov, European Champion, Twice World Champion and Honorary Master of Sports (St.Petersburg) in the over-98kg weight category. Mr. Goltsov was the winner.

Vladimir Putin also attended the opening ceremony for the International Cup of Moscow tournament of the World Boxing League. The President of Russia also got an introduction to Sport Vokrug, a Russian-made multimedia refereeing system. It generates information for TV feeds and the audience automatically, broadcasts it to various displays and makes match recordings.

Unique architecture

The new sports center was built on an order from the Russian President. The construction started in July 2020 and finished in June 2022. Yuli Borisov, head of the UNK project bureau, was the project architect, supported by Chief Architect of Moscow Sergei Kuznetsov. 

The concept was developed in cooperation with International Sambo Federation and Moscow Boxing Federation. Before designing the facility, they have analyzed leading foreign facilities in that area: Institut du Judo (France), Kodokan Judo Institute (Japan), global boxing centers like Sofia Sports Hall (Bulgaria), Volleyball Venue (Georgia) and a number of others. As a result, the new sports complex in Luzhniki has no peer when it comes to functionality and fully complies with the requirements set by international boxing (AIBA, IBF, WBA) and sambo (ESF, FIAS) international federations and associations to facilities eligible to hold world-level events.

The symmetrical sambo and boxing centers are located under the same roof, behind a single façade. Nevertheless, they are supposed to function independently, with separate entrances, parking spaces, etc. The seven-story high (plus one underground level) facility’s total area is 45,600 square meters, with an underground parking garage for 108 cars.

The center has a unique acoustic mirror ceiling and stained glass windows. Slanted stainless steel panels are reflective and enable people on the streets to watch athletes practice. It was the first time such a design concept was used in facilities of this level.

International Sambo Center

The International Sambo Center has a competition venue with three mats and stands for 1,600 spectators, along with a mirror-lined practice hall that also has three mats, each for two pairs of athletes.

On top of that, the center has:

— a universal practice gym with 50 exercise machines;

— a universal team sports hall, 30 x 18 meters (used for basketball, volleyball, badminton and other sports);

— a swimming pool, 25 x 11 meters with six lanes;

— a sauna unit (Turkish bath, cryo and infrared saunas);

— a healthcare and rehabilitation facility (with rooms for physio therapy, examinations, massage and diagnostics, along with a remedial gymnastics facility);

— a conference hall for 200 people;

— the Sambo Museum;

— administration, recreation and other service facilities.

The Sambo Museum displays items related to the main milestones of sambo inception and development in the USSR: the conditions that facilitated creation of a new martial arts type in the 1920s and 1930s, the sambo philosophy, sambo during World War II, the sambo method and the wide array of moves it encompasses. Visitors can take a look at the foundational scientific works on sambo and see personal belongings and sculptures of its founders: Vasily Oshchepkov, Viktor Spiridonov, Anatoly Kharlampiev. For example, the Museum has Vasily Oshchepkov’s knife from 1935.

A part of the exposition is dedicated to the Sambo to Schools! educational project ran by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation On top of that, the Museum displays cups and medals from major competitions held under the aegis of the International Sambo Federation, as well as documents certifying recognition of the International Sambo Federation by the International Olympic Committee.

The final bouts of Cup of Stars, Combat Sambo League were the first official competition that took place at the International Sambo Center. They featured eight top League athletes in the following weight categories: under 71, 79, 88 and over 98 kilograms. The participating athletes came from Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

International Boxing Center

The International Boxing Center has a competition venue with two boxing rings. Its audience stands are able to accommodate 2,000 spectators and have special seats for people with reduced mobility.

On top of that, the center has:

— a mirror-lined practice hall with two boxing rings and one all-purpose frame;

— a universal practice gym with 50 exercise machines;

— a universal team sports hall, 30 x 18 meters (used for basketball, volleyball, badminton);

— a swimming pool, 25 x 11 meters with six lanes;

— a sauna unit (Turkish bath, cryo and infrared saunas);

— a healthcare and rehabilitation facility (with rooms for physio therapy, examinations, massage and diagnostics, along with a remedial gymnastics facility);

— a conference hall for 200 people;

— administration, recreation and other service facilities.

The building has been equipped with video broadcast machinery allowing for live feeds.

World Boxing Association matches between Team Russia and Team World were scheduled to coincide with the International Boxing Center launch. Boxers from Italy, Cuba, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan represented Team World.

In December, the new venue will host men’s World Cup in Martial Arts, pound-for-pound category. The International Sambo Founders Cup, the Russian President’s Sambo Cup (men), the Moscow Mayor’s Martial Arts Cup (juniors and youth, both male and female) are all planned to take place there in 2023.

Both boxing and sambo centers will also go on to become the base training camps for various Moskomsport institutions fielding teams and beginner athletes. On top of competitions and practice sessions, they will also host theory lessons for athletes and advanced training sessions for coaches and referees.

Sport Vokrug multimedia refereeing system

The launch of international sambo and boxing centers dovetailed with presentation of Sport Vokrug, a Russian made media refereeing system. Supported by the Moscow Government, Russian engineers developed it back in 2018, using Russian-made components and software.

The new system enables full cycles of organizing and running sporting events; it’s indispensable help for all participants. It enables the referees to grade the athletes performance, watch video replays, run draws, compile schedules and competition results. Athletes and their coaches can use it to track their own and their competitors’ results, watch and analyze video recordings. For spectators, it gives a chance to follow competitions and their results in an interactive way, even being outside the sporting venue.

The system went through successful pilot testing in 2018-2022, being used in over 30 major international competitions, including World and Euro Championships in rhythmic gymnastics and rock climbing and BMX Euro Championships (no similar system has been used in global bike sports to date).

Sport Vokrug is a great example of import substitution and a fully functional replacement for foreign products. Before 2022, refereeing at many sports events in Russia used to be done with foreign-made hardware and software. After sanctions had been introduced and foreign suppliers left the Russian market, sports event organizers and venues were left without hardware and software they needed. Most tournament results are stored on paper; there is no single database for athletes and their results. Broad introduction of Sport Vokrug will make us able to run all kinds of high-level sporting events in our country smoothly.

The largest sports cluster in Moscow

The rebirth of Luzhniki Olympic Complex, the main and most well-known sports hub in Russia, has become one of the Moscow Government’s top priorities. Recently, reconstruction had finished at the Big Sports Arena which went on to become the main venue for the 2018 World Cup. Additionally, they have built Irina Viner-Usmanova’s Gymnastics Palace, the Watersports Palace and the cableway connecting Luzhniki to Vorobyovy Gory.

The street sports service center was renovated. The entire cluster grounds have been landscaped and made comfortable for those who wish to play sports or exercise outside.  

Some major new venues are supposed to join the sport cluster in the nearest future. They include:

— Kristall Ice Palace: a new sports complex with all the necessary infrastructure for lovers of ice hockey and figure skating;

— Druzhba all-purpose sports hall: after an overhaul, it will again be used to host competitions in eight sports: tennis, volleyball, rhythmic gymnastics, wrestling, acrobatic rock'n'roll, dancesport and futsal;

— a tennis club with 26 courts (15 indoor and 7 outdoor), 4 squash fields, table tennis areas, paddle tennis and beach tennis courts, an all-purpose sports hall, a fitness gym with a swimming pool and a sauna, a kids’ center and a rehabilitation facility.

Further plans include construction of a shooting club, renovation of the Palace of Sports and the Small Sports Arena.

Development of sambo and boxing in Moscow

In 2021, the International Olympic Committee granted permanent recognition to the International Sambo Federation. That was an important event for all the fans of the sport in Russia and abroad.

Over 48,000 children and adults do sambo in Moscow presently. The city has 175 sambo gyms; 63 of those are managed by Moskomsport institutions.  

Four sambo complexes were built in Moscow in 2011-2022: the Sambo-70 sports and education center gym with a wrestling arena and a swimming pool (4b Akademika Vinogradova St.), Solnechny sports and recreation center of Mossportobyekt (2g 50 Let Oktyabrya St.), Pobeda martial arts center of Mossportobyekt (12a Sedova St.) and the International Sambo Center in Luzhniki. A sports and training complex with a martial arts facility featuring a tatami and a boxing ring is also planned to be built before the end of 2024 at property 36 Leningradsky Prospekt.

Nine institutions with sambo facilities are operating under the Moskomsport umbrella: Moscow Olympic Reserve complex sport schools: North, West, South and East, Moscow complex sport school Zelenograd, Moscow recreation and sports association, Yunost Moskvy recreation and sports association, Sambo-70 sports and education center, Moscow Martial Arts Center Olympic Reserve sport school. 3,507 athletes are training there free of charge, including 960 person at the basic training stage, 2,224 - at the training (sports specialty) stage, 229 - at the advanced training stage, 38 - at the highest sports mastery stage; 56 are athletes employed by institutions. 100 coaches, including 6 Honorary Coaches of Russia run the sessions.

2,858 persons have athletic titles, including 2,516 with mass titles, 75 with the first athletic grade, 188 with Candidate to Master of Sports titles, 47 with Master of Sports titles, 22 with Master of Sports, International Class titles, 10 with Honorary Master of Sports titles.

Sambo wrestlers from Moscow are represented in Russian national teams in all age categories. Moscow sambo team in 2022 includes 593 athletes. In the past, sambo wrestlers from Moscow have won 104 medals at national and international competitions, including the World Cup (3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze), Euro Championships (1 gold and 2 silvers), Euro Cup (2 golds and 1 silver), beach Sambo World Championships (tow golds).

At official national competitions in 2022, athletes from Moscow won 55 medals, including 16 golds, 18 silvers and 21 bronzes. At the 9th Summer Spartakiade of Russian Students, Moscow sambo team came up second, winning 8 medals (2 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes). At the 1st National Summer Sports Spartakiade of top athletes, Moscow sambo team came up first, winning 17 medals (6 golds, 5 livers and 6 bronzes).

Over 42,000 children and adults do boxing in Moscow presently. The city has 362 boxing gyms; 43 of them are managed by Moskomsport institutions.  

Five recreation and sports centers with boxing facilities were built in Moscow in 2011-2022. The largest new venue where you can go boxing is the new International Boxing Center in Luzhniki. Another three venues with boxing sections are planned for construction in the nearest future: the Kristall Ice Palace in Luzhniki, the sports complex on Ramenki Street (number 19) and the sports and training complex on Leningradsky Prospekt (property 36).

Seven institutions with boxing facilities are operating under the Moskomsport umbrella: Moscow Olympic Reserve complex sport schools: North, West, South and East, Moscow Olympic reserve vocational sport school No.1, Moscow recreation and sports association and Yunost Moskvy recreation and sports association.

2,147 athletes are training there free of charge: 898 persons at the basic training stage, 1110 - at the training (sports specialty) stage, 104 - at the advanced training stage, 15 - at the highest sports mastery stage; 20 are athletes employed by institutions.

Sessions are run by 69 coaches, including 9 Honorary Coaches of Russia. 976 persons have athletic titles, including 760 with mass titles, 54 with the first athletic grade, 114 with Candidate to Master of Sports titles, 38 with Master of Sports titles, 10 with Master of Sports, International Class titles.

Boxers from Moscow are represented in Russian national teams in all age categories. In 2022, Moscow boxing team included 517 athletes. In 2021, boxers from Moscow won 55 medals at national and international competitions, including Junior World Championships (male and female) (two bronze medals, Junior Euro Championships (male and female) (1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze) and Youth Euro Championship (male and female) (3 golds).

At official national competitions in 2022, athletes from Moscow won 43 medals, including 13 golds, 12 silvers and 18 bronzes. At the 9th Summer Spartakiade of Russian Students, Moscow boxing team won first place with 13 medals (5 golds, 3 silvers and 5 bronzes). At the 1st National Summer Sports Spartakiade of top athletes, Moscow boxing team came up first, winning 8 medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze ones).