Page 139 - Olympism in Socialism

state programme and includes gymnastics, track-
and-field athletics, skiing, swimming, wrestling,
and games. Those who wish to can also join
sports sections.
During every academic year all schools hold
spartakiads, which include team and individual
competitions in many sports events, some of
which are not part of the basic curriculum.
All Union Spartakiads for schoolchildren are held
once every two years, with finals in 20 sports,
including 17 Olympic events.
Such children’s national-scale sports
competitions as the “Golden Puck”, “Leather
Ball”, “White Rook”, “Merry Dolphin”, and others
are very popular with Soviet school boys and
girls. For, example, 3.5 million young ice-hockey
players participated ii. the 14th “Golden Puck”
tournament last year.
Children who get together in street and yard
teams can also take part in these competitions
organised by the country’s Young Pioneer and
Komsomol organizations, the Ministry of
Education and the USSR Council of Ministers’
State Committee for Sports and Physical Culture,
and run by well-known sportsmen and trainers.
Today Luzhniki is, above all, the main sports
arena of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and very
few ever think of what happens here normally.
Everyday it's gymnasiums, swimming-pools,
running tracks and football fields are filled with
schoolchildren from ordinary schools located in
the central districts of Moscow, who go in for
sports at this complex.
There are a multitude of children’s sports
groups at Luzhniki. This bit is about one of the
oldest among them — Children’s Soccer School
(CSS). It was established 25 years ago and is now
attended by over 200 schoolboys. They are

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