Preparations for the XXXV World Sambo Championships in Vilnius (Lithuania)

On November 10th to 13th the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, will welcome SAMBO.

We would like to remind you that Vilnius is one of six Lithuanian cities to welcome, in August, the European Championship in basketball, the sport number one in the country.

Vilnius, an expert and connoisseur of basketball, will have a chance to rest after European basketball battles and to plunge for three days in November into unforgettable emotions provided by martial arts.

Lithuanian “Siemens-Arena” will open its door to the XXXV World Championships in SAMBO.

Women and men in sport SAMBO and men wrestlers in combat sambo will compete for the right to be called the best sambo wrestler of the world.

«Thanks for the efforts of the FIAS (International Amateur SAMBO Federation) leadership and the Lithuanian SAMBO Federation promised to be a phenomenon for entire sambo community. We would like to hold it according to all modern requirements of sports marketing, media and television. The main thing that we plan to offer to our spectators and fans is an engaging competition, a spectacular show”, says the FIAS President Vasily Shestakov about the upcoming World Championships.

The FIAS leadership pays close attention to the Lithuanian capital’s preparations for the future World Championships. Within this framework the FIAS Commission visited Vilnius with an inspection. The main goal of the visit has been to optimize the organizational work in preparation to the Championships.

Life is complex. And sport is no exception. Every sports event is also complex. In order for it to happen it is necessary to polish all its aspects. Then the “sports diamond” will be cut and will sparkle in full, presenting its beauty to the world.

So in order for a competition to happen, all aspects have to be taken into consideration: from dressing rooms for athletes to the commentators’ positions for television.

A sambo competition consists of many components: sports venue, hotel, transportation, media and TV facilities, anti-doping commission, it is not even a complete list. And every item of this list was an object of close professional attention by the FIAS representatives.

The competition in Vilnius will take place in the marvelous sports complex “Siemens-Arena”. “Thanks to the sound planning and necessary modifications we are able to make the venue comfortable for all participants of the competition: spectators, athletes, media, TV judges. The Commission has “reworked” every part of the arena, prepared a work plan to make it as functional and comfortable as possible.” – says the director of the FIAS Sports Department Sergey Tabakov.

The Organizing Committee provides excellent accommodation - good infrastructure, comfortable hotel rooms, high-quality catering – is a key to the city’s hospitality and a guarantee of comfort for all participants of the sports festival.

The leadership of the FIAS and LSF (Lithuanian Sambo Federation) managed to reach an agreement with the Lithuanian National Television, which became the host broadcaster of the Championships. It will allow showing the Championships on Lithuanian TV and, through the FIAS agreement with “Eurovision”, TV audiences on three continents will be able to follow this sambo competition.

Previously, Lithuanian television has never recorded sambo events and their most prestigious sports event was the European Athletics Championships. The World Sambo Championships is an interesting challenge and an opportunity to get professionally acquainted with SAMBO. The FIAS has a lot of hopes for this promising collaboration between television and SAMBO.

Spectators should fill the venue, the competition should be covered in the newspapers, and ordinary people should see and hear about event coming up in November at “Siemens-Arena”. The Lithuanian Sambo Federation is working on it: advertisement materials are ready, clips for TV and radio are prepared, and sponsors are actively looked for. Spectators, who we hope will become fans of sambo in the future, should attend the SAMBO Championships.

The commission witnessed sizable support provided for the World Championships by the Department of Culture and Sport of Lithuania and Vilnius municipality. Working meetings have been held with the Lithuanian authorities at which the FIAS representatives were very well received. The attention that local authorities devote to development of sambo in Lithuania and worldwide is noticeable. This fact is crucial for possibility to host the World Championships on the highest level, since the support of the government means the financial help, resources and moral support. It inspires the FIAS and the Lithuanian Sambo Federation and instills confidence.

The FIAS commission was impressed by high professional level and efficiency of Mr. Eduardas Rudas, the President of the Lithuanian Sambo Federation. He managed to become an ideological inspiration behind the Championships and he successfully implements this idea. By gathering a marvelous team of professionals he is pursuing his goal of organizing the best World Championships in the history of SAMBO.

The Commission’s work is over, there are three months left till the championships. We hope that a precise work during the period will bring its fruits.

Such as very bright and spectacular SAMBO, SAMBO of the future.

Photo Natalia Yukhareva