Uzbekistan has been making achievements not only on sports arenas. Medals are not the key, they just a motivation that attracts young people to sports. Upbringing of harmoniously developed, healthy and physically strong generation is most important.
In this context, investments in the development of sports pay off. As emphasized by President Islam Karimov at the meeting of Board of Trustees of Children’s Sports Development in 2016: “In 2000, nearly 6,000 children were ill with acute respiratory viral infections, 576 – with pneumonia, 449 – bronchitis and 310 – with scoliosis for every 100,000 children. Today, the ARVI incidence among children aged 6-15 and engaged in sports has decreased by 47.3%, pneumonia – 55.6%, bronchitis – by 61.7%, scoliosis – by 45.5%.”
The measures taken have had a positive effect on physical growth and development of the younger generation. The proportion of boys aged 14, whose height rates meet World Health Organization standards, is 97.9% in Tashkent, 97.6% in Namangan region, 97.1% in Kashkadarya, 96.8% in Bukhara region, and 94.2% across the country. The height of boys and girls aged 14 years has increased on average by 2.8 cm for the past decade.
Female athletes of the older generation often remembers that at the time of their youth, the girls involved in sports were the exception rather the rule. Today, we have a totally different situation: 47% of girls throughout country, and 44.7% in rural areas are regularly involed in sports. In 2015, for example, 47.6% of girls were attending sports clubs in Fergana region, 47.5% – in Namangan region, and 47.4% in Samarkand and Khorezm regions.
Speaking about the development of women’s sport at the meeting of the Board of Trustees President Islam Karimov said: “We regard girls first of all as future mothers who will give a birth to new lives and bring up the future generation – hope and support of our nation. This suggests that if a girl grows healthy and happy, she will build healthy and happy family and children. A healthy and happy family implies the prosperity of the entire society. We must never forget this.”
FOUNDATION FOR the FUTURE
The attainments, as a foundation for the higher progress, which is anticipated to be achieved in the near future, have required considerable capital investments in the construction of sports infrastructure. In recent years the country has built Thousands of sports facilities have been built throughout the country over the last years, national programs are underway.
Uzbekistan has approved and is currently implementing the national program, which envisages all schools in the country will be provided with gyms by 2020. Just imagine: there are 9,763 schools across the country, which are arranged in walking distance even for children in remote areas. In particular, it is planned to build 217 gyms this year, and 1,706 gyms by the end of the program. They will be built in view of establishing sports clubs and teams at all schools, and organization of school sports leagues. The program of establishment of playgrounds with compulsory sports fields in all neighborhoods has been in progress. Thus, the conditions for physical exercising for all ages will be available in virtually all communities and residential neighborhoods.
Children’s Sports Development Fund has teamed up with social partners to promote and strengthen the logistical capacity of specialized children’s sports facilities. Today, each district has at least one modern and well-equipped junior sports school. There will be a total of 225 such schools, 15 of which will be commissioned in the current year. 56 specialized youth sports schools in four areas of sports are currently in process of establishment in the regional centers. Five of them will be commissioned this year.
The availability of choice for children has been of special attention. The implementation of complicated engineering projects is not an obstacle on this way. For instance, it is planned to bring the number of swimming pools in the near future to 290. 11 pools are being built this year.
The government takes care of those who, having come to the sports field, have positioned sports as a future profession. Earlier this year, a President’s decree has envisaged the establishment of 14 new specialized high sports schools in each regional center and in Tashkent. This year marks the launch of construction of an athletics school in Samarkand, weightlifting school in Urgench, and a team sports school in Tashkent.
Sports games Umid Nihollari, Barkamol Avlod and the Universiade have been making a remarkable contribution in constructive works. Traditionally, the final games take place in one of the regions, which entail the large-scale works on creation of sports facilities. Over the years the games, the right to host the competition was granted to each region. Fergana is on the list this year, as it is getting prepared to host the finals of the Universiade. The city is being landscaped.
The works are in progress on 29 sites, including the Fergana State University, Polytechnic Institute, the sports college of the Olympic reserve. The gyms are repaired and equipped in line with modern requirements. A football stadium for 3,200 seats, an indoor pool, three volleyball courts and athletic tracks have been built and commissioned in the Fergana State University.
A RESPONSIBLE PROFESSION
Modern sports facilities gradually replace yesterday’s dusty wastelands. However, this is insufficient, if we want to achieve success in educating the comprehensively advanced generation. Much depends on staffing sports schools, clubs and facilities with qualified coaches and instructors.
The target training by the State Institute of Physical Culture, universities and colleges of Olympic reserve have become the solution. In 2015 alone, it allowed increasing the number of coaches and sports mentors by 1,5 times against 2005, including the female coaches – by 3,8 times. Meanwhile, it turned out that there are good specialists without a special sports education. Therefore, Uzbekistan has introduced a system of certification of the coaching staff, the successful completion of which envisages the availability of a special sports education.
There are some alternatives for those who are engaged in coaching without education. Colleges of Olympic reserve opened specialized courses for them. Subsequently, they will help them to be certified.
The advanced training of trainers has been a priority. In particular, in 2015, the Ministry of Public Education established a Center of Retraining and Advanced Training of Youth Sports School Staff.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE LAW
Adopted in 2015, the law on amendments and addenda to the law on physical culture and sports has contributed to the further development of sports, and particularly children’s sports. The adoption of the document has helped to address numerous organizational issues, thus enhancing the discipline and efficiency of the entire work on the development of children’s sports.
For instance, the act has paved the way for further reformation of physical culture and sports system, streamlining of staff training systems, and creation of an effective infrastructure in line with current standards. Appropriate conditions and new approaches are being developed to ensure training high-class sportsmen and sports reserve with an eye to modern standards. The establishement of the Republican Research and Practical Center of Sports Medicine at the National Olympic Committee, as well as scheduled construction of new sports facilities may be regarded as first results of this work.
The status and specification of specialists in the field of physical culture and sports have been specified. Rights and duties of an athlete, as well as the procedure of sports passport management have been defined. The anti-doping movement has been settled in the law.
The approval of the new edition of the law gave impetus to the further development of sports, especially Olympic, national and folk games, and decent participation of Uzbek athletes in international sporting events.
The powers of public authorities and local citizens’ self-government bodies in the field of physical culture and sports have been attached special importance.
According to experts, the new edition of the law will help to implement the four main missions of physical culture and sports. Promotion of sports, exercise and hardening build a kind of immunity to bad habits like drugs, alcohol and smoking, which ultimately will contribute to the improvement of health of the entire population. The educational factor of sports with its impact on the moral and spiritual education, will be engaged at its full capacity. Sport has become an effective means of re-education of troubled teenagers as a good opportunity to realize their energy, initiative, creativity and physical ability, the manifestation of leadership and sound competition. Sports are able to catalyze the social activity of the population, because the cultivation of the personal qualities like determination, the will, ambition and self-control is impossible without regular involvement. Besides, the potential of sports will be used as a powerful tool of civil and patriotic education to ensure the security and economic prosperity of the country. This is a major victory of sports.
