Domracheva held a master class in Novopolotsk

Darya Domracheva has turned biathlon into one of Belarusians' favorite sports. She has attracted dozens of young people to biathlon sections. She is our pride and an idol for millions. And today, our Dasha has arrived at one of the country's main bases where future Olympic biathlon champions are trained – the Novopolotsk State Olympic Training College.

The gloomy sky, drizzling rain, and wind do not affect the excellent mood with which the college administration greets guests, including the Secretary General of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation Anatoly Stromsky and, of course, Darya Domracheva herself. Although this is not her first visit to the institution, the tour that begins the visit is full of amazing discoveries for the athlete.

The academic building housing the biathlon department, the shooting training classroom, the dormitory, the canteen, the ethnographic museum – guests peek into every corner. And the children greet them and, holding their breath, listen to every word of their idol.

“
Such popularity, of course, is pleasant, but it imposes a great responsibility, — comments Daria. — Youunderstand, I am not doing anything-something specifically to become an example for others. If my activities somehow help the younger generation, Certainly, I am very glad. But I want, that the guys themselves strive, set for собой великие цели, работали и достигали их».

The way this very work is done is immediately shown to the Olympic champion on an artificial track prepared with the help of a Finnish all-weather snow cannon. Its testing at the Novopolotsk school base is being completed today. The older students from the biathlon department are practicing their flat terrain skiing technique on the track.

"Guys, be more technical! More technical!"
— encourages Daria and photographs the training process on her phone. "It's clear that the weather conditions don't allow for preserving the snow cover yet. I know from my own experience how quickly rain washes away the cover. But this is already a big step forward. This flat loop allows the guys, even at the beginning of November, to concentrate on technique while skiing," — comments the biathlete.
Meanwhile, the school's director, Valery Gushchin, continues the tour and talks about the initiative to create a Youth Biathlon Center at the institution. Talented children from the age of 10 will be selected annually across the country to help them become champions.

The Secretary General of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation, Anatoly Stromsky, explains that an experimental group of 7 children aged 12 to 17 from all over Belarus has already been formed. They have undergone a rigorous selection process, including pedagogical and medical testing. From November 12, they will go for a 15-day training camp in Finland, where the national team is currently training in preparation for the opening of the cup season. "This is our experiment, not copied from somewhere else. It is financed by the state, the federation, and the Biathlon Club. Every year, we will search for and select no more than 10 of the best children. Good coaches are working with the children – our Vasily Leshchenko and Alexander Khlusovich, invited from Russia. We need to nurture our own champions, provide them with everything they need: skis, rifles, equipment, and so on," — Anatoly Stromsky is confident.

Daria Domracheva finds this idea excellent.

“I hope, that here will be developed such a program, which will allow children to become not only great athletes, but also generally worthy, educated people. And many of these kids we ">in the future we will see on the screens of televisions, representing our country», she says.

However, those who already represent Belarus at major competitions or have won victories for it in past years are shown to guests in the school's sports glory museum. The guides – judo master of sports Valeriya Polovkina, weightlifting master of sports Marina Markovich, and biathlon candidate master of sports Daria Kudaeva – talk about the outstanding graduates of the school. Among the exhibits are photographs, autographs, awards, including one of the recent ones – a gold medal from Anna Sol at the Junior World Championships in Raubichi, which the school graduate presented to the museum with a promise that this is far from her last award.
A photograph of the honored guest with her autograph also occupies its place among the exhibits. In addition, Daria Domracheva makes a memorable entry in the guest book.

And finally, the athlete approaches the main part of her visit – a master class. In the gym, a crowd of guys froze in anticipation of a lesson from the biathlon star.

"I don't know if I'll show anything new, but I hope it will be useful
, the invited teacher greets the guys. — I thought for a long time: whether to conduct training outdoors or indoors. Since all the technique is laid in a strong core, I decided to offer my favorite exercises for forming the muscular frame and all the muscles that are involved in skiing movement."

Specifically for the master class, the athlete brought and presented the TRX trainer to the school.

"Do not hesitate, come and repeat after me", — Daria urges, and two young men, as well as a girl, come to the trainers.

The guys demonstrate exercises that they are already used to practicing, and try to master new ones. It doesn't work out right away.

“It always happens like this when you do it for the first time. The load is serious, but we will definitely includethese exercises and we will use them in training», — shares his impressions Ilya Avseenko.

By the way, the 17-year-old guy from Senno is one of those seven lucky ones selected for the experimental group. For him, this is not the first experience of interacting with the famous biathlete, so he joins the training more boldly than the others. Step by step, other guys join in to get a boost of energy, positive emotions, and experience.

The master class concludes with a photo session, and, of course, the athlete is surrounded by those wishing to get an autograph. But first, an interview with the journalistic cohort.

personally do not have experience studying at a sports college. I studied at a

/span>in a regular school, attended sections first of ski sport and then of swimming.="EN">, потом — биатлона. Потому что в городе моего "EN"> детства такого училища просто не было. Сегодня, побывав здесь, рада была увидеть, что преподаватели с большой теплотой и любовью относятся к детям и понимают, что важно развивать весь спектр их способностей. Это очень важно."EN"> their potential and opportunities as a whole. They understand that the children have already chosen the main sport for themselves and are investing all their energy into it», — notes Daria.

To the question of whether her fans will see her this season at least as part of the support group for the Belarusian team or the service crew, she replies that she will attend some of the stages, but will definitely not be present at all competitions. "I want to rest from the emotional intensity and then dive back into this struggle with renewed vigor," adds the athlete.

After the autograph session and photo shoot with numerous fans, the guest spends a little more time communicating with the Mayor of Novopolotsk, Dmitry Demidov, and the sponsors who support both Domracheva personally and the Olympic reserve school – OJSC Naftan. Meanwhile, the students disperse to their dormitories to share their impressions and make plans to win their own future Olympic awards.

Ekaterina Knyazeva. Photos by Alexander Khitrov. BELTA.