In 2009, athletes from the Vitebsk region won almost 350 medals at republican and international competitions

February 24, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. In 2009, athletes from the Vitebsk region won almost 350 medals of various denominations at the championships of Belarus and official international competitions. This was announced today by the head of the physical culture, sports and tourism department of the regional executive committee, Mikhail Portnoy, at the final board meeting of the department, BELTA correspondent reports. At the European and World Championships, Cups, and Tournaments, athletes from the region won 106 awards, including 35 gold, 38 silver, and 33 bronze medals. At the national championships, representatives of the Vitebsk region won 240 awards of various denominations. In addition, 12 regional teams took prize-winning places at republican competitions, and compared to 2008, the teams in weightlifting, chess, water polo, and a number of other sports improved their results. Over 60 sports have been developed in the region, more than half of which are Olympic sports. A total of over 600 athletes from the Pridvinye region are included in the national teams of Belarus in various sports. Ten representatives of the region are participating in the ongoing XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and more than 30 other athletes are candidates for participation in the XX Summer Olympic Games in 2012 in London (Great Britain). The training of sports reserves is carried out by 62 sports schools, 2 Olympic reserve colleges, the regional school of higher sportsmanship, and the Olympic reserve center for equestrian sports, where over 22,000 young athletes are trained. In 2009, 12 athletes met the standard of international masters of sports, and 134 representatives of the region became masters of sports. In addition, almost 6.3 thousand athletes of mass categories were trained in the region, including almost 600 first-category athletes. In 2009, over Br3 billion from the regional budget was allocated for sports and mass events, participation in republican competitions, and the purchase of sports equipment and gear. -0-