The Union State Cup tournament plays an important role in popularizing volleyball - B. Batura

August 25, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The XIV International tournament for the Union State Cup and the prizes of RUPP "Vityaz" is of great importance for the popularization of volleyball and, in general, for the formation of a healthy lifestyle. This opinion was expressed in a conversation with journalists by the chairman of the Belarusian Volleyball Federation, Boris Batura. Today he took part in the opening ceremony of the competition at the arena of the Central Sports Complex in Vitebsk, BELTA correspondent reports. "The strongest athletes from Belarus and Russia have gathered in Vitebsk, and watching them play involuntarily makes you want to play volleyball," said Boris Batura. Sports like volleyball are accessible to a wide range of people, especially since sports infrastructure is actively developing in the country today, including in agro-towns. And tournaments of this level play an important role in promoting the idea of an active lifestyle, embodying state policy in practice, emphasized Boris Batura. This year, eight teams will compete for the main prize of the tournament. Kazan's "Zenit", the champion of the Russian Superleague in 2009 and the winner of the European Champions League in 2008, Belgorod's "Lokomotiv-Belogorye", the winner of the 2009 CEV Cup, a seven-time Russian champion and a two-time winner of the European Champions League, Odintsovo's "Iskra", a multiple prize-winner of Russian and European competitions, as well as "Lokomotiv-Izumrud" (Yekaterinburg) and "GUVD-Dynamo" (Krasnodar) have gathered in Vitebsk. Belarus is represented in the tournament by Zhlobin's "GVK-Metallurg", a two-time champion of the country and the winner of the Belarusian Cup in 2008 and 2009, Minsk's "Stroitel", and the Vitebsk club "Marko", a multiple winner of national championships and the Belarusian Cup. In the first stage, the volleyball players will determine the strongest in two subgroups, and then, based on the results of head-to-head matches, the winner and prize-winners of the competition will be known. For the third time, the traditional tournament is held under the auspices of the Standing Committee of the Union State, which established a prize fund of 250 thousand Russian rubles. In addition to the main prize from the Standing Committee of the Union State, the best teams, coaches, and athletes will take valuable prizes from RUPP "Vityaz" from Vitebsk. The tournament will end on August 30. Its organizers are the Standing Committee of the Union State, the regional executive committee, the city executive committee, and RUPP "Vityaz".-0-