The fourth regional summer Spartakiad for children with disabilities has ended in the Irkutsk region, held at the Mandarkhan camp during the first shift of the health season. Over three days, pupils of orphanages and boarding schools competed in seven sports, and the Irkutsk Children's Home and Boarding School No. 1 won the team standings for the third year in a row. Organizers stress that such competitions help the children in rehabilitation, socialization, and integration, and the sports facilities in the institutions allow them to train regularly and achieve high results.
As reported by Deputy Minister of Social Development, Guardianship and Trusteeship Alexey Makarov, the fourth regional summer Spartakiad among children with disabilities has concluded in the Irkutsk Region. It took place during the first session of the health-improvement season at the Mandarkhan summer camp, where residents of orphanages and boarding schools for children with disabilities are vacationing.The traditional Spartakiad is held among four teams from social service institutions. Each team consists of 13 people - 6 girls and 7 boys. These are children with disabilities aged 14 to 18 from the Irkutsk No. 1 and No. 2, Sayan, and Bratsk orphanages and boarding schools for mentally disabled children.
Over three days of competition at the Mandarkhan camp, the children from the orphanages and boarding schools competed in 7 sports - pioneerball, mini-football, checkers, tug-of-war, darts, athletics, and table tennis.
First place in the overall team standings went to the team from Irkutsk Orphanage and Boarding School No. 1. The children have held the lead for the third year in a row. They came first in checkers, proved stronger in tug-of-war, and won in pioneerball, athletics, and table tennis. Second place went to the team from the Sayan Orphanage and Boarding School, while the children from Bratsk came third. Awards - cups, commemorative prizes, medals, and certificates - were received by all participants in the competition.
As Alexey Makarov emphasized, physical education is one of the most important forms of rehabilitation for children with disabilities, as it helps promote the integration and socialization of children. Therefore, the orphanages and boarding schools for mentally disabled children have created the necessary material and technical base for sports, with sports equipment, including for team sports, volleyball and basketball courts, and mini-football fields. In addition to the annual regional summer Spartakiads among children with disabilities, the residents of the orphanages and boarding schools take part every year in the “Ski Track of Russia” campaign, and in competitions under the Special Olympics Russia program they have won many awards not only at the regional level, but also at the All-Russian and International levels.