At IrGTU near the dormitories, the first outdoor sports complexes in the Irkutsk region appeared, eight sites with seven machines each are already available to students and everyone. The project was made possible by a grant from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, and the university plans to further develop sports infrastructure, from new machines to basketball and volleyball courts. Students are already actively using these vandal resistant complexes, noting their convenience and accessibility for outdoor exercise.

The only outdoor exercise equipment complexes in the Irkutsk region have appeared at IrSTU. Eight sports complexes, consisting of seven exercise machines, have been installed near the dormitories of Irkutsk State Technical University.
As Sergei Anosov, deputy chairman of the primary trade union organization of students, said, the purchase of equipment for outfitting sports grounds became possible thanks to winning the Russian Ministry of Education competition for the development of student associations and a grant of 40 million rubles.
“Within the framework of the grant, the university is developing several areas, among which sports occupies an important place. This year we installed eight vandal-resistant sports facilities for individual physical training. The installation of the sports complexes is only the first step. If students like our idea, we plan to increase the number of sites and next year we will purchase another eight of the same exercise machines. The grounds are available to everyone who wants to do physical exercise outdoors,” says S. Anosov.
He noted that a map diagram showing the location of the sports complexes will be posted on the university stands.
The idea of installing outdoor exercise machines came from Eduard Shporin, dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports at IrSTU. He emphasized that Irkutsk Technical University is a university of a healthy lifestyle.
“For the mass improvement of students’ health, we chose outdoor sports complexes, which are attractive because of their accessibility. Similar exercise machines, with the help of which anyone can take a physical exercise break, are installed in many countries, for example, in China and Indonesia. In Irkutsk, such complexes have appeared for the first time on university grounds. Many families with children live on the IrSTU campus, and the exercise machines are suitable for different ages. In total, 4 million rubles from the student associations development grant have been allocated for improving students’ health. At present, 1.8 million rubles have been spent. In 2013, basketball and volleyball courts will be equipped, and mini-gyms in the dormitories will be outfitted,” said E. Shporin.
Despite the fact that the exercise complexes were installed quite recently, students are already actively using the sports grounds.
Alexander Koltsa, a student at the IrSTU Faculty of Power Engineering, notes that he regularly does a set of exercises in the evenings.
“I am very glad that we now have outdoor exercise machines. Students do not always have the opportunity to visit a gym; besides, exercising outdoors is always more pleasant. The main advantages of the exercise machines are accessibility and versatility - you can work out all the major muscle groups,” says A. Koltsa.