This February the HMBIA signed the agreement with a new national representative organization of Russia. All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Public Organization of the Historical Medieval Battle of Russia was registered in the Ministry of Justice under this name in 2019 and it was a huge step on the way to the sport development within the country leading to a more officially recognized and centralized structure uniting all regions of Russia. Since now it is this organization which represents the interests of the HMBIA in the country and develops the HMB sport on its territory. And amid the difficulties the first results of this work can be seen.
The annual HMB Russia gathering took place on December 19, 2020 with the participation of more than 45 participants including delegates from regional offices, the HMB Russia Council, heads of Committees and speakers of the Conference.
The HMB Russia Conference was held online due to the current epidemiological situation and based on the positive experience of the HMBIA General Assembly. Participants had the opportunity to take cognizance with the reports and documents during the week with no hurry, re-read something if necessary, ask questions in advance, pay attention to the nuances. The outcomes of the HMBIA General Assembly were presented to the regional delegates and discussed in detail. The online format that was tested at the GA and then adjusted on a local level by the HMB Russia has a number of strong points and methods that for sure will be considered in the organization of the future offline meetings.
The Conference was opened by the President of the HMB Russia organization Oleg Lukyanov. According to his report even in difficult conditions that hit all events and the sports industry, more than 15 accredited tournaments were held, the number of people who are interested in HMB sport is constantly growing, the number of fighters is constantly increasing, the geography of tournaments is expanding, and a real growth can be seen. In addition to institutional and technical matters a lot of important outcomes and plans were discussed.
At the end of 2020, 19 HMB Academies were opened in Russia in various regions, and 4 more are planned for opening in 2021. Also there are plans for the next year to open 10 sections for children on the basis of Academies. HMB Academy Cup project that started a few months ago really proved to be a part of the solution of the lack of the combat experience for new fighters aiming to provide the internal competitive space for the athletes that joined HMB sport not long ago. 20 ranking tournaments of the HMB Academy Cup are planned for the upcoming year with 2 additional tournaments for the 16-18 years old athletes category.
It will be useful to know for all fighters willing to participate in the HMB Russia tournaments that from January 1, 2021 additional safety bars are strongly recommended for the Wolf Ribs helmet. And starting January 1, 2022 they will be mandatory.
The HMB Russia Championship that was announced and planned for this year has undergone significant changes due to the postponement and cancellation of a number of tournaments. The main idea is to abandon the concept of qualifying stages and a final tournament and accept a ranking system with the determination of leaders at the end of the season that coincides with the end of the year.
One more successfully implemented idea in 2020 was forming the federal districts teams for 12 vs 12 category at the tournaments, which is going to be further developed and supported. It was mentioned that athletes willing to make the national team are strongly recommended to participate in such tournaments.
We congratulate HMB Russia on the success of the actions taken and the organized Conference!
