On March 15, the annual district basketball tournament for boys in memory of the internationalist soldier Igor Alexandrovich Solovyov was opened at the Lepel Sports and Recreation Centre.

This time, the sports competition is dedicated to the Year of Improvement! The tournament was organised twenty-six years ago by Alexander Schneiderman, who worked as a physical education teacher.

7 teams from educational institutions of the Lepel region are participating in the tournament.

The Deputy Chairperson of the District Executive Committee, Veronika Khomchak, addressed the athletes with a welcoming speech. She wished the participants victory and peace.

The traditional award ceremony took place at the tournament.

Compatriots were presented with jubilee medals "35 years of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan", certificates from the Vitebsk Regional and Lepel District organisations of the NGO "Belarusian Union of War Veterans of Afghanistan", certificates from the military commissariat of the Lepel and Ushachi districts, and other awards.

For reference: Igor Solovyov was born on January 28, 1965, in the town of Lepel, Vitebsk region. In 1982, he graduated from Secondary School No. 2 in Lepel. He worked as a labourer at a factory.

In 1983, he was called up to the Armed Forces by the Lepel Joint City Military Commissariat of the Vitebsk region. He served in Kazakhstan, then was sent to Afghanistan to military unit field post office 82629. He was a scout.

On September 28, 1983, Private I. A. Solovyov died while performing a combat mission.

He is buried in the town of Lepel, Vitebsk region. For his courage and heroism, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Basketball tournament results:

1st place - Gymnasium,
2nd place - Secondary School No. 3,
3rd place - Secondary School No. 1.