The basketball tournament dedicated to the memory of the internationalist soldier Igor Solovyov has become a good tradition in our district. The event brings together young, physically fit students from schools in our town and district, who are friends with sports and are ready to defend the honour of their educational institution. This year, the tournament was held for the thirteenth time, and eight teams of basketball players from four city schools, as well as from Zaslonovskaya, Borovskaya, Slobodskaya and Starolyadenskaya secondary schools, wished to participate.
Lepel region is proud of the internationalist soldiers who have fulfilled their civic duty. We bow our heads to the courage of our soldiers, who have become an example for the younger generation, and we will always remember those who did not return from the battlefield. The tournament dedicated to the memory of the internationalist soldier Igor Solovyov brings together true men, future defenders of the Fatherland. This was noted in his speech by Sergey Krivel, Chairman of the Lepel District Organization of the Belarusian Union of War Veterans of Afghanistan. Nikolai Nikitin, Deputy Chairman of the District Executive Committee, warmly welcomed the participants of the event and wished them successful games. Valerian Matskevich, Chairman of the regional Council of the Belarusian Union of War Veterans of Afghanistan, also addressed the young athletes with sincere wishes. The speech of Oleg Solovyov, the brother of the internationalist soldier to whose memory the tournament is dedicated, left no one present indifferent. The teams demonstrated a high level of training, and the game was intense. During the breaks between games, memorable contests were organized for the basketball players: for the largest number of baskets scored, the longest throw, etc.
Roman Stripeykis excellently coped with the duties of the chief judge of the competition. The first place in the tournament was awarded to the athletes of Zaslonovskaya Secondary School, the second place was taken by students of Secondary School No. 4, and the third place was taken by the boys from Borovskaya Secondary School. The team of the gymnasium named after I. Eroshov, which took fourth place, was awarded a special prize established last year in memory of the tournament organizer, internationalist soldier Alexander Sheinerman. The best player of the tournament was recognized as a young athlete from Zaslonovskaya Secondary School. A special prize was presented by Tatyana Shcherbach, acting First Secretary of the District Committee of the Belarusian National Youth Union.