Traditional Games on Red Hill Holiday

It is the third time in a row this year, that the Traditional Games and Ethnosport Federation of Russia hosted Russian games in the Moscow Izmailovsky Park, with the support of Moscow City Department of Physical Culture and Sport. This time the Slavic games on Red Hill Holiday hosted on the Orthodox Low Sunday.

There was one hitch to the variety of play – sudden snow in late April, but the sun still made its way through the clouds. The participants saw a special sign in it, namely irreversibility of the arrival of spring, which Low Sunday actually symbolizes.

As always, fans of Rusmyach (Russian ball) and Kila, traditional wrestling za-vorotok, stick pulling, ryukhi game (skittles), traditional archery, klushkovaniye (similar to hurling), and stand-up fight, gathered on this occasion.

Teams of the City Dzerzhinsky, Korolev, Mytischi, Belgorod, and Tambov arrived specially for participation in the Moscow games.

Stand-up fight became the concluding activity to the games. It was held in two versions — as primordial pugilism and as a kind of ethnosport stand-up fight, whose rules were designed by the \»Belogor\» club from Belgorod City. The 4 teams of 7 people participated in the Belgorod version.

Dancing and singing contests judged by Aleksey Shilin, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, and Professor of the Russian Folk Singing department at the Moscow State Institute of Culture and Art, Head of the Choreography department at the National Centre of Russian Folklore.

The event was held with the support of the following partners: the Fund for Protection of Historical and Cultural, Spiritual and Moral Foundations of Russian Civilization \»Svyatoslav\», Creative Association \»Play City\» of the State Republican Center of Russian Folklore, Martial Arts Center \»Russian Sparring\», Wall to Wall Close Fight Club (Moscow), Hand Combat Club “S.W.O.R.D.”, Club of Combat and Ethnosport \»Slavs\», Russian Ancient Martial Arts Club \»Kolo\», the Regional Public Organization \»Youth Choose the Sober Capital\», the Municipal Educational and Methodical Center \»Zvenislav\», a non-profit partnership \»Atmanovskiye Fists\», Center of Patriotic Education \»Stratilat\», the State Academy of Slavic Culture, Center of Living History \»Present Past\», and the amateur ethnosport and folk groups.

Winners of the competitions

Rusmyach
Best team – «Whiskered and Stripy»: Mikhail Nosyrev, Yevgeny Pikonin, Aleksandr Matyunin 
Second team – «Chamomiles»: Konstantin Yakubchak, Anatoly Novikov, Yevgeny Lakeyev

Russian stand-up fight
Best team – «Belogor» (Belgorod): Ivan Bondarenko, Yuriy Davydov, Yevgeny Tchebukin, Yevgeny Semenyakin, Arkady Shebunin, Artem Kravchenko, Andrey Payuda
Second team – «Weekend Fighters» (Moscow): Aleksandr Zharkov, Anatoly Novikov, Stepan Alekseyev, Grigory Stadnik, Kirill Deryabin, Pavel Molodoy, Aleksandr Matyunin

Za-vorotok traditional wrestling
15–17 years
First – Kirill Nikolayev (Dzerzhinsky, Moscow region)
Second – Nikita Magazayshikov (Moscow)

Competitions among the participants
over 18 years old, without weight limitations:
First – Yuriy Sidorov (Moscow, the «Sword» combat club)
Second – Yevgeny Pikonin (Korolev, Moscow region)

Stick pulling
15–17 years
First – Stepan Ushakov (Moscow)
Second – Kirill Nikolayev (Moscow region, Dzerzhinsky, the «Sword» combat club)

Competitions among the participants
over 18 years old, without weight limitations:
First – Mikhail Nosyrev (Moscow)
Second – Aleksandr Matyunin  (Ulyanovsk)

Archery
Competitions among teenagers and youth
(girls and boys of 12-17 years old):
First – Piotr Dyuran
Second – Pavel Podkidashev

Competitions among the participants
over 18 years old (men and women):
First – Ivan Latyshev
Second – Yevgeny Latyshev

Team competitions:
Best team- Russian Ancient Martial Arts Club \»Kolo\»
Second team- «Okolitsa» (*an ancient Russian village fence, old-fashioned)

Svaika
(a game in which a spear is thrown to land
in the middle of a metal ring, laid on the ground)
First – Oleg Gorap
Second – Kirill Nikolayev (Moscow region, Dzerzhinsky)

Lapta
(a game similar to rounders or baseball)
Best team – «Rusichi» (Moscow)
Second team – «Brave» (Moscow)

Ryukhi (skittles)
Best teams – «Belogor» (Belgorod), «Borsek» (Tambov), «Play-city» (Moscow)

Best dance
Competitions among teenagers and youth
(girls and boys of 12-17 years old):
First  – Raslav Fetisov
Second – Gleb Budeleyev

Competitions among men over 18 years old: 
First  – Sergey Pirozhkov, Dmitry Syomin

Competitions among women over 18 years old:
First  – Yelena Ivashenko

Singers
Daria Korlykhanova and Yevgeniya Tikhonova