UIPM 2018 Global Laser Run City Tour: Culture meets sport in Novosibirsk (RUS) on #PentathlonDay

Russia hosted one of the biggest Laser Run gatherings to date when 460 athletes flocked to Novosibirsk for the Global Laser Run City Tour on September 8, 2018.

The occasion formed part of the global celebration of the 1st Pierre de Coubertin Pentathlon Day, and large groups of participants aged from seven to 73 came from Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Barnaul, and neighbouring Kazakhstan to take part in Lenin Square.

An advertising campaign promoting the GLRCT was visible on billboards, light screens and several news releases on local TV, and invitations to participate were released on websites and social media.  As a part of the City Tour, competitions were held for military clubs, institutes of the city of Novosibirsk and other organizations.

The festive atmosphere was supported by five artistic groups that performed 20 concert acts. VIP guests included the governor of the Novosibirsk region, Andrey Travnikov, the City Mayor, Anatoly Lokot, and the head of the Physical Training and Sports department, Sergey Ahapov. They all sampled laser shooting.

Televised accounts of the day’s events have since been shown on all the main channels in Novosibirsk, along with a promotional video on YouTube.

A spokesperson for the local organizing committee said: “We are grateful to the sports, educational and labour collectives who were involved in organizing the event.

“The competitions aroused huge interest among the residents of Novosibirsk. Many of them became participants thanks to the work carried out by the Novosibirsk Federation of Pentathlon.

“Thanks to the expertly chosen place and time of the event, 12,000 people watched the UIPM Global Laser-Run City Tour in Novosibirsk and at the same time was held our event, the Annual Siberian Running Festival. 

“There is an idea, supported by the government of the Novosibirsk Region, to hold competitions with a prize fund and invite high-level athletes for next year.”

The UIPM Global Laser Run City Tour was created in 2017 to deliver an exciting, dynamic and fun competition to participants of all ages and offer them an entry point to UIPM Sports.

The Global LRCT took place in parks, stadiums and iconic urban venues in 60 cities around the world in 2017, with more than 15,000 participants. There are about 100 events scheduled in 2018.

Laser Run is a development sport of UIPM but aspiring athletes of all ages also have the chance to compete for global titles at the UIPM Laser Run World Championships, the fourth edition of which takes place in Dublin (IRL) on September 28-30, 2018.

Have you liked the UIPM Laser-Run Facebook page yet?