Novosibirsk State Technical University (NETI) has expanded its opportunities for students with disabilities. The beginning of the academic year was marked by opening of a new inclusive sports ground — the first Paralympic fencing student section in the Novosibirsk region.
The opening of the section took place on September 5 within the framework of the project "Paralympic fencing at NSTU-NETI", initiated by Nikita Shalev, a student at the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering.
The opening ceremony was attended by honored guests: Murat Konurbaev, Honored Coach of Russia, who trained Maxim Shaburov, winner and prize-winner of the Paralympic Fencing Games, as well as multiple winners and prize-winners of the world, European, and Russian championships in wheelchair fencing; Pavel Kabanov, Deputy Director of the Novosibirsk Center for Higher Sports Excellence; and Dmitry Sedov, director of the Center for Adaptive Physical Culture and sports of the Novosibirsk region.
The project team, together with engineers from the Center for Student Project Activities at NSTU-NETI, developed, and produced special equipment: a platform for fixing strollers and fencing thrones. Special strollers were also purchased and a training program was developed.
"Adaptive sports in Novosibirsk is very well developed, but unfortunately, students with limited mobility do not always have enough time and resources to visit sports centers located in different areas of the city. Since the concept of the university is "a city within a city", our task is to provide various opportunities to students directly on campus," said Inna Zhdanova, project mentor and Deputy Director of the Resource Educational and Methodological Center for the Education of the Disabled and Persons with Disabilities of NSTU-NETI.
Nikita Shalev, the initiator of the project is a disabled child, with cerebral palsy, but this does not prevent him from leading an active student life. His project was the winner of a grant competition for socially significant projects "Parade of Ideas".
"As a child, I have been engaged in Paralympic fencing for a long time, and I can say for sure that practicing this sport has had a positive effect on my physical condition. Wheelchair fencing train concentration, attention and sleight of hand. Even a 20-minute workout allows you to work out all the muscles of the trunk," Nikita Shalev explained.
According to him, he had been working on the project for almost two years, and the idea itself appeared within the framework of the discipline "Fundamentals of project activity". Nikita thanked his mentor Inna Zhdanova, the staff of the Center for Student Project Activities, who were not afraid to solve a truly difficult engineering task. He also expressed the hope that both students from NSTU-NETI and from other universities in Novosibirsk would attend the section.
A red ribbon was cut solemnly at the opening ceremony of the section. During the event, some elements of the training process were shown.
Help: Paralympic fencing is a popular sport for people with musculoskeletal disorders. Athletes fencing on electrical equipment, sitting in fixed wheelchairs, at arm length with weapons (rapier, saber, sword). In the rapiers and sabers, the affected surface is the same as in "ordinary" fencing, in skewers — the whole body is above the waist. Hits were recorded using an electrolier.