From February to April, EkoNiva’s employees and their families took part in fishing, volleyball, futsal, table tennis and billiards competitions as well as fun relay and ski races held at the company’s enterprises in Voronezh oblast.

The sports season began with ski races. Best EkoNiva’s skiers were decided at a modern ski track in Buturlinovka. Thirty runners – children and adults – competed in 1.5 and 3 km events. Sergey Stoyakin, Service Engineer at EkoNiva-Chernozemye, won a gold medal in men’s category. Lyubov Izyumenko, Livestock Breeder from EkoNivaAgro-Left Bank Operation, was the first among women to cross the finish line.

Fishing has been a craze for EkoNiva’s staff for many years now. The latest ice fishing competition, which took place in winter in four different locations of Voronezh oblast, welcomed around one hundred and thirty enthusiasts. Apart from the podium places for the largest catch, the anglers were awarded in the Hole Drilling, First Catch, Youngest Participant, Smallest Fish and Largest Fish categories.

The enthralling table tennis tournament has been held for the ninth time this year. Fifty-eight employees from the Group’s subdivisions in Voronezh, Kaluga, Ryazan oblasts, specialists from EkoNiva-Tekhnika, dairy plant in Anna and Shchuchye cheese plant played the game. The participants from OkaMoloko became the winners in the team event, a joint squad of Kaluzhskaya Niva and Voronezh enterprises took second place, and an EkoNivaAgro subdivision celebrated third place. The women’s individual gold medal went to Olga Dmitriyeva, Breeding Herd Manager at EkoNivaAgro‑Right Bank.

The seventh tournament in the Russian pyramid was held in mid-March. The players showed off their skills in bank and draw shots, straight-ins and cuts. A total of twenty-eight specialists from EkoNivaAgro, Anna milk processing and Shchuchye cheese-making plants participated in the sports event. Andrey Naidyonov, Engineer at EkoNivaAgro, scored a victory.

The eighth corporate volleyball tournament featured eight teams and sixty-four players in total. Employees from Voronezh, Kursk oblasts, Anna milk processing and Shchuchye cheese-making plants demonstrated their knack of serving and playing the ball. It was an exciting game that will long stick in everyone’s memory. Competitive spirit filled the stadium terraces: fans made colourful posters and chants to support their teams. For the second year running, EkoNivaAgro-Left Bank Operation took the cup home, second place went to the players from Shchuchye cheese-making plant and third – to EkoNivaAgro-North.

Seven teams took part in the futsal tournament: enterprises from Voronezh oblast, Anna dairy plant and EkoNiva-Chernozemye squads competed with each other. In the crunch game, a series of penalties helped to produce the winner: EkoNivaAgro-North defeated EkoNiva-Chernozemye. Eventually, players from EkoNivaAgro-Left Bank Operation collected the well-deserved bronze medals.

EkoNiva’s spring sporting events culminated with the fun races ‘Mother, Father, me are a Sporty Family’. Thirty-nine people attended the festivities, competing for the title of the most active family in EkoNiva. Eleven teams ran in the relay races consisting of eight legs. The Turyshevs took the first prize among the families with two siblings, while the Muravlyovs placed first among the one-child ones.

‘Corporate sports are an excellent way of easing mental stress, communicating with colleagues, engaging new ones. After the competitions, you always feel upbeat and ready to get back to work with renewed vigour’, noted Sergey Zharikov, Deputy Regional Director for Economics and Finance at EkoNivaAgro.

Over four hundred employees, who enjoy sports and their job, have taken part in the events at EkoNiva’s enterprises in Voronezh oblast this year. As time goes on, their number is increasing, together with the diversity of sporting activities in EkoNiva.