Development of Children and Youth Sports in the Stalingrad (Volgograd) Region in 1953–1964

Introduction. The article examines the development of children’s and youth sports in the Stalingrad (Volgograd) region during the so-called “Khrushchev’s thaw.” Methods. The source base is documents of the current office work of regional and city authorities, institutions that manage physical culture and sports, regional councils of voluntary sports societies, as well as periodical press materials and reference literature. The method of comparative analysis was used, with the help of which the dynamics of the development of children’s and youth sports schools and the results of young athletes were established. Analysis. The article shows the state of children’s and youth sports in the Stalingrad region by 1953, the development of the material and technical base, the growth of the system of additional sports education institutions, the successes of young Stalingrad athletes at the largest competitions in the country during the period under study, and the achievements, problems, and shortcomings of children’s and youth sports in the Volgograd region by 1964. Results. It was established that by the beginning of 1953, children’s and youth sports in the Stalingrad region were at a low level of development. Several small children’s (teenager’s) sports schools did not have their own material base and served only the population of the center of Stalingrad. At all-Russian competitions, young athletes did not show high results. In the first half of the 1950s, several talented coaches moved to Stalingrad to work and created their own schools in a number of leading sports. From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, several large sports facilities were put into operation, and new children’s schools were opened in Stalingrad and the cities of the region. Since 1960, children’s sports schools have appeared on a voluntary basis at children’s social enterprises and major enterprises. As a result, by 1964, the number of children’s schools and those involved in them had increased sixfold. The level of training has increased significantly. The regional team was among the top five permanent leaders of the All-Russian Spartakiads for schoolchildren. The greatest successes were achieved in swimming, water polo, diving, gymnastics, weightlifting, and basketball. At the same time, the gap remained in athletics, football, tennis, cycling, shooting, and chess. There remained a large gap in the level of achievement between leading athletes and the bulk of children’s school students.