Russian championship in fencing is being held in Lobnya, the city in Moscow Region, where the final selection of the best athletes to the national team is made for their participation in the World Cup 2007 in St. Petersburg.

The unique saber fencer Stanislav Pozdnyakov has won at the championship his fifth golden medal in individual competitions, having defeated in the decisive bout Alexey Yakimenko, the repeated World and Europe Champion, the World Cup holder. On September 27 the four-fold Olympic Champion Stanislav Pozdnyakov will be thirty four. In his age he has achieved great success in sport; he was the second person on Earth, who has won the World Cup four times in individual competitions. It is interesting, that Grigory Kiriyenko, who was the record holder earlier, like Stanislav, was also born in Novosibirsk. Apparently, due to this factor the International Charity Fund “For the Future of Fencing” has included the Program of Stanislav Pozdnyakov Siberian regional Center in its program. On September 1, after summer vacations, the doors of the fencing Center sections will be opened again for hundreds of boys and girls, who dream to learn to fence as good as their famous country-fellows. On the eve of the new sporting season Tatyana Kolchanova, our reporter, had an interview with Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

Stanislav, first of all, on behalf of management of the Fund “For the Future of Fencing” I’d like to congratulate you with the brilliant victory at the Russian Championship. I heard that right after the competitions you are going to Novosibirsk to meet the trainees of your Center. What will you tell them at the first training sessions?

 - First of all, I’ll highlight the good point, that practically all of those who took the fencing arms in their hands only a year ago, came again to continue training, having preferred my favorite kind of sport to the more popular football, hockey or tennis. Apparently, it happens due to the great input of our coaches, who select proper and attractive forms of training. Competitions, which are always especially attractive to the kids, should be mentioned in the first place among those forms. During the year we used to arrange competitions between the sections of our Center, and at the end of the year our trainees took part in the Small Olympic Games. Those tournaments confirmed that our approach is correct. The guys are in good shape, they are successfully learning, getting command in complicated fencing elements, and naturally, they are eager to win. Alexey Frosin, my colleague, who attentively watched the bouts, also shares my impression. It is amusing, but the name of the winner in the elder group of saber fencers was Yakimenko, and the boy named Sablin (in Russian the name is derived from “saber”) was the first among younger competitors.
 We have confirmed our Center credibility, having held a series of competitions for adults and cadets within the past year. Starting from the current year, cadet tournaments for Pozdnyakov prizes are included in qualification competitions of the World and European championships, which is an evidence that we keep a good position in the Russian fencing community. Now we have to work on and implement those ideas, which were approved by Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, the founder of the Fund “For the Future of Fencing”, President of the Russian Fencing Federation. I hope the staff members of Siberian Center will never be ashamed for our performance in the face of our esteemed President and the Fund management.

What funds are allocated for the Program implementation?

- Our year budget is UERO 200 thousand. One hundred thousand is allocated by the Fund “For the Future of Fencing” and another hundred thousand we get from other sources, including regional budget.

In a number of interviews you mentioned that the Olympics in Beijing will be your last one. Jean-Francois Lamour, your colleague in fencing arms, the two-fold Olympic Champion, took the position of the Minister of Sports Affairs in France, when he retired from the big sport. Currently you are taking the first steps in your political career as a Deputy of Novosibirsk Regional Council. Would you like to take after your French colleague in your future career?

- This year I will be totally committed to the sport and will try to restrain from the thoughts of my future career. However, I would not exclude the situation course of events you are speaking about. All the more so, implementing the program of our Center development, I am learning to be a manager, to arrange various events, and I see what a complicated process it is. I also communicate a lot with my colleagues-Deputies in the Committee on Culture, Sports, Science, Education and Policy for Young Generation and pick up their experience. Common activities of the Deputies in implementation of various projects, close interrelation with Novosibirsk Regional Authorities brings me to understanding of the major trends in physical culture and sports development. When I reach the global understanding of these activities, it will be possible to think of greater involvement in this area.