Gazprom Neft Cup Youth Ice Hockey Tournament starts simultaneously in Russia and Belarus
Gazprom Neft Cup Youth Ice Hockey Tournament starts simultaneously in Russia and Belarus
21 April 2014OnApril20 Minsk hosted the opening ceremony ofthe 8th International Gazprom Neft Cup Youth Ice Hockey Tournament. In2014 the competition will for the first time beheld simultaneously inOmsk and Minsk and isbeing run onKHLprinciples, intwo groups.
This year the Gazprom Neft Cup has arecord both innumber ofteams and participating countries. Inthe ultra-modern facilities atArena Omsk and Chizhovka Arena, 24teams from six countries will take tothe ice. The group stage ofthe competition will wrap upwith the final games onApril22. The superfinal will beheld onApril 25inOmsk and will bebroadcast live onKHL. Atthe opening ceremony ofthe Gazprom Neft Cup inMinsk, which had more than 8,000 audience members, the chairman ofGazprom Neft Alexander Dyukov and the president ofthe Continental Hockey League Alexander Medvedev were inattendance.
The Gazprom Neft Cup isheld under the social investment programme ofGazprom Neft— Rodnye Goroda (Home cities)— aimed atdeveloping the socio-economic potential ofthe regions where the company operates, creating conditions toimprove quality oflife, and including projects todevelop cities, create infrastructure for youth and general sport, aswell asinitiatives ineducation, health care, and culture.
“Participation inthe competition by24teams and the simultaneous games intwo countries confirm the status ofGazprom Neft Cup asthe largest youth ice hockey tournament inEurope. The fact that the cup isbeing held not only inRussia, but inBelarus aswell, allowsus tolook forward tothe competition’s international prospects. Iparticularly want toemphasize that Gazprom Neft Cup isone ofthe most important social projects for our company, aimed not only atpopularizing ice hockey asafundamental sport for our country, but also atcreating acompetition system for youth ice hockey asanelement oftraining teams for masters and nationals,” said Alexander Dyukov.
Alexander Medvedev focused attention onthe significance ofthe cup for both Russian and European hockey: “Iwould like tonote again that the competition isalready for the fourth year ajoint project between KHL and Gazprom Neft. Thanks tothis cooperation and support from our partners inMinsk and Omsk, wecan provide this high level ofcompetition organization. This all allows the young hockey players from six countries tofeel anatmosphere ofsport atthe highest level even attheir young age often. Gazprom Neft Cup provides abase for development not only for Russian, but also for European ice hockey, and isapart ofmulti-level systems totrain athletes.”
Торжественная церемония открытия VIII Международного Турнира «Кубок Газпром нефти»
REFERENCE
Gazprom Neft Cup isthe largest international youth ice hockey tournament inEurope. The first Gazprom Neft Cup was held inOmsk in2007as atournament between four Siberian youth teams based inGazprom Neft’s key operating areas (Omsk, Tyumen, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and Khanty-Mansijsk Autonomous District). Omsk has been the permanent venue for the competition since 2010. In2011, the Tournament became apartner ofthe Continental Hockey League (KHL), since when ithas become the official KHL kids tournament.
The Gazprom Neft Cup isthe largest international youth hockey tournament inEurope. The Cup has become ineffect Russia’s unofficial open ice hockey championship for under elevens. The Tournament trophy was made bythe same craftsmen who made the Gagarin Cup (the main KHLtrophy). Every year the trophy isengraved with the name ofthe winning team, which keeps ituntil the next Tournament. The Cup winner in2013 was CSKA Moscow.
Reebok isthe traditional technical sponsor ofthe Gazprom Neft Cup, providing hockey equipment toprize winners, and the Tournament isalso sponsored bySOGAZ insurance group. In2014, Yamal airlines will also beaTournament partner, providing aplane tocarry the West Group winning team toOmsk and back toits hometown. Other official partners inRussia are theTV channels Russia24, Sport and NTVPlus, KHLTV, Championat.com, and the leading sports media holding Sport-Express. Other partners inBelarus are NGTRK (TVand radio) and Pressbol sports newspaper.
All the information about the tournament isavailableat: http://www.gazprom-neft.ru/hockey
- Gallery “Opening inMinsk”:
- Gallery “Opening inOmsk”:
