Students from St Petersburg and Qingdao became winners of the Sailing Regatta of St Petersburg University

The combined team of the National University of Physical Education and Sport named after Lesgaft won a silver medal, and the team of the University of Science and Technology of Qingdao (China) won a bronze medal.

The Sailing Regatta of St Petersburg University is the largest student competition in sailing in Russia. This year it was held for the first time in an international format. Yachtsmen from the University of California in Berkeley (USA), the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), the University of Vilnius (Lithuania), the Royal College of London (Great Britain), and other higher educational institutions of Russia and foreign countries responded to the invitation to come to the Northern capital. Many universities were represented by two teams, and the judging panel included international judges. Participants and guests of the regatta noted that the level of organisation and representation at the competitions makes it possible to confidently say that St Petersburg University has become a recognised centre of student sailing not only in Russia but in the world.

The sailing regatta - Open Cup of St Petersburg University - was founded on the initiative of students and graduates of St Petersburg University in 2016. The event is held with the support of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) within the framework of the grant allocated to St Petersburg University.

According to the rules of the race, only eight university teams could reach the final. If the first six finalists were quickly determined during qualifying races, then seven teams from different countries competed together for the remaining two tickets to the final,. As a result, the long-awaited victory went to the team of St Petersburg University, which included Denis Kotlyarov (captain), Artem Strelkov, Ekaterina Ledovskaya and Aleksandr Smolyakov. The students are studying political science at St Petersburg University, they have sailed together and become winners of prestigious Russian and foreign competitions several times.

"We have long been acquainted and we have been together in different situations, so our team is really accomplished," Denis Kotlyarov noted. “It is this cohesion that helps to make decisions promptly in a rapidly changing situation, because in the regatta one must compete not only with rivals, but also with the unpredictable elements of water and wind. I would like our victory to draw students' attention to the sailing section of our university and allow St Petersburg University to become the world leader in this sport".

"This year there are those who have been a little better than the others, and there are those who will definitely come again to take revenge, but today we are all winners," the president of the St Petersburg University Alumni Association, Andrey Yakunin, noted during the awarding ceremony. “I would be very glad to see next year not only student teams from around the world, but also teams of graduates from foreign universities. I wish you success in sport, may you always have wind in your sails and a hand-width of water under your keel!"

This year the regatta was held for four days in the yacht club on Krestovsky Island: on 1st and 2nd August qualifying races took place, on the 3rd was the final of the student competition, and on 4th more than 50 graduates from different years and specialties of St Petersburg University  sailed in the Neva Bay waters under the alma mater coat of arms. The first place was taken by the team of Aleksandr Davydov, David Papaskiri and Andrey Klochko. The awarding ceremony in both competitions took place in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The finalists were awarded with glass figurines in the form of sailboats, medals, as well as memorable prizes from the partners of the event.