St Petersburg University hockey players at the Arctic Cup

The Arctic Cup was established on the initiative of St Petersburg University in 2023. Its mission is to involve citizens in the Arctic issues and to encourage and inspire young people to become professionals in those areas that are in demand in their region. The participants in the tournament are therefore the universities that prepare specialists to work in the Russian Arctic. 

At the opening ceremony of the tournament, athletes and fans were greeted by Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University. "The Arctic Cup is one of the anniversary events of our big celebration of the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University. At the educational salon last December, Governor Alexander Beglov declared 2024 the Year of St Petersburg University in our city. We will celebrate the Year of St Petersburg University with honour," said Elena Chernova. "I wish victory to all the participants in today’s cup, and most of all to my home team. You won’t let us down."

This year the Arctic Cup attracted a significant number of participants, and the University will make every effort to make it an annual event.

Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University

The honorary guests of the opening ceremony were Vera Kuznetsova, Director of the Centre for Physical Culture, Sports and Health of the Vasileostrovsky District, and Aleksandr Osipov, Director of the Student Hockey League. They wished a fair, uncompromising and decent tournament to the participants. Together with Elena Chernova, they went out onto the ice and performed a symbolic throw-in of a hockey puck. 

The tournament was held in the new 3×3 format that was officially introduced in 2015. The distinctive feature of the format is high speed and intensity of the game. Matches are played on a reduced-sized court and consist of three periods of seven minutes of net time. Each team has three players and a goaltender on the rink. Another distinctive feature is the ban on fighting in ice hockey.

The Arctic Cup brought together the following hockey teams: "SPbGU" of St Petersburg University; "MADI motors" of the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University (MADI); "Arkhangelsk" of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov; and "Dynamo RANEPA" of the North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA St Petersburg). The St Petersburg University team was formed in September 2023 on the initiative of students themselves. Its symbol is a bear Khaarchaana, who lives in the Leningrad Zoo. Its name is translated from Yakut as a "snowflake". In preparation for the tournament, St Petersburg University hockey players visited the zoo and took part in the Polar Bear Day.

The partners of St Petersburg University in the Arctic Cup are the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of St Petersburg, the Student Hockey League, the Leningrad Zoo, and the administration of the Vasileostrovsky District.

In 2023, the Arctic Snow Rugby Cup was held for the first time in St Petersburg on the initiative of the University. The cup brought together teams from only St Petersburg universities. Among them were the following: St Petersburg University; Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University; St Petersburg Mining University; and ITMO University. According to Svetlana Namozova, Head of the Sports Department at St Petersburg University, the competitions gained a status of the Russia-wide level in 2024. 

"We are faced with the task to bring up the Arctic Cup to an international level and introduce other sports. We are planning to select those sports that are really popular with students. We are deciding on what can be introduced in this student sports festival in future. Definitely, hockey and snow rugby and other, not necessarily winter, sports," said Svetlana Namozova. "For example, our chess players are eager to fight. We are planning to hold chess tournaments near the enclosure of our Khaarchaana at the Leningrad Zoo, i.e. a partner of St Petersburg University. I am sure that this story will definitely develop." 

Based on the results of six matches, the team "MADI motors" won the Arctic Cup gold. The silver medallist is "Dynamo RANEPA", while the third place was shared by the teams of St Petersburg University and Arkhangelsk.