International SAMBO Training Camp Starts For the First Time in Colombia

On February 4, the International SAMBO training camp for the members of the Pan-American national teams got started for the first time ever in the Colombian city of Cali.

This was the opening event for the recently established International SAMBO Training Center in Colombia.

About 33 athletes (both men and women) from Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic, are taking part in the training program that will last over two weeks.

Under conditions of middle altitude, they are grasping the science of SAMBO under the guidance of the FIAS Sports Director, two-time World Champion in SAMBO, Dmitry Maximov.

The event was made possible owing to the joint efforts of FIAS and the Colombian SAMBO Federation, which, by the way, twice in recent history happened to become the organizer of the Pan American SAMBO Championships.

Specially for this camp, a 700-square-meter training hall was prepared at the Center, with two SAMBO mats being placed in there.

The program of classes given to the Pan-American sambists includes two training sessions a day, for practicing their fighting techniques both in standing position and in ground position.

Furthermore, participants can improve their fitness in the gym outfitted with modern sports equipment, as well as in the hall intended for team sports. A nearby pool will help relieve stress and recover one's strength at the end of a hard day.

'An amazingly amiable atmosphere is characteristic of this camp! They look like one big family rather than just a bunch of sambists from different countries,' comments Dmitry Maximov. 'I hope everything these athletes have seen in the course of the training will enrich their experience and help them prove themselves at home and far beyond.'

According to the President of the Colombian SAMBO Federation Omar Lopera, the principal concept of the International SAMBO Center located on the outskirts of Cali is to provide an opportunity for the athletes to live, have food, and train in one place. The total area of the sports center disposed in an ecologically clean area at an altitude of 1,416 meters above sea level, makes up six thousand square meters.

[VIDEO] International SAMBO Training Camp in Colombia 2019

During the training camp, 6 houses capable of accommodating up to 60 people are at the disposal of the Pan American sambists. Interestingly, all the electric power consumed by the International SAMBO Center in Colombia is produced by using solar panels located in the vicinity.

Apart from the intensive training session, the athletes will take a cultural tour to Cali, where the sambists will be able, among other things, to observe the stars through the largest telescope in the country.

The commemorative "SAMBO Forest" (Bosque de SAMBO) environmental campaign planned as part of the training camp deserves a special mention. Thus, each participant will be able to plant a sapling provided by the Colombian SAMBO Federation. The grove will be planted with the support of FIAS, the Rosneft Oil Company, and the Colombian SAMBO Federation.

[VIDEO] International SAMBO Training Camp in Colombia 2019