Victoria wins the State Cup at the Australian National SAMBO Championships in Melbourne

The Australian National Sport SAMBO and Combat SAMBO Championships took place in Melbourne on 25 October. According to the organizers, this year's event was one of the largest and most representative in the history of Australian SAMBO.

A national seminar for coaches and referees was held on the eve of the competition. It also drew a record number of participants from clubs across Australia.

The national SAMBO federation noted that each year more people are taking part in SAMBO education programmes, both in coaching and in refereeing.

“I would particularly like to highlight the work of our recently accredited referees. Tayla Ford and Farukh Kurbanov are leading figures in Australia's refereeing community. They run regular, structured training for referees and coaches in different states, and it is thanks to their efforts that the standard of refereeing in the country has moved to a new level,” said Savely Timofeev, President of the SAMBO Federation of Australia.

Winners were decided in 25 weight categories across Sport SAMBO and Combat SAMBO.

The State Cup, the main team trophy, was also up for grabs.

It is awarded to the federation with the most gold medals, and this year it went to the SAMBO Federation of Victoria, led by President Saruulgerel Bayarsaikhan, after a closely contested battle.

“The Melbourne championships once again showed that SAMBO is a sport for the widest possible audience. The youngest competitor on the mat was just 6 years old, and the oldest veteran was 57. Continuity between generations, mutual respect and one big family: that is what Australian SAMBO is today,” Timofeev concluded.