The fourth offline and online meeting of the board of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Donetsk Regional State Administration in 2025 was held, which was attended by Deputy Head of the Regional State Administration Igor Boyko, heads of physical culture and sports management bodies of executive bodies of local community councils, district state administrations, military administrations, regional and local sports organizations.
The event addressed a number of important issues related to the development of the region's sports sector: the implementation of local programs on physical culture and sports in the territorial communities of Donetsk Oblast; the results of participation in the final competitions "Side by Side All-Ukrainian School Leagues" among students of general secondary education institutions in the 2024-2025 academic year; the work of the Donetsk Oblast Organization of the Ukraine Sports Society; the state of development of diving and equestrian sports in Donetsk Oblast.
"Physical activity is the key to a healthy nation. It is very important to pay attention to these issues at the local and regional levels, to work effectively to implement sports development programs and to make sports activities accessible to residents of Donetsk Oblast in different parts of Ukraine. This work is yet another proof of the resilience and steadfastness of our region's people," said Igor Boyko, Deputy Head of Donetsk Regional State Administration.
"We continue to work together in the field of sports, to win victories, to raise healthy young people and to do everything possible to bring peace to our native Donetsk region. We express our special gratitude to all the representatives of the sports community who joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, as well as to all the employees who have already joined and will continue to join the arrangement of military engineering and fortifications in the region," said Volodymyr Mytsyk, Head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Regional State Administration.
The speakers on the agenda of the meeting were: Natalia Tochylova, Deputy Head of the Department - Head of the Department for Implementation of Specialized Programs of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Regional State Administration, Yulia Ternova, Head of the Donetsk Regional Organization of the Physical Culture and Sports Society "Ukraine", Serhiy Holovchenko, Director of the Donetsk Regional Center for Physical Health "Sport for All", Volodymyr Strashko, Director of the Regional Center for Physical Culture and Health Work, and Volodymyr Kovalchuk, Director of the Regional Complex Children and Youth Sports Center.
Co-speakers were: Olena Ivanikova, head of the Department of Education, Youth, Sports and Cultural Development of the Ocheretyn Military Settlement Administration; Ella Zayets, specialist of the Department of Culture, Youth, Sports, Tourism and Information Activities of the Kurakhiv City Council; Iryna Delova, head coach of the Ukrainian national underwater sports team; and Ivan Bandut, president of the Donetsk regional branch of the All-Ukrainian public organization "Powerlifting Federation of Ukraine" Ivan Zbandut.
The Regional Targeted Program for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports in Donetsk Oblast for 2025-2029 includes 26 measures, and 12 of them involve the involvement of local communities in their implementation. Draft specialized local programs have been approved by 19 territorial communities, draft economic and social development programs by 30 communities, and other programs by 5 communities. The content of the programs, according to the reports for the first half of 2025, includes preparation and holding of physical education and recreation, sports events, training camps for and participation in top-level competitions; payment of scholarships to promising athletes, rewards, and bonuses to athletes and coaches for high sports achievements preserving and ensuring the operation of existing children's and youth sports schools, as well as "Sport for All" physical health centers; involving internally displaced persons from Donetsk region in physical education and sports outside the region (in humanitarian and cultural hubs, IDP centers and other locations) and other measures.
The "Side by Side All-Ukrainian School Leagues" project has become a landmark initiative that has united students in a single sports space. In the 2024-2025 academic year, 103 teams from 49 educational institutions were registered to participate in the competition from Donetsk Oblast. According to the results of the regional stage, Donetsk region received proper representation at the national level in 5 sports. The girls' futsal team from Dobropillya won silver medals, while the boys from Pokrovsk took fourth place in futsal and rugby-5. The cheerleading team from Myrnohrad was in the second ten, track and field athletes from Ocheretyne were 25th, and volleyball players from Rodynske and basketball players from Novodonetske fought well in the group stage. All these performances demonstrate endurance, team spirit and the ability to achieve a high level of training in difficult conditions. At the end of October this year, registration for schoolchildren to participate in the new season of the project will begin, so the relevant preparations are already underway.
The Donetsk regional organization of the physical culture and sports society "Ukraine" is the founder of three sports schools: The Regional Children and Youth Sports School of the FSO "Ukraine", the Greco-Roman Wrestling School named after G.G. Uzun, and the Regional Children and Youth Swimming and Synchronized Swimming School. Their main tasks are to search for, develop and support gifted students, create the necessary conditions for the maximum realization of their abilities in the chosen sport (athletics, wrestling, judo, swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, underwater sports), and prepare the reserve of national teams. In 2025, the organization held several regional competitions, and athletes from the above-mentioned sports schools continue to perform well in the national teams of Ukraine at national and international competitions. Particular attention is paid to engaging more internally displaced persons in physical education and sports.
Since 2023, underwater sports have been actively developing on the basis of the Regional Integrated Children's and Youth Sports School of the Ukrainian Sports Federation. This year, the national team of Donetsk region in this non-Olympic sport has 19 athletes, and the national team of Ukraine includes 11 representatives of the region: 4 in the main team, 5 candidates and 5 athletes in the reserve. In 2025, Donetsk athletes took part in 8 competitions of various levels, where they won 82 medals: 14 gold, 30 silver and 38 bronze medals. Tatiana Penina distinguished herself in the international arena, winning gold and bronze medals at the World Cup in Italy. The athletes successfully compete in 5 types of the program: swimming in fins and bilastas, diving, all types of relay swimming, and recently they tried their hand at a new discipline - underwater target shooting.
The development of equestrian sports in the region has good traditions and achievements thanks to the Regional Integrated Children's and Youth Sports School for Equestrian Sports, Modern Pentathlon and Triathlon. Currently, 26 athletes are involved in the training process in this sport. To ensure a full-fledged training process, regional competitions are held and participation in national tournaments is ensured. Classes are held at equestrian bases at the coaches' place of residence: in the city of Dnipro, the villages of Chubynske and Pylypovychi in Kyiv Oblast, and Lviv. At the same time, equestrian sport is a powerful tool for mental recovery and rehabilitation of war victims. Hippotherapy and equestrian therapy are especially effective in working with soldiers who have returned from the front. They help restore physical and mental health after injuries, traumas and contusions, develop endurance, coordination, reduce pain, and relieve stress and anxiety.
The XII World Games became one of the most prestigious and massive international competitions in 2025. In August, in the Chinese city of Chengdu, Donetsk region was represented by 8 athletes who are scholarship holders of the Donetsk Regional State Administration. They helped the national team to win 7 awards out of 44, which allowed our country to take 3rd place in the team. Sambo wrestler Vladyslav Rudnev, a representative of Kramatorsk, won two medals at the XII World Games in China in the combat section of sambo: in the individual competition in the 79 kg weight category and in the team tournament as part of the Ukrainian national team. Powerlifters brought 5 more medals to Ukraine's treasury. Konstantin Musienko from Druzhkivka became the champion in the men's heavyweight category, and Vladimir Ryev from Kramatorsk won silver. Daria Rusanenko from Druzhkovka took the second step of the podium in the super heavyweight category among women. The bronze medalists were: Oleksiy Bychkov from Kramatorsk in the men's super heavyweight category and Anastasia Derevyanko from Druzhkivka in the women's lightweight category. Two other powerlifters did not win any awards, but gained invaluable competitive experience in the super-heavy category: Valentyna Zagoruyko and Andriy Shevchenko from Kramatorsk.
The sporting achievements of athletes and coaches in international arenas, their significant contribution to the success of the national team in competitions is another confirmation that Donetsk region has always been, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine!