On November 21, the 2023-2024 Championship of the Student Basketball Association (SBA) in the Saratov Region division among men's teams was opened in the Star HFF. There were also announced the prize-winners of the 2022-2023 Universiade of Saratov Region.
The opening ceremony of the games began with the greeting of the teams: Saratov State University, Vavilov University, Gagarin State Technical University, Saratov State Academy of Law, and the Povolzhsky Institute of Management named after P.A. Stolypin.
Minister of Sports of Saratov Region Oleg Dubovenko, rectors, and students came to support the teams. SSU was presented at the opening of the SBA by SSU Acting Rector, Vice-Rector for Secondary Vocational Education and Social Work Olga Nesterova, Vice-rector for Youth Policy and Organisational Work Anton Golovchenko, Head of the Sports Club, SSU, Vladimir Gordeyev and a team of participating athletes who played against the Povolzhsky Institute of Management named after P.A. Stolypin in a basketball match.
‘Saratov loves basketball, thousands of people play it, and, of course, including students, whom the whole region is proud of. I would like to thank the organisers of the league. I hope the teams will successfully demonstrate their talents. Next month will be full of games that will reveal the winner. Surely, the games of the student basketball league will form an active group of fans, and you will support your teams,’ Oleg Dubovenko said.
Before the match, he awarded the prize-winners of the 2022-2023 Universiade of Saratov Region. The Saratov State University team took 1st place in the overall standings. The award was received by SSU Acting Rector Olga Nesterova.
The competitions were held in 29 sports disciplines, and the team standings of the final stage were summed up, according to the best results in 21 sports disciplines. 2nd place was given to Gagarin State Technical University, and the third was taken by the SSAL.
In addition, from March to April, the Spartakiade was held among the teaching staff of universities in Saratov Region, which has become traditional in the region. They had competed in nine sports disciplines. Six educational organisations had taken part in the Spartakiade, and the total number of participants had been more than two hundred people. The prize-winners had been given in the following way.
‘For several years now, SSU has traditionally taken 1st place. For us and our students, this is an incentive for the development of student sports – we perform well not only here, but also at competitions of all-Russian scale. Now, the new year of the Spartakiade is to begin, and this season, we are going to follow our traditions and save up positions,’ Head of the SSU Sports Club Vladimir Gordeyev shared his plans.
After the awarding ceremony, the SBA Championship started, the anthem of Russia was played, and the teams of SSU and RANEPA entered the basketball court. Between the quarters of the match, the BadGuys creative team of SSU performed the Shrimps dance. According to the results of the game, the SSU team won with a score of 91:55
The Student Basketball Association (SBA) is a student sports association that holds the official Student Basketball Championship of Russia. It is attended by 800 men's and women's teams of 450 universities and colleges from 71 region of the Russian Federation, including from Saratov Region. During the season, the Association hosts about 4,000 matches, the total number of championship players is more than 10,000 people. The SBA is the largest student sports league in Europe and the second in the world in terms of the number of participating teams.
