Let’s compare the prospects
This weekend, some federations held youth competitions. They were held under different conditions and with different numbers of participants. One of the global problems facing world draughts is the synchronization of the competition calendars of different federations. Coverage of youth competitions also remains low, although many of the events taking place there are of interest to us.
Latvia is hosting qualifying competitions on the big board among boys and girls. We have long said that with the gradual decline in the quality of play, the lack of proper management of sports competitions, and the aging (inexorable) coaching potential, clubs and entire groups of participants will disappear. And this is happening at a rate twice as fast as we predicted. Here are the facts:
- The draughts players and clubs from Limbaži, Sigulda, and Kuldīga have disappeared almost completely and without any possibility of recovery. The draughts players from Bauska are barely breathing (practically on their last legs), and the draughts players from Latgale are taking their last breaths. And soon the dream of the founders of the three-letter club will come true. Their students will play among themselves without any prospect of taking their place in world and European draughts.
- Based on the first point, let us recall that in Latvia only two coaches can achieve results. These are Roberts Misans and Zoya Golubeva. It is also worth mentioning that cooperation with Russian and Belarusian coaches is essential. But this is an open secret. Unfortunately, local potential does not meet the needs of those athletes who would like to achieve something in world draughts.
- The U-19 groups have completely disappeared from the qualifying competitions. What’s the point? It doesn’t make sense to hold finals in these groups either. They have long been held under the motto “Thank you for coming, at least someone came.” And they give medals even to those who “can’t hit the ball.”
What are the predictions for the future? Let’s see… We have plenty of popcorn.
Results Boys U-10 / U-13 / U-16 /
Results Girls U-10 / U-13 / U-16 /
At the same time, Lithuania is hosting the finals of the Russian draughts classic program among juniors. Our impression of the mass participation was too pessimistic. And if we take the U-19 group, which was expanded to include 26-year-old uncles and aunts, the teams were still formed. The same cannot be said about the U-16 group, which only managed to recruit nine players. It should be noted that draughts on a small board has always been a priority in Lithuania and played at a very high level. What happened?
Let’s see… let’s watch…
Results U-16 / U19U26Boys / U19U26G /
Why did we write in such detail about competitions in proud federations? So that you could compare several tables in the U-19 groups. Young people are the foundation of sport. And juniors who remain in sport can talk about stability and the right strategy, those who are involved in the development of draughts in federations. Please take a look at the tables of the Mongolian Youth Championship on the big board, which took place last week. The Mongolian Federation did not make any demands, did not sign any political letters… Mongolian juniors simply play and win at draughts.