MINSK, 17 July (BelTA) - The 13th edition of the Summer International Sberbankiada in Minsk features 40 medal events. Sberbankiada is a major sports tournament of Sberbank Group and is one of the largest corporate competitions in the world, BelTA learned from Sberbank's press service.
The tournament, which will last until 21 July, has brought together over 2,000 employees of Sberbank from 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and 22 countries. Twenty teams from territorial and subsidiary banks, the Central Office and subsidiaries of Sberbank will compete to place first in the overall team standings. Athletes will compete in 40 medal events in 12 sports: mini football, volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, crossfit, tennis, table tennis, badminton, swimming, running, chess and squash.
Sberbankiada's opening ceremony was held in the Sports Palace. The opening show was directed by world figure skating champion Ilya Averbukh. The opening ceremony was attended by dignitaries and stars of Russian sports.
“On behalf of Sberbank I would like to extend gratitude to the team of organizers, the government and personally Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. We have many wonderful traditions in Sberbank. One of them is to respect the sport, to bring culture and energy into families and society. We are a visible part of our country and other countries where we are present. It is very important that we promote, in addition to financial, technological and corporate culture, the culture of healthy living and learning throughout life,” President, Chairman of the Board of PAO Sberbank of Russia German Gref said at the opening ceremony.
Sberbank is not only about important financial transactions but also about the lives of a huge team of people, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev said. “Sport is not only about achievements. It is about the ability not to lose heart and to enjoy life. German Gref has always set the tasks that seem almost impossible but he has repeatedly showed that for Sberbank there are no heights it cannot conquer,” he stressed.
