What kind of "potato" topics we have not raised over the years of the magazine's existence. They wrote about engineering, technology, cultural history… And never once about sports. Meanwhile, rowing competitions, popularly known as the “Potato Race”, are held in Nizhny Novgorod every year. This year they will be held for the 10th time!
ABOUT POTATOES AND SPORT...
WANT ME TO TELL YOU HOW IT ALL STARTED?
- He speaks Alexander Sakov, Director of the Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Agriculture - a branch of the FGBNU FARC of the North-East. N.V. Rudnitsky, as well as the main organizer and inspirer of the competition. - Once in the spring, three athletes - Pyotr Vladimirovich Popinov, president of the Federation of kayaking and canoeing of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Vladimir Ivanovich Chelnokov and I, master of sports in rowing - got together (we have a wonderful tradition to go south in late March and early April, to do sports rowing there) and decided to come up with something interesting. There was an idea to combine sports and agriculture in one event - to hold a rowing competition in boats "Dragon" in Nizhny Novgorod, on the Rowing Canal for prizes from the agro-industrial complex. Each participant - a bag of potatoes! And in the fall of 2012, the first Potato Race took place ...
So people immediately responded to your idea?
- Yes! As rewards in the first year, we gave away 40 sacks of potatoes. Plus, the owner of the Nizhny Novgorod poultry farm came to our competitions, brought several pallets of chicken.
Now the prize pool is growing every year. It includes vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce), milk, sausage, lemonade, bread and cakes - all products of Nizhny Novgorod manufacturers. A flask of honey from his apiary is brought by Alexei Ivanovich Morozov, the former Minister of Agriculture of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
The top prize last year was a bull carcass, the second prize was a pig, and the third prize was a case of chicken. And potatoes, of course. After the competition, all those involved are now leaving with her - from athletes to the watchman.
- And how do the participants relate to such "earthly" prizes?
- The main goal that I pursue is to contribute to the establishment of communication between the city and the village. We came up with the simplest prizes that exist in life. But these are the things that everyone needs. No one refuses, on the contrary, our prizes are the highlight of the event.
And it is also important that everyone receives awards. Perhaps that is why the atmosphere of this race is very warm and friendly. This is a gambling event, but people do not have the task of winning at any cost. We are all like a big family here.
Is it difficult to find sponsors?
— Yes and no. At first it was awkward to ask. They brought me food in a certain amount, I understood that I needed more, and I just bought more of what I considered necessary. And after the competition, the producers came up with reproaches: “We didn’t give so much. You don't ever do that again." Now everything is already simpler, last year more than 15 Nizhny Novgorod enterprises provided agricultural products for the race. I am very grateful to them. It's a great happiness to see how people leave our event with an armful of products.
— How many participants usually come to your race? From what regions?
- We feed all the participants with porridge for free. The day before, I bring 300 sets of disposable tableware, it all goes away, and I have to buy more. Here's what you can say about the number of people at the festival.
And our geography is the most extensive: there are teams from almost all cities along the Volga - from Verkhny Volochyok and Tver to Samara. They also come from more remote corners, from the Perm Territory, for example. By the way, Klaus Sprenger, director of the Liebherr-Nizhny Novgorod plant, took part in the race last year. From that moment, we can say that our race has received international status.
— The race takes place in several stages? At what distance?
- The distance is only 200 meters. Each race lasts less than a minute. There are stages in which athletes fight for victory, but there are also races for amateurs. Moreover, even those who got into the boat for the first time can compete in our superfinal (aka show race), and this is one of the most spectacular events of the competition. The teams of the Ministry of Agriculture of the region, Rosselkhozbank took part in it several times. And the most important team for me is constantly participating - “Peasants of Russia”, which includes agricultural producers.
I note that the struggle in the show race is serious. And there are prizes for the winners, although the point, of course, is not in awards, but in impressions. Emotions are unforgettable!
— Do agricultural producers willingly participate in competitions?
- It's not easy to convince. I remember that for several years in a row we invited Vladimir Ivanovich Boltaevsky, the chairman of the SPK Deyanovsky, to participate. We even went to Deyanovo and donated boats to local children to form a youth team. And last year, Vladimir Ivanovich finally came to us, we were very happy.
Of course, it is difficult to tear the peasants away from business, but if they manage to escape, they act with passion, everyone's eyes burn, they approach the matter creatively. In 2020, three heads of agricultural enterprises in Olympic uniforms came to our competitions. They participated in the Olympic torch relay, the uniform remained, and now they have found a use for it.
- There is a little more than a month left until the 10th anniversary race, tell us about it.
— The 10th Potato Race will take place on September 10 in Nizhny Novgorod, on the Rowing Canal. Preparations are in full swing, the list of prizes has already been updated and expanded.
As always, we will be glad to see both professionals and amateurs among the participants. No pre-registration is required for our event.
Good luck to all!