Deaflympics 2015: the heritage of Sochi

February 20, 2015

Sportbox.ru is presenting one more sport arena of the Winter Deaflympics that will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk and Magnitogorsk from March’28 till April’05. The Ice Palace will host men and women tournaments in curling – a new sport discipline for Ugra.

Name: The Ice Palace

Functioning since: 2005

Capacity: 2500 spectators

Discipline: curling

History

The Ice Palace is the first arena of “Ugra” ice-hockey club and the main residence of the Youth Hockey League team “The Mammoths of Ugra”. However, this is a multi-functional complex. In addition to the ice arena with artificial ice , it contains a 25m swimming-pool with mini aqua-park and saunas, a fitness club, a choreography class, a hall for martial arts and a billiard club. The Ice Palace is located next to the Ugra Arena and can be simply transformed into a place for hosting competitive sport tournaments, martial arts performances and concerts.

Besides, these days the Ice Palace is the place for mass sport. People of Khanty-Mansiysk are going here to attend ice-hockey and figure skating sections, dancing classes, lessons of swimming and playing billiards that are available both for kids and adults. The ice arena is also opened for everybody who likes skating.

As for the sport events hosted in the Ice Palace, they are boxing tournaments, billiard and synchronous swimming championships, impressive ice shows with Olympic champions, the Summer Spartakiad for Youth 2006, the All-Russian Summer Universiad 2012 and even the convention of Fathers Christmases. And it’s not mentioning ice-hockey — in addition to the classic discipline, the Ice Palace was also hosting the games of Paralympic sledge-hockey. The local team “Ugra” is one of the national leaders, three players of the team are vice-champions of the Paralympics in Sochi as the members of national team of Russia.

Thepreparationprocess

As for curling, this sport is new for Khanty-Mansiysk and the Ice Palace personnel. There wasn’t any curling tournaments held here before, but the process of making ice for curling is very complicated and has many peculiarities.

— Every sport needs specific ice. Ice needed in hockey differs much from ice for figure skating or speed skating, ice for curling is not the same as ice for hockey. – says the general manager of the Ice Palace Victor Svyatchenko. — Of cause, if you have no experience in making ice for curling, you will not be able to do this right without any supervision. That’s why the organizing committee of the Games has invited the professional ice-makers, who were preparing ice for the Olympics in Sochi. The process of making ice will start on March’18 and will continue for 10 days – till the day of closing of the Deaflympics.

Until the middle of March “the Mammoths of Ugra” will be training in the Ice Palace. Currently the team has 2^nd position in total standings of the Eastern Conference of the Youth Hockey League. Here it will play the final games of the regular tournament and the first play-off game. After this the ice arena will be used for Deaflympic curling tournament. 9 men and 8 women teams will do their best to win the gold medals of the Games.

Schedule

March’29

9.00 Group games. Men. 1^st round

14.00 Group games. Women. 1^st round

18.00 Group games. Men. 2^nd round

March’30

9.00 Group games. Women. 2^nd round

14.00 Group games. Men. 3^rd round

18.00 Group games. Women. 3^rd round

March’31

9.00 Group games. Men. 4^th round

14.00 Group games. Women. 4^th round