Athletes Forum: New experience and closer cooperation with Olympic university

Belarus’ first National Athletes Forum wrapped up at the headquarters of the NOC of Belarus.

Over the course of two days, many leading Belarusian athletes, experts and mentors from the Russian Federation discussed, in the format of an interactive training seminar-conference, topical issues of adaptation to life after athletic retirement, finding new opportunities to integrate into various professional communities, acquiring new knowledge and developing practical skills to build a successful career and promote a personal brand.

The forum brought together representatives of a variety of sports: basketball, biathlon, handball, artistic gymnastics, volleyball, cycling, canoe sprint, skating, tennis, triathlon, football, hockey and other disciplines.

Professors of Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) addressed various aspects that will help athletes build their careers not only during an active sport career but also after retirement.

RIOU Rector Lev Belousov noted that the Olympic University is ready to expand cooperation with the NOC of Belarus.

"We met with senior officials of the NOC of Belarus and talked about expanding our cooperation. The Athletes Forum is a step in that direction. Our cooperation has reached a new level. This is a serious test for us. We have not held such events before. It is symbolic that this is happening in the brotherly Belarus," Lev Belousov said.

Speaking about the avenues of cooperation, the guest from Russia said that the emphasis will be on socialization of athletes, whose adaptation to life after sport is one of the most important problems of modern society.

Summing up the forum, one of the experts Vladimir Voloshin noted that athletes often need help and guidance in the fast-changing digital world. “When developing your personal brand in social networks, it is important to have a clear idea who your audience is if you want your project to take off. This is what we teach at our seminars. In Minsk, we gathered quite a large and interested sports audience," he said.

Olympic canoe sprint champion Andrei Bahdanovich believes that in the course of two days the participants received a lot of information, which they now need to process and apply. "It was useful to listen to internet project experts, to talk to them. I had some superficial knowledge in this area. But the experts gave us structured information; communication with athletes from other sports was very constructive," Andrei Bahdanovich said.

Hanna Sola, a bronze medalist of the 2021 World Biathlon Championships, also attended the forum. “It is great that the National Olympic Committee held such an event. They presented a variety of ideas for those who are already thinking of what they will be doing after retirement from sport. You need to think of your future after sport and lay some foundation as early as today."

 

Liubou Charkashyna, senior coach of the national rhythmic gymnastics team and Olympic bronze medalist, stressed the importance of such events for passing on experience. “After I finished my career, I was lucky to have my coach, who supported me. I found myself in the line of work that I love. However that does not often happen so. I learned new ideas for development at the forum. I listened attentively to the speakers, and I understand that such forums and meetings are very important for athletes to help them avoid mistakes. It is very important to find motivation. I finished my sporting career on a good note, after winning an Olympic medal. We should not forget about those athletes who did not make it to the Olympic podium,” she said.

“It was an interesting event. Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of social networks, this forum was a good example for out athletes how they can realize themselves after retirement, and also during the career in today's digital world,” Chairperson of the Belarusian Cycling Federation Natallia Tsylinskaya said.

One of the speakers of the forum, Irina Kuderova, believes that with a reasonable approach, athletes can successfully realize themselves in the media sector. “With the advent of social networks, opportunities are many. They are many more than we talked about during the two days. We just need to apply this knowledge in a smart way. I am in high spirits after the forum in Minsk. It was a new experience for me. During the panel discussion I saw people who want to move this idea forward and have already done a lot. I understand that the NOC of Belarus has a lot of people who think the same way as I do, know a lot. It is easy to work with such an audience. We hope that all our advice proves useful to Belarusian athletes and that they will able to apply them in practice,” said Irina Kuderova.

Yuliya Rytsikava, a player of the Belarusian national basketball team, stressed the importance of such communication with experts, between athletes and representatives of the federation. “It was an informative and useful forum. There were interesting speakers. During the seminars I realized that I should have been more proactive with building my internet project. So we need more such forums, we need to meet more often and share our experience,” she said.

Aerials skier Pavel Dzik, who is active in social networks, spoke about the importance of paying attention to this. “It is no secret that social networks have become an integral part of our lives. Many people are trying to launch some projects on the internet, but they are doing it at an amateur level. At the forum we learned a lot. I was already familiar with some of the topics. Some were new to me. I understand perfectly well that my professional career in sport will end some day, and I can realize myself in the digital world in the future.”

The National Athletes’ Forum was organized by the National Olympic Committee of Belarus and Russian International Olympic University. Attending the forum were more than 150 Belarusian athletes. Leading Russian experts in online project development and adaptation to life after athletic retirement shared their knowledge at the forum.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus

Photos courtesy of the NOC of Belarus