The Amur Tiger Center and the International Sambo Federation concluded today, May 5, a cooperation agreement. The goal of the interaction is to unite efforts in the development and popularization of sambo, as well as to preserve and increase the unique population of the Amur tiger. The partnership of the two organizations will allow each other to provide mutual assistance and assistance in various activities.
As follows from the document, the parties intend to jointly organize and conduct charitable, sports, demonstration and other events. They will be aimed, on the one hand, at the development and popularization of sambo, and on the other, at attracting public attention to the problem of preserving and increasing the unique population of a large predator.
In addition, the image of the tiger was approved by the Executive Committee of the International Sambo Federation as the official sambo mascot.
“Sambo is a sport that teaches the ability to stand up for yourself and protect your loved ones. Social responsibility is an important direction of modern development of sambo, social projects in the FIAS strategy are an indisputable priority. That is why the Executive Committee of the International Sambo Federation, which met at the end of March in Moscow, unanimously supported the tiger custody initiative and also approved the tiger image as the official mascot of the federation. It will not only be a symbol of good luck for sambo players all over the world, but will also provide an additional impetus to the development of programs for the protection of animals and the environment,” said the President of FIAS Vasily Shestakov.
Director General of the Amur Tiger Center Andrey Smirnov commented on the signing of the agreement:“The Amur Tiger Center aims to attract public attention to the problem of preserving the Amur tiger. Thanks to the cooperation with the International Sambo Federation, the entire world community will learn about the Red Book predator. It is symbolic that the Amur tiger, which lives mainly in the territory of our country, will become a talisman of the native Russian sport. We very much hope that the tiger-mascot will be loved by professional and novice athletes, all amateur and Sambo fans in the world, and thus will allow us to draw attention to the problems of the preservation of this animal. Only by combining our efforts can we achieve results and preserve the Amur tiger for future generations.”
Cooperation will allow the attention of the sambistic family and the public to draw not only the problem of the disappearance of the Amur tiger, but also other rare animals.
“I am convinced that other sports federations around the world will support FIAS and take care of certain endangered animals. With colleagues from the Centre, we have now managed to identify a number of very important and useful initiatives that will attract the public attention to the problem of extinction of the Amur tiger population. In addition to the sports and exhibition events, we also plan to launch a project for training of law enforcement personnel in the specialized sambist the program,” said Vasily Shestakov.