Behind the Scenes: An Inside Look at the Sport Committee

The Sports Committee of Pirogova National Memorial Medical University is an independent structural unit of the student self government (Studrada). It consists of 32 members including 3 foreign students. The committee is responsible for providing a society of games and physical activities for interested students. The team of Pirogovka was honored and equally enjoyed interviewing three major members of the committee, Kateryna Miskova (Head of the committee), Uliana Titarova (Secretary to head of committee) and Victoria Kravets (manager of the PR team of the committee).

What inspired you to come up with the idea of initiating a separate committee for Sports and games in the university? (Kateryna

Miskova)

- It was the idea of my friend Kate, who is continuing her studies now in Poland. We were in third course when we decided to start this club or committee. Those were very difficult times for everybody because of COVID when our classes were going online and we were struggling to maintain a healthy physical and mental balance. To be honest we wanted to create a healthy space for student-athletes. We wanted to share the healthy influence of sports on overall education, growth and well being of individuals.

How does the Sports committee connect to students? What is the process of joining the committee and what students can look forward to after they join?

- It is very simple. Students can connect to our team by the committee’s Instagram handle, @vnmu_sportcom or the official Instagram page of student government (@studrada_vnmu). The information and updates are constantly available on our telegram page too (link available on Instagram). All students from the university are welcome. We conduct different projects and love to connect to students as new members with their inspiring ideas for the club. Students can pick the project of their choice and work accordingly.

- The students can look forward to a cool experience and healthy environment.

- It’s very interesting to interact with each other and the members enjoy meetings. Overall it’s a fun time for students. We’re proud of our members because all of them are approachable and open minded. We respect great ideas. It’s not necessary to be an athlete or a sports person, students can join to enjoy watching different matches and have a great fun time.

What are the goals and objectives pursued by the Sports Committee long run?

- I think the students of our university have a very sedentary lifestyle. The load of studies is so much and they can barely take out some time to do some physical activity which is very important for future doctors to maintain a healthy living for themselves. We want to improve the sports life of students which consequently will give a boost in their study life too. Moreover, we want to provide great social circles for students.

What challenges have been faced by the Committee till now and how the members managed to grow through them?

- I think every committee has this problem related to finance and we’re struggling for that too. The committee lacks sufficient funding to get enough resources to meet the needs of all the members. Providing all the necessary stuff to conduct events and games has been a real challenge in the whole journey. Since Ukraine is going through a tough time as well, it became a major issue to raise all the funds required. But we’re doing our best.

What are your ideas for encouraging healthy sportsmanship among the students?

- We believe to provide a physically and mentally healthy atmosphere which is a result of contribution by each and every member of the committee. We think that every idea and opinion is important and deserves equal respect and consideration. We admire the quality of being open to conversations and positive approach towards all the projects. It is about participation, working hard and being a part of something you can look forward to.

What are the various activities organized by the Sports committee in the previous academic years?

- We keep organizing activities and games which include various competitions like chess, yoga, self defense for women, basketball, volleyball etc. We’ve different activities assigned for each day of the week on our telegram group.

- We promote the committee not only for offline meetings such as competitions but we also organize online activities and challenges for social media as well where people accept them and share their personal involvement in the task.

- We took part in a food fair in university where different committees exhibit their specialties and sell them to raise funds to help the army of Ukraine.

What advice the committee would like to convey related to the importance of sports, games and physical activities in our day-today lives? (Uliana Titarova)

- Regular physical activity is very good for one's health. If we don’t move enough our metabolism will slow down which will affect our body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, metabolize fats and have negative effects on blood pressure and weekend muscles etc. When we move a little and sit a lot, the body literally turns off. Therefore, we as future doctors should take care of minimal physical activity. This is what the sports committee aims to do.

Interviewed by Devanshi Bhardwaj

Translated by Gunko Mariia