Host City: How is SAMBO spreading geographically today from its Soviet origins 80 years ago?

Vasily Shestakov: Nowadays SAMBO is a sport that is spread on five continents with 4.5 million passionate and engaged participants. The sport grew dramatically over the last two decades to encompass 88 full member federations and more than 30 candidate countries. This is the result of extensive interest in martial arts in general, but thanks foremost to the strong commitment of the International SAMBO Federation and its strategy and vision to become the Olympic recognised sport.  

Host City: What are your priorities when looking for a host city and how do you go about selecting/attracting a host?

Vasily Shestakov: More than 30 major SAMBO competitions are held annually at the international level under the auspices of FIAS. The FIAS Competition calendar is composed of traditional events, which are historically organised in the same city for a number of years, such as the World Cup in Moscow and the chain of the Presidents Cups, traditionally hosted in the UK.

Moreover, we organise annual World Championships in different age categories in collaboration with our member federations, through the official bidding process opening at least three years before the events. However, we see the importance of exploring further opportunities to engage with host cities directly, as this is an important change in organisation of events globally.

Host City: What are the main benefits of hosting the SAMBO championships?

Vasily Shestakov: International SAMBO events give host cities opportunities related to tourism. The average number of participants in the international events is about 1,000 people, which together with the fans gives us about 3,000 people attending the event. This provides the host city with opportunities to generate income for hotels, restaurants, transport, touristic attractions etc.

Moreover, FIAS is strongly engaged in promoting the sustainable management of its events, with opportunities to build legacy in three pillars: economical, environmental and social. So, for host cities that would like to organise sports events with these values, SAMBO events could be the option.

Host City: How does Sambo differ from other forms of (mixed) martial arts?

Vasily Shestakov: SAMBO is the unique synthesis of various techniques and martial arts from around the world. It is an original system of physical and spiritual education of person, in which many nations of the world recognize their sporting styles and traditions.

Host City: What does the future hold for SAMBO?

Vasily Shestakov: This year marks the 80^th anniversary of SAMBO and it is due to be another thrilling year for the sport. Most importantly, we are hoping to continue with the excellent growth we have seen in recent years: making SAMBO more accessible to people all over the world. While SAMBO is still not recognised by the International Olympic Committee, we are very much looking forward to working extensively on our recognition and believe that in a short period we can reach our goal.

Michal Buchel, CEO of FIAS is giving a presentation on “Building recognition and participation” at Host City 2018 in Glasgow on 20-21 November

With just under 30 days to go until the start of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, the Trivandi Chanzo team on site has surpassed the 700-mark.

More than 300 Games-experienced international staff from over 20 countries have been recruited and mobilised to Ashgabat during the last year.

These international experts have also recruited and trained over 400 national staff through the Ashgabat 2017 Games Academy to ensure a lasting human legacy of event professionals for Turkmenistan.

Trivandi Chanzo Limited (TCL) were appointed as the official ‘Operator for Games Planning and Delivery’ in June 2016 and the combined international and national TCL team represents the largest ever outsourced solution for major event planning and operations.

The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will be hosted in the city of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in September and will see more than 6,000 athletes and officials from 65 delegations in Asia and Oceania participate in 351 medal events across 21 sports in 15 venues.

Jean Tomlin, CEO of Chanzo said ‘Ashgabat 2017 is showcasing the capability of people to ‘deliver brilliant’ when faced with an unprecedented challenge and at the same time leave a significant human legacy for future events in Turkmenistan’.

James Bulley, CEO of Trivandi said ‘As we complete our final preparations for the Games I am delighted that we have been able to assemble a team of such talented international and national staff to deliver the extraordinary task of planning and delivering a major multi-sport event in less than 500 days.’

Mr Dayanch Gulgeldiyev, Chairman of the 5th AIMAG Executive Committee said, ‘We are very proud of the team of international and national staff that have been working together to plan and deliver our Games to the highest international standards and showcase the capabilities of Ashgabat and Turkmenistan as a host for major sporting events now and in the future.’

Ashgabat 2017 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will take place in Turkmenistan from 17 to 27 September 2017. The Games will feature 21 sports across 15 venues. Ashgabat 2017 is the first Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Games to be held in a Central Asian country.

Trivandi Chanzo is a joint venture founded by two former members of the London 2012 Organising Committee.

Trivandi, co‐founded by former London 2012 Venues and Infrastructure Director, James Bulley, are experts in providing operational planning and delivery services to major events.

Chanzo, founded by former London 2012 HR and Workforce Director, Jean Tomlin, are experts in HR, Workforce, Volunteering and international recruitment for major events.