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12.09.07
Young people STORM "GOLDEN gate"

The Sportsman day on Saturday, September, 8, in Kyiv a XI international fencing tournament Golden Gate was completed which gave a start to the World Cup (among young people) of the 2007–2008 season.

There is one fact which witnesses about the popularity and authority of the Golden Gate tournament which takes place on the stadium of Central Sports Club of the Armed forces: every year the team composition of fencing tournament becomes stronger. To arrive to the capital of Ukraine today is the honour for all the leading sword-women of the world at the age under 20. Many these girls are already included in the national teams or are next to them. Probably, we will see some of the participants of the current tournament on the olympic fencing track in Beijing.

Duel meets of the starting round showed by their staginess and ardour, unpredictability of result and display of emotions that a competition for the victory in the first round of the World Cup and rating points would be extraordinarily tough. The main contest will take place between the sportswomen of Ukraine, Russia, France, USA, Estonia and Germany. As effeirs to the masters of the contest, their representation on the track showed up the most solid – from 56 participants 22 were from Ukraine with the prizewinners of the former Golden Gate tournaments Katerina Blokhina, Oleksandra Firsova and Olga Zadorozhna at the head.

Seven hours of the fencing battle flew as one instant. This was the wonderful holiday of youth and sport, duels which took breath away, where often the advantage of one of the competitors looked microscopic and was measured by only one touch. Of course, it  could not pass without the tears of the disappointed favourites which did not get on a podium. But it was well done! All the participants carried themselves in an estimable and favorable way, realizing that their main starts and victories are in the future.

On this day American Courtney Harley had the thing to worry about. At 1/4 finale she yielded to Russian Yana Zvereva – 10:13. Taking off a face-guard from the head, Courtney burst into tears straight on the track. But a few minutes later the pretty girl from the state of Texas, calming down, cordially answered the question of journalists. After the interview Courtney began to discuss the course of the lost battle with the coach-father. Certainly it is hurtful to drop out of the tournament in a quarter-final for a sportswoman who has the second world rating among young people. But Harley yielded to the competitor with higher rating and, as it became clear later, to the future champion of the Golden Gate tournament.

Muscovite Yana Zvereva became a silver medalist at the last year's Golden Gate tournament. Presently she became the champion of the Kyiv tournament, showing the ability and the will in difficult and tense duel meets in the semifinal with Ukrainian Anfisa Pochkalova (15:11) and in the finale with a friend in the national team of Russia Violetta Kolosova (15:12). The champion received the main purse – 2000 dollars – from the organizers of the Contest, well-known Ukrainian company Avtologistics Ltd., and also solid amount of points in the new world youth fencing rating of the 2007-2008 season.

The other Ukrainian fencers performed well in general at the first stage of the World Cup. The gifted Anfisa Pochkalova from Lviv became the bronze medalist of the tournament, and the talented Katya Blokhina, who successfully recommences after the serious trauma of the back, locked the scoring eight, yielding to the future silver medalist Moscovite Violetta Kolobova (6:15) at the 1/4 final. The other girls who dream about a place in the national team showed themselves as the very perspective sportswomen. These are Olga Zadorozhna, Olexandra Firsova, Inna Rudenko and Olga Gorbul'ko, who dropped out of the contest at the stage of the 1/16 and 1/8 final. The results of the Golden Gate tournament, organized and conducted on a good international level, instill the optimism: the perspective generation of young sword-women grows up in Ukraine. And it means that our sword-women have serious olympic prospects in the future.

In conclusion some short opinions about the tournament which already became the noticeable phenomenon in the life of the Ukrainian and international woman's fencing after over decennial period of existence.

Grigory Kriss, champion of the Tokyo Olympiad (1964): Golden Gate tournament for me, citizen of Kyiv, is always a big holiday. I sincerely admire people who in 1997 developed and embodied the idea of such a tournament. For the young fencers of Ukraine and other countries it already became the first serious step in a big sport.

Vadym Guttsayt, champion of the Olympiad in Barcelona (1992), the chief coach of national fencing team of Ukraine: I did not miss a single tournament and I can say with all the responsibility it becomes more interesting, more representative and, if you want, more solid. And it is the growth of prestige and authority of the Ukrainian fencing in the world. Unfortunately, there are only two of such tournaments in Ukraine. There is one more contest in Odessa which is the saber one. A deep gratitude and honour is deserved by people and organizations which organize Golden Gate tournament on a very decent level for such a long period.

Frantishek Yanda, the president of the Fencing federation of Czechia, the official representative of the International federation of fencing: I am for the second time here. The Kyiv Golden Gate tournament is a wonderful contest. I think that the first stage of the World Cup of the 2007–2008 season succeeded! What a tension of battle, ardor and emotions! And what a brilliant organization of the tournament, what a fantastically cordial reception got everyone of us, its participants! Here can be only the greatest estimation. I am sure that the next olympic year the Golden Gate tournament will take place on the same level.

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12.11.06 - The Sixth International Fencing Tournament in memory of the S. Y. Kolchinsky took place
15.08.06 - From national competitions to the World Cup series