Dr. Ronald R. Pope President Serendipity-Russia 1403 Kingsridge Drive Normal, IL 61761-2860 Email     RECREATION / SPORTS Our efforts to help in this area began with the basketball program in Vladimir.  Alexei Altonen personally enjoys playing recreational basketball—and the game of course originated in the United States.   Initially we worked on getting basketballs and used uniforms to Vladimir. In the first years after the collapse of the Soviet Union many programs, including sports, had very few resources to work with—beyond the dedication of the participants.   In 1996 we sponsored the first “4th of July” Street Ball Tournament—coinciding with the anniversary of the dedication of the American Home in 1992.  The next tournament was held in 1998.  Beginning in 2000 the competition has been held every year—and in fact has become the most prestigious summer tournament.    In spring 2000 we managed to get Illinois State University High School varsity coach, Cal Hubbard, to Vladimir.  He put on a very well attended clinic.  This was followed the next spring by a two-week trip to Illinois by a Vladimir coach and a coaching student. In 2005 a young basketball player from Vladimir spent a month in Bloomington-Normal attending clinics.   We are continuing to do what we can to promote basketball in the Vladimir region.   Click here for more detailed information:  Basketball Program   Along with a tourism development team, in the summer of 2004 we arranged for two recreation specialists to go to Vladimir to assess the situation.  Dr. Barbara Schlatter  (ISU) and Dr. Marta Moorman (University of Nebraska at Kearny) obtained university grants to cover their travel expenses and to purchase some recreation equipment.  In addition to surveying local recreation needs, they introduced “disk golf,” made a contribution of “holds” to the local wall climbing program, and gave some skateboards and rollerblades to a local club.  On returning to the States a funding request for a skatepark was submitted to the Tony Hawk Foundation.  Unfortunately, all the available Foundation funds were committed to American projects.   Recreation Project Essay   Recreation Project Report   The recreation project has been put on temporary hold—we plan on returning to it as we did with the basketball program.  Vladimir area youth need more recreation opportunities, especially during the summer months.   In addition to the formal projects, the teachers in the American Home’s English program have made a practice of introducing Russians to a variety of American sports, including baseball and American football.  They began playing tag football more or less regularly in 2003.   One of the “three year” teachers, Ted Walls (2003-05), introduced a group of Vladimirites to the very rare Indonesian martial art that he was certified to teach, Pencak Silat.   We will continue to search for ways to make contributions to the recreation and sports programs in the Vladimir area. ©Copyright 2009 Serendipity-Russia. All rights reserved.  Site maintained by Serendipity-Russia.  Contact Susan Scoville Pope