The capital of Yugra hosted the opening ceremony for the 5th All-Russia Winter Sberbankiada - the largest corporate sports contest in the world.

The capital of Yugra hosted the opening ceremony for the 5th All-Russia Winter Sberbankiada. Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank of Russia; Natalia Komarova, Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District; Mikhail Terentyev, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and Secretary General of the Paraolympics Committee of Russia; Leonid Tyagachev, Honourable President of the Olympics Committee of Russia; and Igor Stolyarov, Senior Vice-President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee took part in the ceremony.

“Sports is one of our corporate values,” said Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank of Russia and Chairman of the Sberbankiada Organizing Committee. “Let us not forget that we hold our winter Sberbankiada in just under one year before the principal sports celebration - 22nd Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, with Sberbank as a General Partner.”

Welcoming participants of the Sberbank team competitions, Natalia Komarova, Governor of Yugra, congratulated everyone with anniversary of winter competitions and wished every success to the teams.

“Being General Partner of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Sbebank not only actively participates in preparation of the Games, but also acts as a leader in creation of a team of several thousands of employees who are enthusiastic about sports,” said Mikhail Terentyev, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and Secretary General of the Paraolympics Committee of Russia. “Sberbankiada is a perfect example of corporate team spirit where sports and healthy lifestyle are an integral part of the company.”

The 5th All-Russia Winter Sberbankiada will complete on March 29, 2013. 23 teams take part in the competitions: 17 teams representing regional banks of Sberbank, the teams of subsidiary banks in the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, subsidiary banks Sberbank Europe and DenizBank, and also the teams from Sberbank Central Office and Sberbank Technologii. DenizBank acquired by Sberbank in 2012 sends its select team to participate in Sberbankiada for the first time.

More than 1,300 people will take part in the winter Sberbankiada. The competition program includes six types of sports: cross-country skiing, biathlon, hockey, speed skating, alpine skiing, and snowboard.

Apart from competitive sports program, talent show of Sberbank employees will also take place during Sberbankiada. Also, Health Pavilions will be open to host presentations of organic food and ethnic cuisine.

Sberbankiada is the principal sports competition of employees of Sberbank of Russia which has been held since 2001. About two thousand participants take part in summer Sberbankiadas, and over one thousand in winter. Thus, Sberbankiada is the largest corporate competition not just in Russia and CIS but also in the entire world.