Managers and employees of Magnezit Group took part in the official ceremony of opening the monument to Valeriy Belousov, a famous hockey player, a honored coach of Russia, a master of sports of international class in hockey, and a honorary citizen of the city of Chelyabinsk. The event took place on August 23 in the Traktor Ice Arena named after this legendary athlete, thus preceding the start of the Chelyabinsk Oblast Governor’s Cup in hockey.

The audience was greeted by Aleksey Teksler, the head of the region, Evgeniy Kuznetsov, the trainee of Traktor Ice Hockey Club who has played more than a dozen matches under the leadership of Valeriy Belousov, and Sergey Korostelev, the leader of the Magnezit Group, on whose initiative a sculptural composition was created and donated to Chelyabinsk.

“We may not forget that it is the past that creates the present. Memory and traditions build our future. While the Traktor Ice Hockey Club is a symbol of the Chelyabinsk Oblast, Valeriy Belousov is a symbol of the Traktor. It is a great honor for us to come in touch with such a legendary person in the history of the region and Russian hockey and to perpetuate the memory of him,” Sergey Korostelev said.

“Valeriy Belousov is a legend of sports, a man who personifies Chelyabinsk hockey and the Traktor Club,” Aleksey Teksler continued. “Our main victories and achievements are associated with Valeriy Konstantinovich. He was and remains a leader. I believe that our Traktor will become a champion and hope that the opening of the today’s monument will serve as an impetus for this,” Aleksey Teksler emphasized.

Ice hockey is a dynamic, complex, courageous and very spectacular team sport. The aluminum-cast sculpture of the athlete rushing after a puck fully conveys all these characteristics. Its author, Ivan Korzhev, a Russian monumentalist and a honored artist of the Russian Federation, seems to have snatched a volant moment of the game, all tension, and at the same time smoothness, precision, and liveliness of the hockey player’s movements. The pedestal faced with light granite in the shape of an ice floe also emphasizes the dynamic line and sets the vector of statue’s movement. Behind the monument, there is a memorial fir alley planted by famous players of the Traktor Club in memory of Valeriy Belousov.

After the grand opening of the sculpture, an ice hockey match between Chelyabinsk Traktor and Magnitogorsk Metallurg took place at the Traktor Ice Arena. The match started the 10th Chelyabinsk Oblast Governor’s Cup in hockey.

The meeting began in equal fight. At the start of the second period, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev gave Traktor a lead, but the regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw. The fight for victory continued in the overtime and ended at 2-1 in favor of Chelyabinsk.

The pre-season tournament ended on 26, August. Kazan Ak Bars and Tolyatti Lada will compete with the regional teams in the Chelyabinsk Oblast Governor’s Cup. The previous last year the Cup stayed in Chelyabinsk, the South Urals capital.

OUR BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Valeriy Belousov was born in Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast but was destined to become a real native of Chelyabinsk. At the age of 22, he moved to Traktor from Nizhniy Tagil Sputnik and achieved impressive results in his playing career: 418 matches, 221 goals, and the title of the best high scorer and sharpshooter in the history of Traktor. Discipline was always a feature of teams led by this coach. A lot of time was devoted to feedback meetings and to games of uneven lineups.

The trip of the Magnezit employees to the solemn events—the opening of the monument and the 10th Governor’s Cup in hockey—was organized as part of a corporate cultural and educational project supported by the trade union committee of the enterprise. 50 employees of Magnezit Group with their families visited the Traktor Ice Arena.

Source: Magnezitovets