Organization of mass sport and recreation activities at industrial enterprises in Western Siberia in the 1960s-1980s and the establishment of a scientific and recreational association "Health Centre" in Tomsk

In the 1960s-1980s, our country carried out a great theoretical and practical work on the organization of mass recreation sport activities among workers. The most common form of organization of workers' physical activity was gymnastics which millions of workers practiced daily during the working day in 1960. For middle-aged and old people there were sections of general fitness. Workers of these age categories were interested in "Health Olympics" organized by the Trud sport organization. They were held annually. Various forms of mass recreation activities as "House Management Olympics", "Health Trains" and others became widespread. In the 1960s, many enterprises of the country, having included physical activity in a working day, counted an economic benefit. Such an organization of workers' physical education was the most suitable for the country, because it was supposed to be financed by enterprises and allowed them to save payments for temporary disability of their workers. By the 1970s physical culture began to occupy a more and more important place in the system of preventive measures on reducing the sickness rate of workers and employees. In the 1970s, more than 60 % of workers in some enterprises of the region were involved in physical activity. New sport clubs were organised at enterprises and in communities. The number of rest areas and recreational sport bases as well as the number of athletes attending sport clubs and health groups increased. The geography of tourism widened. Mass skiing became widespread. Medical specialists helped sport organizations. At the beginning of the 1980s, within the All-Union Cooperative research "The Program of Contention with Arterial Hypertension at Industrial Enterprises", a scientific and recreational association "Health Centre" was founded in Tomsk at the initiative of the Institute of Cardiology and the software association "Kontur" and other industrial enterprises of Tomsk. Thus, the organization of sport and recreation activities at enterprises is a preventive measure against many diseases. It increases the level of health and work productivity and promotes social activity of working people.

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