“When my daughter received her badge, we decided it was time for us.” Who passes the GTO standards and why?

Sports were not always in our lives, although my husband Sergei and I played them as children. I went to sports ballroom dancing, played volleyball, and was interested in athletics. Sergei trained in Kyokushinkai karate.

We managed to return to amateur sports, like running and fitness, when our children were born. We took them to different sections. When her middle daughter Lisa was 6 years old, she passed the GTO standards of the first stage in kindergarten and received a bronze badge. Then Sergei and I decided that it was time for parents. At that time, the “GTO Marathon” was taking place in our region, where everyone could train twice a week. We regularly attended classes with a trainer for six months. As a result, both my husband and I successfully completed the complex.

Now my husband has two gold insignia, I have one silver and two gold. Lisa, in addition to the bronze, later received two gold. And the youngest, Ulyana, passed the standards for the first time last year and is waiting to be awarded her first gold badge.

We participated in the GTO family festivals three times. Every year they take place in different cities. For example, in 2022 the competition was held in Kaliningrad, and in 2023 – in St. Petersburg. By the way, in Kaliningrad Elizaveta became the absolute champion among girls. And Sergei took fourth place, missing a few points from the podium.

I was involved in sports at school: I played handball and football, and swam. But I didn’t pass the GTO complex in my youth. I received my first gold badge only at the age of 59, almost by accident: in our city at that time there was an action to comply with standards and I was simply asked to speak. After the first success, I received two more distinctions – at 60 and 65 years old.

I was never nervous when meeting the standards. But before the city and regional GTO festivals, there was excitement among pensioners. There I played in a team of three people and really didn’t want to let them down. As a result, at regional competitions I took second place in the individual competition, and our team took third.

Last year I took part in the GTO family festival, which took place in St. Petersburg. We were all preparing for it – daughter, son, grandson and me. We didn’t make it into the top ten in the team competition because my son was injured. And in personal I took first place in my category.

It seems to me that older people should join the GTO movement to keep themselves in good shape. Well, young people can receive benefits – for example, employers sometimes pay extra to employees who have successfully passed the standards.

My son Vlad is 14 years old. He has been involved in sports since childhood and literally lives by it. He trains six days a week, and on Sundays he also goes to the pool. Now he has the II sports category in sambo and judo and the II youth category in swimming. And Vlad is also a Young Army member.

He has been regularly taking the GTO program since he was eight years old. Vlad was suggested by a physical education teacher at school to try his hand at the first level for children. My son liked it, and since then he hasn’t missed new sports challenges.

Each stage of the TRP has its own list of tests – mandatory and optional. For example, on the fifth, Vlad had to pass a 60-meter and 2-kilometer run, pull-ups, push-ups, and bending over on a gymnastic bench. As additional tests, he chose shuttle running, abs and shooting with electronic weapons.

Although for Vlad training and meeting standards is already a kind of routine, we always root for our son. When he received the first gold badge, they felt incredible pride because his labors were not in vain. Now Vlad has four gold awards of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th levels. We are waiting for the presentation of the fifth gold badge.

I am a master of sports in sambo, I work as a coach in Ulan-Ude. I learned about the GTO program when I was still at university, from my classmates. When choosing tests, I focused on running, because I love it. Testing took place in the arena of the Buryat Agricultural Academy with a small group of other athletes. I took the 30-meter and 3-kilometer run, shuttle run, and 5-kilometer cross-country cross-country. There were other standards – for example, shooting and push-ups.

I admit, not everyone managed to meet the standards then. The guys who did not reach the badge were offered to try their hand after a month and a half. Apparently, to have time to prepare. I immediately passed for a gold badge.

In my opinion, it is worth joining the GTO movement, first of all, in order to make friends with sports, strengthen the body and become more self-confident. And if you manage to successfully fulfill the standards, the badge will become a pleasant bonus.

I train constantly and in preparation for passing the tests I simply added a couple of kilometers to my regular runs. Therefore, I passed the standards the first time.

I did a therapeutic set of exercises every day for 30-40 minutes – prescribed when my back hurt. And the exercises in it are almost the same as in the GTO tests: lifting the torso, raising the legs.

The GTO movement gave our family joint leisure, self-confidence and the opportunity to show the result for which you have been preparing for a long time. We travel around Russia and meet similar sports families.