The Basketball Academy held a New Year's celebration for the pupils of the Zenit system

On Sunday, December 21, Zenit held its traditional New Year celebration for the branches of the club's Basketball Academy. The festive event was attended by several hundred pupils from the Academy's branches in St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, and Veliky Novgorod, who came with their parents and family members.

The celebration for the upcoming New Year involved players of various ages — born between 2011 and 2016 — from the sports schools Central, Kupchinsky Olimp, Admiralteyskaya, Vyborg, Kirovskaya, Volkhov and Ilmer Veliky Novgorod. For the first time, a girls' team born in 2012 from Kupchinsky Olimp took part, as well as beginner athletes from the Zenit Children and Youth Basketball Academies, which started operating this year with the support of the managing company Championika.

The celebration kicked off with a parade: all students took to the Academy's court for the grand opening. In his welcoming speech, Igor Demenkov, Igor Demenkov, advisor to the Zenit BC CEO on sports reserve development, congratulated everyone present on the upcoming New Year.

Then, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka appeared on the court, delighting all the children. Throughout the event, the kids participated in contests, fun races, quizzes, competed for prizes, and had the chance to cheer for their parents, who also got an opportunity to compete. During breaks between contests, the audience was entertained by dance performances from the Blue-White-Sky Blues cheerleading squad.

Igor Demenkov, advisor to the Zenit BC CEO on sports reserve development:

The goal of the celebration is to unite our entire Academy, to make us a single team, and I think we succeeded. There were many interesting contests, New Year's highlights, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka, our cheerleading squad. It seems to me that this tradition unites the Academy well, and we plan to hold these celebrations annually in the future.

Zakhar Romashov, Zenit-2 guard:

I believe such events are very important. They develop the culture of our club, our Academy, engage young athletes who may, in time, move into the more professional teams within our system. It's a pleasant moment of unity for the young talents of our city, and I think it's very important.

Of course, the celebration concluded with a large group photo that absolutely everyone wanted to be in. The children received New Year's gifts from the club and our partners: Chistaya Liniya Ice Cream, the Italian restaurant chain Bona, and the Sevkabel Ice Rink.

Happy New Year, friends!