Olga Slutsker: I’m just bored to live only for myself

Olga Slutsker is a person who has already done a lot for the development of Russian sports. Having started her sports career with figure skating as a child, she very soon hung up her skates and went into fencing. So Slutsker imbued with an active lifestyle and the desire to win. Later she stopped going to competitions and fighting for titles and became part of the Svetová trieda business empire.

In addition, Olga has long been involved in the creation of socially significant projects. One of them is the Special Olympics of Russia, where Slutsker became the new president. Together with a large team gathered from employees from different corners of the globe, Special Olympics helps organize sports and competitions for people with intellectual disabilities.

We met Olga at the “Young Athlete” event, which took place on September 21 at Sokol Stadium. On that day, young fans of an active lifestyle, with whom Special Olympics works, were able to take part in a fun start together with ordinary children and stars of sports, movies and television. There Olga shared with “Championship” her plans and ideas, and also told what are the nuances of promoting sports for a special category of people.

– Olga, tell us why you became involved in public activities?

– I am an active person. It seems to me that when you do any work and you succeed, it gives you satisfaction and authority, you want to share your experience.

At that moment, a man with a crying daughter passed by Olga and me. The girl was upset because she had failed in the competition.

– Oh, our baby is crying! Wait a second, we have to help… The main thing is that she doesn’t leave without a present. Well, that answers the question. Of course, in life, of course, everything happens: everyone has his own difficulties. But when you succeed in something, you want to give your knowledge, energy and ideas to other people. They may not even ask for it or expect help. This is my voluntary choice, it is conscious. Because I am simply bored to live only for myself, my family or my company, when I feel that I can give more to the world and people.

– Have there been times when it seemed like the hardest times in running a project? How did you fight the despair?

– Of course there were. Every day we fail to do something the way we want to do it. We love that word “struggle,” but we should just exhale and think. I always tell my employees, “Think with your head.” Because without mindfulness, you can’t get anything done. Think about what’s going on, what’s stalling you, how do you get around it? Or maybe you don’t need to go there at all. Look for yourself, don’t get discouraged – life is wonderful. Just look at today’s starts, at the kids who came, at their parents, at their smiles – it’s harder for them than for us, you know? And they don’t whine.

– You have recently become the president of the Special Olympics of Russia. Tell us, what are the main tasks of this organization now? Are there any plans and ideas that you would like to implement?

– The goal of the organization is to make Special Olympics offices work in all regions of our country. And not just open on paper, and I went to the Ministry of Sport to report, but that they were really working cells, helping people branches. For this purpose, we have to identify local leaders and help people with knowledge, conduct trainings for parents, for teachers of correctional institutions.

We dream of bringing the big games of the Special Olympics to Russia. For example, 190 countries participated in the last Olympics in Abu Dhabi. We want a huge number of countries to visit our country and our marvelous sports facilities. And if not the Special Olympics, then the Unified Football Cup, which also brings together a large number of teams from all over the world. To live the legacy, the very stadiums that were left after the World Cup. And Special Olympics athletes would also have the opportunity to compete in them.

– From a professional point of view, is it hard to work in Russia to popularize sports in this segment?

– The Russian delegation is one of the largest, along with China and the United States. I would like to say that a huge and important path has been made in 20 years. Of course, it is not easy to work on this in Russia, as it is all over the world. In my opinion, we are only at the beginning of the way, when society does not just give money to organize competitions, but takes part in them itself. Today, our stars and a whole team of MetLife employees came to support the kids and their parents. They are actively participating in these competitions, which is already a step.

It’s also not easy to work in the regions: some are more active, some less so. Some governors are very supportive, and some don’t pay attention at all – shame on them. All in all, there’s a lot to work on.

– Do large commercial companies support the work with Special Olympics athletes?

– Yes, today they are foreign companies The Coca-Cola Company and MetLife. And among Russian companies: Belaya Dacha and World Class. So far we have not received support from major sports brands, but I have no doubt that later, with the help of the media, we will have such sponsors. Look, you, a huge portal that talks about sports, also came today, got interested. We thank you very much. Without press, without media interest, it will be difficult for us to cover events.

We do it not for ourselves and not for the sake of a check mark, but for the parents who have the courage to bring up such children and take a huge responsibility for taking care of them. That is why I think today we are honored to help these people. We are trusted – that is very important.

– What age groups does Special Olympics work with? Are there separate events for children or, on the contrary, for the elderly?

– The great thing about the Special Olympics program is that people of all ages can participate. There are no restrictions: even if you are 100 years old – please join! In the Abu Dhabi competition, athletes as old as 70 took part. This humanistic movement gives people who have a harder time than we do the opportunity to have an active, vibrant life. They have the same birthright as we do, given to them by God. And our task is to help them. You can’t make everything just for yourself, it really sucks.

– What points are extremely important to consider when organizing events and competitions for people with intellectual disabilities? Perhaps you need innovative equipment, specially trained coaches?

– Of course, we need specially trained coaches. We will be very actively engaged in this aspect. I remember how I developed the fitness industry in my time. When we came, there were no professional trainers at all. Now we are forming a training program together with the European office. International specialists are also taking part in the development, and we will be inviting them to Russia. And if students, volunteers or trainers are interested in working with us – send applications and wishes to our website, we want to see you!

The equipment is the same as for training regular athletes. In general, a very important part of the program is inclusion. That is competitions, when healthy children work in the same team with our athletes.

–Are there enough bases to hold trainings and various events within the framework of Special Olympics?

– There are enough bases, but there are other problems. Somewhere, for example, people with intellectual disabilities want to enroll in sports schools, but on formal grounds they can’t do it. We need to change and modernize the system in terms of these formalities. Unfortunately, sports schools do not allocate enough time for lessons with such children.

– And a final question. You have a lot of experience in running large public and business projects. For example, you participated in the development of Moscow Longevity and are the creator of the World Class network of fitness centers. How does the experience of working on such projects help you now in your leadership of the Special Olympics?

– First of all, I am glad that the team responded to my new position. And the guys, World Class instructors, will participate in Special Olympics programs.

Secondly, the experience helps me to organize my work, to optimize the process of managing the organization. Now I plan to change a lot of things: I will modernize approaches, make the office more mobile. For example, at the moment the Special Olympics website is not very informative. And this should be a resource that gives maximum information in a convenient format.

And finally, thank you to World Class. The team helps me a lot. And, believe me, I didn’t have to ask for help twice. The guys responded and came as volunteers on their free Saturday to take part in today’s start.