#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. This abbreviation stood for ‘service block of the youth hostel complex’, that is, those gyms were built next to typical nine-story buildings, where young people were massively accommodated. But, for example, in Norilsk this abbreviation was transformed into a proper name and now it is the BOKMO Sports House.
Norilsk BOKMO was opened in 1979. However, its first visitors were not Komsomol members, but Finns who came to build the Nadezhda metallurgical plant. They made a real revolution in the mentality of the Norilsk people.
The Finns were settled in the next door house, on Talnahskaya street, 68, and there were rumors around the city that BOKMO was built specifically for them as the Finns couldnot live without a gym and a sauna within walking distance.
Subsequently, children’s sports sections began to work there: the first sports were basketball, badminton and trampolining. Today, the main competitions taking place in the hall are the spartakiads of municipal structures and Nornickel’s Polar Division.
In Kayerkan, BOKMO was the first full-fledged sports facility and therefore was in great demand. Later it became known as the House of Sports. Since then, it has been the main focus of the entire physically active life of Kayerkan: there are trainings in acrobatics, volleyball, basketball and table tennis. And in 2008, to the envy of many Norilsk and Talnah athletes, the first indoor climbing wall was opened there, and at that time the only indoor climbing wall in the whole Big Norilsk.
The typical BOKMO building in Talnah also became the House of Sports. Having united with the nearby swimming pool, it became the Talnah sports complex.
In the last History Sport photo project publication, we told that the Ol-Gul ski base got its name from a chain of neighboring lakes.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
