25 school teams from Nizhny Novgorod took part in the final festival "Phygital in Russian"

      30 November 2025 12:33 Society

      A Festival of Russian Culture and Sports, "Phygital in Russian," was held in Nizhny Novgorod, combining national sporting traditions with advanced digital technologies. More than 100 residents of Nizhny Novgorod aged 12 to 15 participated as members of 25 teams.

      The festival featured master classes and tournaments in phygital gorodki and phygital lapta, where participants were able to demonstrate both skills in robotics and VR technologies and physical fitness in classic Russian sports.

      The digital part of the competition was implemented thanks to developments by teachers and students of the Center for Youth, Engineering and Scientific Competencies (CMINK) "Quantorium." The festival showcased a robotic complex based on Arduino for playing gorodki and a specialized Unity-based application for playing lapta.

      "Holding sports festivals in this new format, where modern digital technologies are combined with inherently Russian sports, is an excellent way to attract young people to the history and culture of our country through a popular sports format. At the meeting on the development of the phygital movement in Russia, which took place in Nizhny Novgorod at the 'Phygital Games' venue under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko, our region was designated a pilot for the development of technical and national sports. I thank 'Quantorium' and the Ministry of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod Region for these valuable digital developments for the advancement of technical sports," emphasized the Minister of Sports of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Dmitry Kabaylo.

      For playing phygital gorodki and phygital lapta, CMINK "Quantorium" developed a special robotic complex and an application.

      "In the context of rapid technological progress, we see how familiar games are enriched with new elements, which underscores the importance of the technological component in various fields of activity. In education, virtual reality technologies are widely used for conducting virtual experiments, modeling complex engineering objects and developing new technologies. This significantly increases the effectiveness of training specialists such as high-speed train drivers, ecologists and medical workers. The event shows that the integration of high technologies into education is becoming an integral part of the modern process of acquiring knowledge and professional development," noted Lyubov Shirokova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      All participants received certificates, and the winners and prize-winners were awarded commemorative medals and valuable gifts.

      As a result of the competitions in phygital lapta, first place went to the team "Gagarintsy-1" (Nizhny Novgorod School No. 66), second place to the team "Fakel" (Gymnasium No. 13), and third place to the team "Gagarintsy-2" (School No. 66). In phygital gorodki, the strongest team was "Banka Kornishon" (CMINK "Quantorium"), silver went to the team Rob-bot (Nizhny Novgorod School No. 19), and bronze was won by the team "Na vzlyot-1" (School No. 66).

      "We all know: the future is built on the foundation of the past. And at our festival this rule came to life! Traditional Russian games sounded anew — in a phygital format where tradition met modernity. We see with what enthusiasm the children join the project, getting acquainted with the games of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. And today we are not closing the project, but are already thinking about starting a new stage of its development," said Svetlana Nepokorova, director of the Center for Youth, Engineering and Scientific Competencies "Quantorium."

      The festival was the final event in a series of educational activities aimed at teaching Nizhny Novgorod schoolchildren the traditional Russian games of lapta and gorodki. The educational program was held as part of the "Phygital in Russian" project (project leader Alexey Antsuta).

      The festival was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Ministry of Sports of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and the Center for Youth, Engineering and Scientific Competencies "Quantorium" with the support of "Rosmolodezh.Grants."

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