Dr.Hab., Professor Sh.Z. Khubbiev¹
PhD, Professor B.A. Mikhailov¹
Associate Professor S.М. Lukina¹
PhD, Associate Professor L.V. Yarkchikovskaya¹
Dr.Hab., Professor Y.Ya. Lobanov^2
1St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg
²Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg

Keywords: education, sports, classical university, athlete, Doctor of Science, politicians and civil officers.

Background. Ability to successfully manage and combine academic studies with sports is one of the most important qualities for a modern student. The “Physical Education and Sports Development Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020” provides for the mass and elite sports promotion initiatives including those in the academic sport system.

Objective of the study was to offer an athletic training and academic learning process harmonizing concept applicable at a classical university.

Study findings and discussion. It is commonly assumed that successful sport careers are unlikely compatible with a progress in academic studies [2, 4, 6, 8], with only exceptional students being capable of combining these conflicting, difficult and labour-intensive activities. The combining efforts are further complicated by the fact that the academic studies give a high priority to the intellectual efforts with the spiritual and physical contributions – in contrast to the sport practices that are driven by the physical component supported by spiritual, intellectual and other efforts. One can still find some outstanding individuals among the leading academic athletes who successfully and easily combine studies with sports; plus those who find them conflicting more or less, and those who are absolutely incapable to combine them [7].

These issues have been seriously studied by some specialists [1, 2, 8] who generally recognize that the potential combining solutions require a variety of prudent institutional, technological and theoretical provisions for success. However, the available study reports on the subject are still short of fundamental basics for the solutions, and this is the reason why a few potential solutions for the sports and studies combining problem are still unlikely grounded and mature enough. It holds particularly true for the relevant studies with concern to the vocational physical education specialist training service. When it comes to a classical academic educational system, the solutions are even more complicated.

The age of 17 to 26 years is commonly acknowledged as decisive for the individual creativity and progress, with many young people striving for great competitive accomplishments in this period. However, they need to train up to 8 hours a day and actively compete to make success in their vocational sports, often at sacrifice of the academic studies. Therefore, an academic athlete has to be highly disciplined and self-manageable to be able to efficiently schedule studies and sport practices and succeed in both domains. Universities must offer facilitating provisions to help the successful students efficiently harmonize athletic trainings with their academic studies. Striving to succeed in a few fields at a time, the students have to live hard and high-intensive lives to duly manage the studies and sports.

The available study reports, questionnaire surveys and examinations show that only highly motivated and ambitious students with a perfect willpower and time management skills may be successful in the efforts to harmonize their academic studies with sports, provided both of the processes are reasonably and effectively designed and sensitively facilitated by the academic management [3]. Every university shall make facilitating provisions for the sporting and academic interests and practices to be efficiently combined for success.

Let us now consider the practical experience of SPSU in this field for the period of 1945-2000. Many LSU/ SPSU students for this period had succeeded both in the sports and science as renowned Doctors of Science [5] and Olympic, World, European and Universiade champions. 32 of future Doctors were qualified Masters of Sports and 68 Class I-III Athletes in their university days for this period. All of them believe that the physical and personality qualities cultivated by the active university sports heavily contributed to their social progress, skills, determination and mobility, enriched their lives and cultivated their self-management qualities for success in the management and academic careers. The Doctors of Science who were qualified Masters of Sports in their university days specialized in fencing, track and field sports, mountaineering, chess, cross-country skiing, tourism, swimming, modern pentathlon, cycling, sambo, artistic gymnastics, tennis and checkers. It might well be that these sport disciplines were appealing for them due to the versatility and unpredictability of the competitions; high demand for the intelligence, initiative and creativity; ample opportunities for the individual and collective physical progress; and high challenges and barriers in the training and competitive processes that claimed high willpower, determination, spiritual merits and other important individual qualities for success.

The above considerations are substantiated by the academic records of the Research Institute of the NAS of USSR Siberian Division (as of 1978) that contracted many LSU graduates at that time. 55% of Doctors of Science were reported to be highly successful in the academic sports in their university days, including 24.5% Masters of Sports and Class I-III Athletes. 14.3% of the PhD staff of the Institute and 10.5% of the untitled academic staff members were reported having high sport qualifications. These reporting data are indicative of the active competitive university sports providing an excellent foundation for individual working capacity, determination and stamina for many years to come, albeit competitive and academic successes normally come in different life periods [4].

Having analyzed the sport qualifications of the former leading LSU/ SPSU athletes qualified Doctors of Science in the period of 1945-2000 versus their research fields as per the Doctor theses, we found some correlations of the research interests with the sport qualifications: see Table 1.

Table 1. Doctors’ research fields versus the university sport qualifications for the LSU/ SPSU graduates of 1945-2000

The above data show that the leading university athletes mostly specialized in the following academic disciplines for the period: mathematics, physics, philology and chemistry; with the modern students still showing the same trend or tradition. It should be noted that the leading LSU/ SPSU university athletes in the period of 1945-2000 were highly successful in the academic studies that may be indicative of their outstanding ambitions, determination and personality qualities favourable both for sports and professional careers in their roles of renowned scientists, civil officers, politicians, industrial managers and elite athletes.

Conclusion. It is commonly acknowledged that it is very difficult to combine university studies with successful sport careers, albeit the practical experience of the leading LSU/ SPSU university athletes for the period of 1945-2000 shows that a classical university may succeed in providing facilitating conditions for the university athletes to successfully combine academic sports with studies; with the academic sports even found to encourage the academic progress when prudently designed and scheduled. We believe that this past multiannual experience may be highly relevant and beneficial nowadays in the efforts to harmonize the academic education with university sports. Special institutional and technological solutions based on the relevant fundamental studies are needed today to address these highly relevant issues.

The study was sponsored by a grant financing from the Russian Research Fund under Translation Biomedicine at SPSU Project #14–50–0069, St. Petersburg State University

References

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Corresponding author: khubbiev@gmail.com

Abstract

The study underlines the high role of sports for education and professional service; provides grounds for the athletic training and learning processes harmonizing concept for a classical university; and spells out the facilitating academic provisions for the learning and sporting process synergy. The concept is supported by a list of the former leading LSU/ SPSU athletes for the period of 1945-2000 who have made successful research careers as Doctors of Science and acknowledged their academic sport practices as facilitating for their research accomplishments. The historical data analysis demonstrates correlations of the future Doctors’ university sport qualifications with their research interests. The study also lists the SPSU athletes and champions who have made successful careers as politicians and civil officers.