Move to Russia and the Start of a Sports Career
 

For the second year now, children and teenagers from several communities of Alaverdi have had the opportunity to do sports—namely boxing—under the careful guidance of European and World kickboxing champion Sergey Dzavaryan.
 

Sergey is also from Lori; he was born in Odzun. When he was seven, his family moved to Russia. There he started first grade, and a couple of years later joined kickboxing and swimming clubs.
 

“I was in the eighth grade when I began training more seriously and was invited to the training camp of the Russian national kickboxing team. I trained hard and made the junior national team; after several camps we went to the European Championship in Croatia, then to the World Championship, and we came back as champions,” Sergey recalls.
 

His desire to connect his life with sports led him to the Russian State University of Physical Education: Sergey enrolled in the boxing department, received a coaching qualification, and after graduation worked in his profession.

“I studied and grew up in Russia, but I’m so grateful to my parents for maintaining a constant connection with Armenia: every summer they sent me to my grandmothers; I lived in the village for three months. Thanks to this, I love my native places, I know the language, and I have friends,” he continues.
 

Repatriation to the Homeland and the Founding of a Boxing School
 

The bond with his homeland was strong; Sergey was always drawn to Armenia. The desire to return intensified when he had children, and in 2022 Sergey’s family moved to his native Odzun: “Life in the village is calm, the ground under your feet is firm, and I always wanted to train children in a village. So immediately after the move I began looking for a place; I found one—small, though—and bought equipment. My parents, relatives, and friends helped me financially, and I invested my own funds as well. Our first training session took place on the first day of spring 2023 with a group of 10 children.”


 

Sergey now trains about 90 children in four different locations: in Odzun, Alaverdi, Saraart, and Shnogh.
 

At first, another coach helped Sergey with this volume of work, and now his assistants are youngsters who started attending the school two years ago and already have enough experience to help their coach.
 

The boxing school in Alaverdi is located on premises provided by the municipality: the hall was initially in a deplorable state. Sergey renovated it with his own funds and received permission to use it free of charge for several years. In Saraart, a place for training was also found, and it too needed repair, which was again carried out at the coach’s personal expense.
 

Dedication to his work, love for the village and for children are the main driving forces for Sergey: he spares neither resources nor energy so that children living in villages have activities, are prepared, and achieve success.
 

“Former residents of the city help us, sometimes transferring money to buy equipment, for example. A handball coach in Saraart helps me; he conducts game-based sessions and is responsible for general physical training. The municipality helped with transportation a couple of times, but we need our own vehicle to go to training camps. We once tried to raise funds to buy a bus, but in the end the money wasn’t enough, so with the amount collected we assembled a ring for training,” Sergey continues.
 

For general physical preparation the school goes every month to training camps, sparring sessions, and hikes; the costs of all these activities are covered by parents. It’s the same with competitions: transportation, accommodation, meals, and entry fees are shouldered by the parents, and for some of them it can be difficult to cover such expenses.
 

In Search of Sponsors
 

Over two years of activity, the Alaverdi Boxing School has taken part in the Open Championship of Armenia in the village of Vardenik, Gegharkunik region, where the kids won four first places; in the two-day Open Championship in Ijevan; and one of Sergey’s trainees participated in the Armenian Championship in the summer.


 

But despite the difficulties, the school’s main problem is the lack of its own premises: “We are currently training on the territory of Vallex Group, and soon we will have to leave because construction is underway. There is no suitable sports hall in the city: we need a hall of 100–120 square meters with ceilings at least three meters high. At one time everything was sold off, and the areas suitable for us are in private ownership; we cannot rent from private owners, we do not have the funds. We wrote to the Territorial Human Rights Commissioner, who appealed to the Ministry of Territorial Administration, and we received a response that they have nothing to offer.
 

Ideally, we would build a boxing school and have our own hall. There is the former Nalbandyan school in Alaverdi, which is in such a deplorable condition; if it is renovated, it would be an excellent place for our classes—but this requires large funds that we do not have. I applied to the Tsarukyan Foundation and the Tashir Foundation, without results. We are now looking for sponsors; if some organization takes on our financial costs, I am even ready to rename the school. For me, the main thing is that the children train.”
 

Developing Armenia Through Our Presence
 

Sergey is convinced that working with children living in villages is very important: outside the capital there are many talented children who have nowhere to go and nothing to do; it is important that they assert themselves in sports rather than on the streets. Boxing is an Olympic sport, which means more opportunities, and there are many children in the Lori Gorge who have potential in this sport. Moreover, village children rejoice in small successes and are more focused because there are fewer activities and amusements. And sport is a good—if not the best—way to achieve something in life.


 

“Children from other villages also attend our school: parents bring kids from Kachachkut, Tumanyan, Akori and Madan, Agvi, Chochkan, Teghut. Among them are boys who want to become champions—this is exactly what motivates me to work.
 

I am glad that I have the opportunity to do this work: we must develop Armenia through our presence. A person who lives here and cultivates the land does more for Armenia than someone who lives abroad and sends large sums of money here. The more of us there are here, the stronger our state will be.”
 

By Nare Bejanyan

Translation via AI based on the original article in Russian: «Мечты детей – мотивация к работе: основание боксерской школы Алаверди».