Culture of corporate sports in Russian companies gains momentum. Playing sports is a great tool for shaping helpful skills and team-building. In the era of turbulence, taking care of employees’ physical and mental well-being becomes a strong competitive advantage for an organization as an employer; EXPOFORUM International has learned this postulate for long and applies it in practice. The company’s motto reads, «Work efficiently and relax meaningfully!»

«The community of sports fans, which is formed in EXPOFORUM (it is about 20% of employees), actively participates in the Company’s initiatives. Excellent conditions have been created for employees to go in for free physical activities. For example, in one of the pavilions of the Convention and Exhibition Center, we have installed tennis tables where ping-pong fans gather every week. Yoga classes are regularly held in the territory of the Hilton Saint-Petersburg ExpoForum adjacent to EXPOFORUM. Employees develop and support their own clubs – the football and running ones», says Sergey Voronkov, General Director of EXPOFORUM International.

The football club team has been in the organization for about 6 years, trains regularly, participates in amateur and corporate tournaments. There are many cups, medals, and a lot of victories to have been won. In 2023, the EXPOFORUM football team won the final of the EXPOMASTER BUILD EXPO mini-football Cup, which was held at the Crocus Expo Exhibition Center (Moscow). It was the 16th tournament among companies operating in the convention and exhibition business. EXPOFORUM outplayed everyone in the group stage, including last year’s champions.

Guys from the running club to be organized relatively recently, arrange regular training and sports challenges, participate in mass city races.

The EXPOFORUM clubs have their own branded sports uniforms, and their trips to tournaments and competitions are paid for by the employer.

For those employees who have not yet chosen their favorite sport, there is a great opportunity to do this as part of the annual summer team-building that includes all kinds of sports activities.

On July 6, 2024, the EXPOFORUM corporate team took part for the first time in one of the most difficult endurance sports tests – the Race of Heroes, which took place in the settlement of Sertolovo, at the training ground «Pesochnensky». The guys were awaited by the extreme cross-country race with 38 obstacles, which had to be passed under the most adverse weather conditions: the team got into a sandstorm that brought icy wind with heavy rain. Throughout the race, the «heroes» overcame not only distances and difficulties, but most importantly, their fears. Incredible solidarity of the team, as well as the fans represented by relatives and colleagues who came to the training ground to support the athletes, helped the colleagues pass the entire ordeal with dignity, and defeat themselves.

The Race of Heroes has become one of the most memorable events discussed in intra-communication of EXPOFORUM. The company plans to scale up the experience and bring together next year several teams to participate in the extreme race.

Employees’ strong hands and fast legs are no longer just about sports. This is about development of such important skills as leadership, the ability to compromise, prompt decision-making in stressful situations, and, most importantly, trust, which is one of the key factors for our Company’s success!