Moscow is full of active people and is still known as a competitive force in events like the Olympics. In fact, 500 Olympic champions were living in Moscow in 2005. Unfortunately there is a substantial amount of pollution and this may make exercising outdoors more difficult. To facilitate runners, there are some indoor tracks. There are a variety of other sporty past times that Muscovites engage in:

Ice skating is very popular and several venues support the activity.
Gorky Park is the most famous, but can be overcrowded.
Bosco rink in Red Square is very classy, but more expensive and not too favored by advanced skaters.
Luzhniki has arguably the best ice, although service can be tough and open hours are not always convenient.
The winter rinks at Chistye Prudy or Izmaylovsky Park are other alternatives.

Hiking is much enjoyed and there are several clubs that support the activity. Hikers is the name of a popular nonprofit organization and open for everyone to join. Hikes take place every Sunday all-year-round in forests of Moscow region. The common languages for our hikers are Russian and English. The average number of hikers is around 5 to 50 hikers. Some hikes include special activities, such as swimming or sightseeing. The usual time of our coming back to Moscow is from 6pm to 8pm.

Swimming at both pools and beaches is widely enjoyed.
Chaika is part of Gloria health complex (24th km of Kievskoye sh.) with a free beach around the pond is open until 21:00. Boats can be rented.
Olympic Water Sports Center (Ibragimova ul., 30, Tel: 369-4803) is one of the largest water sport complexes in Moscow. There is an open-air 50-meter pool, two indoor 25-meter and 50-meter pools and two paddling pools with a water temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. Open daily: 7:00-20:15 (on Sundays from 8:00-19:30). Admission: 190-220 rubles.
At most swimming pools in Russia, you must show a spravka, a medical certificate saying that you have no diseases, and that it is safe for you to swim in pools. In most cases, this can be obtained at the swimming pool.

There are also many noteworthy professional teams that are based in Moscow:

One of the most titled ice hockey teams, HC CSKA Moscow presides over the city. Other big ice Hockey clubs from Moscow are HC Dynamo Moscow, Krylya Sovetov Moscow, and HC Spartak Moscow.

One of Russia's best basketball clubs, PBC CSKA Moscow, is a Moscow team. Another strong Basketball club from Moskow is MBC Dynamo Moscow.

In volleyball, VC CSKA Moscow is very competitive.

FC Spartak Moscow is a football club that has won more championship titles in the Russian Premier League than any other team, and were second only to Dynamo Kyiv in the Soviet Union. FC Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Dynamo Moscow, FC Moscow, Torpedo Moscow and Sportakademklub Moscow are the other professional football teams based in Moscow.

Slava Moscow are a professional rugby union club, competing in the national Professional Rugby League. Moscow recently became home to the offices of the Rugby Union of Russia, formerly located in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.

Moscow also hosts several athletic events.

The annual Kremlin Cup is a popular tennis tournament on both the WTA and ATP tours. It is regarded as a very prestigious tournament and is one of the ten Tier-I events on the women's tour and a host of Russian players feature every year.

The 1980 Summer Olympics was held in Moscow. One of the most political turbulent events, 61 countries and regions took part in the US led boycott.The boycott was made in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the year before. The games turned out to be a tremendous showcase for the Soviet athletes who, with the help of their home soil and partisan crowd, raked in a staggering 195 medals, 80 of which were gold.

Stadiums

Over forty sport complexes are located within the city.

The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, briefly known as Luzhniki Stadium is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium. The name Luzhniki derives from the swampy neighbourhood where it was built, translating roughly as "puddles."

Dynamo Stadium is home ground for the Dynamo Moscow, a popular football club. Located in Petrovsky Park, the stadium seats 36,540. Despite not having won a league title in over thirty years the club still has a quite an enthusiastic fan base.

Horse racing is popular in Russia and the Central Moscow Hippodrome, founded in 1834, is the largest horse racing track as well as the premier horse breeding research facility in Moscow and Russia There are seven other horse racing tracks in Moscow.

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