Since 2009, Armenia has celebrated Physical Education Day on June 23. The decision to establish the holiday was made at a collegial meeting at the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs of Armenia, chaired by Minister Armen Gevorkyan.
Armenia has a long sporting tradition. Armenians have long taken part in the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. The first Armenian to take part in the Olympia Games was Tsar Trdat I, who competed more than two thousand years ago in quadriga – chariot races drawn by four horses. The first Armenians to become winners of the Olympian Games were the future kings of Armenia, wrestler Trdat (281) and fist fighter Varazdat from the city of Artashat (385), who became the last Olympic boxing champion of the Olympian Games of Antiquity before the more than a thousand-year oblivion to which the Games were subjected. In addition, Armenia held its own "Olympiads" – Navasard Games.
Today in Armenia the most popular sports in the country are wrestling, weightlifting, judo, football, chess and boxing. The mountainous terrain of Armenia provides good opportunities for sports such as skiing and rock climbing. The Tsakhkadzor ski resort in the Kotayk region of Armenia is popular for training camps among many athletes, including Russian ones. Armenia is a member of international sports associations, in particular, it has membership in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the International Federation of Basketball Associations (FIBA), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and others. The Pan-Armenian Games are also regularly held in the country.
Armenian athletes competed for the USSR at the Olympic Games with great success. Armenia was glorified by such great athletes as weightlifters, multiple world and European champions, Olympic champions – 11-time world record holder Rafael Chimishkyan and 43-time world record holder Yuri Vardanyan; gymnasts – three-time Olympic champion, four-time world champion, two-time European champion, eleven-time USSR champion Albert Azaryan and multiple Olympic and Soviet champion Grant Shaginyan. The great swimmer of the planet, multiple record holder and champion Shavarsh Karapetyan, who with his skill saved more than twenty passengers drowning in the Yerevan reservoir of a trolleybus that fell from a bridge, Olympic champion, football player Nikita Simonyan, weightlifter Sergo Ambartsumyan – this is just a small list of names inscribed in golden letters in the history of world sports.
After the collapse of the USSR, a difficult economic situation developed in the country, and there was an outflow of population. Famous athletes and coaches also left. Sports schools ceased to operate, as a result of which the team did not win medals at the Olympic Games and other competitions. However, in recent years the situation has begun to change. Wrestlers, boxers and weightlifters began to show serious success.
Chess occupies a special place among sports games in Armenia. After Tigran Petrosyan, who became the 9th world champion, won the chess crown, a new impetus was given to this sport in the country. Chess in Armenia is still very popular today. Evidence of this – repeated successes of Armenian chess players in recent years.
All this cannot but please sports fans and give a new impetus to the development of sports in the country. There are many sports schools, bases, clubs and sports complexes in Armenia.