Previous Spotlights:

02/2010 Saribek (Saro) Balagezyan joined Spartak Sports Club as a student a decade ago. With the help from the Head Coach Arkadiy Aronov, Saro has been coaching at the club for the last few years. Due to knee and back injuries Saro could not continue competitive judo and decided to get on the mat in a different yet exciting and challenging way. With the help from a mentor, Billy Martin a PJC level referee from New York State Judo Incorporated and the head coach of our club Saro embarked on a challenging journey of becoming a referee. Starting out with a few local tournaments at the end of 2008, Saro recently refereed at one of the Zebra Mats events - Pedro's Challenge. This point tournament was also a referee-testing site where Saro took and passed a test to now be a US National Level Referee. We wish Saro the best of luck and one day may he referee at the Olympics. Congratulations!!!

11/2009 - 01/2010 Spartak Sports Club honors Rena "Rusty" Kanokogi who passed away in November 2009 after a vigilant fight with cancer. Ms. Kanokogi held a seventh-degree black belt in judo, making her the highest-ranking American woman ever in the sport of judo. Kanokogi first started competing in the late 1950s, when women were barred from judo leagues. In disguise, she competed as a member of the all-men's team until she was discovered and disqualified. Soon after, Kanokogi dedicated herself to ensuring that women are able to compete in judo competitions. For her years of commitment, she received the honor of World Pioneer of Women's Judo, which was given to her by the International Judo Federation (IJF) Congress in Japan. In 2007 Kanokogi received the prestigious John Osako Award, which is given to those who have worked continuously to develop their referee skills and contribute unselfishly to the Olympic sport of judo. In memory of Rusty Kanokogi!

10/2009 Akbar Iminov continues to impress coaches with his progress and nothing short of stellar results. Recently, he has come back from Uzbekistan where he traveled with Coach Arkadiy Aronov to take part in Asia Open Juniors Judo International tournament. Participating in this competition that had around 40 competitors in his division was a challenging task. He overcame the difficulties and showed immense desire of victory. Akbar also was invited to fight as a team member of Uzbekistan Juniors Judo team. The team won the First Place. Further Akbar received the tournament’s prestigious Award for Sportsmanship and Desire of Victory. He will make another great addition to US Judo from Spartak. Congratulations!!!

10/2009 Adam Ilayev is the youngest Gold Medal winner in the Spartak Team at the APA Tech Judo Championship. He showed commendable dedication and tremendous desire of victory that resulted in the first place at this regional championship. Adam is a hard worker, dedicated and always strives for betterment of his judo skills. We wish him further successes and more gold medals. Congratulations!!!

09/2009 Big Apple Music Awards 2009. Spartak Sports Club is proud to be represented at this event. Members of Spartak are invited at a special rate.

08/2009 2009 Seniors Judo World Championship will be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands at the end of August. The US athletes will represent the following divisions: Women's 48kg, 52kg, 57kg, 63kg, 70kg, 78kg, +78kg and Open divisions and Men's 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg, +100kg and Open divisions. The athletes will be accompanied by an outstanding team of coaches and officials. We are proud to announce that Arkadiy Aronov, Head Coach of Spartak Sports Club, was invited to consult athletes and will serve as Assistant US Team Coach. We wish our athletes and coaches the best of luck and a safe, victorious return.

07/2009 Joel Lubinitsky and Moshe Shaulov returned from the Starrett Cup with the First Place in their pockets. Taking a long break from his last competition, not only did Joel come back as a winner, but also as a mature and skillful Judo player. Although one of his opponents was the number one in the nation in his category, that did not stop Joel from performing a brilliant Taniotoshi for an immediate victory. His final fight ended with an extraordinary execution of Osotogari, which brought him the First place.      Moshe Shaulov has been actively competing for the last year and showed steady progress. At Starrett Cup he got himself three victories in a row with an absolutely extraordinary Tomoenage. At his young age executing such a technique so beautifully is simply impressive. Congratulations!!!

06/2009 Akbar Iminov opened a new page of champions in Spartak. An absolutely spectacular demonstration of Judo skills (place the mouse over the photo to see the technique) brought him the first place at one the most prestigious championships in the Zebra Tour -The Morris Cup 2009. Akbar shows great potential to be number one in the country in his category. He would make another great addition to US Judo from Spartak. Congratulations!!!

05/2009 Taraje Williams Murray is back on the national Judo arena. After more than half a year break since the Olympics in Beijing, Taraje appeared on the mat at the Senior National Championships. Taraje, now wrestling in -81kg category (a big leap from -66kg at the Olympics) showed he is still on the stallion riding fast, strong, and proud. Winning Silver medal at the Nationals is indication of his determination and love of Judo and victory. We welcome back Taraje and congratulate him on a great achievement in this championship. Congratulations!!!

04/2009 03/29/2009 -- USAJudo.org Yan Kafarskiy receives Outstanding Male Fighting Spirit Award from 2-time Olympian Leo White at the 2009 USA Judo Youth and Scholastic Nationals. While fighting in the semifinals match, Yan broke his finger. However, this did not stop him from winning the match. One handed beautiful Taiotoshi guaranteed Yan the third place and, most importantly, the highly prestigious award of the tournament. Well deserved, indeed outstanding performance. Congratulations!!!

03/2009 Our advanced judoka, Daniel Yuabov and Daniel Palatnik, took on an immense challenge to compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments held in America - The New York Open. This International B level tournament had Olympic Medallists, World Champions and other world class Judo stars wrestling for the Gold and demonstrating the Great Judo in its best. Daniel Palatnik and Daniel Yuabov did not fall short either in this competition. They showed dedication, love of victory, and perseverance when matching with the "Big Shots" of this sport. Getting the 7th place amongst these giants of Judo or fighting with the European Champion for four and half minutes while making it very hard for the world class opponent is nothing short of a stellar performance. Both Daniels showcased outstanding Judo. Congratulations!!!

02/2009 Saribek (Saro) Balagezyan joined Spartak Sports Club as a student almost a decade ago. With the help from the Head Coach Arkadiy Aronov, Saro has been coaching at the club for the last few years. Due to knee and back injuries Saro could not continue competitive judo and decided to get on the mat in a different yet exciting and challenging way. With the help from a mentor, Billy Martin a PJU level referee from New York State Judo Incorporated and the head coach of our club Saro embarked on a challenging journey of becoming a referee. Starting out with a few local tournaments at the end of 2008, Saro recently refereed at one of the Zebra Mats events - Pedro's Challenge. This point tournament was also a referee-testing site where Saro took and passed a test to now be a US Regional Level Referee. We wish Saro the best of luck and one day may he referee at the Olympics. Congratulations!!!

01/2009 These have been quite great times for Yan Kafarskiy, one of Spartak's leading athletes. Recently, as a top athlete, Yan received $1000.00 monetary award from the Radomir Kovacevic Fund presented by Mrs. Rusty Kanokogi, the president of NYSJI. But this commendable achievement is just a beginning to Yan's great success story. On January 18th, Yan took part in the 16th Annual Starrett Cup where he fought in his regular category easily taking the First Place. Then Yan went on a daring journey to fight in the seniors division. This was a hard and brave move, and taking the risk paid off. Not only did Yan, just 16 years old, won the First Place amongst the seniors, but also had the privilege to fight with a National champion in this category and win by a beautiful Ippon. This victory in the seniors division also came with $250.00 prize. The coaches at Spartak along with Yan's family and friends and fellow judokas are proud of his accomplishments. Congratulations!!!

12/2008 Davit Arakelyan, David Shalamov, Hagop Yegnukyan (left to right) Eighteen of our junior athletes went to participate in the Starrett Holiday Invitational Judo tournament on December 14, 2008. Seventeen of them returned with medals, six of which were Gold. Spartak's juniors did very well at this competition, but Davit, Hagop and David went above and beyond of simply getting a First place. Not only did these young sportsmen showed genuine desire of victory, but were able to use the hard earned skills and showed great Judo that one is not used to seeing at their age. Beautifully executed techniques, great timing, and exemplary sportsmanship, which the fellow judoka are to look up to and strive for. Indeed, Great Job! Congratuations!!!

11/2008 Daniel Palatnik came back a Bronze Medallist from the Kurash Junior World Championship 2008, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey. Daniel is a pioneer athlete from Spartak who first went on to win a third place in a competition for Kurash -- a sport Spartak athletes never trained for. Although he lacked Kurash experience, his abilities as an excellent junior judoka guaranteed him a prestigious position on the podium in the international arena of Kurash. Great job on Daniel's and his coach's part. Congratulations!!!

10/2008 The smallest of Spartak are already achieving BIG results. On 10/18/2008 about 10 of our youngest kids went to compete at Sakura Tournament -- a competition hosted by Sakura Judo Club in Brooklyn NY. While being one the most pleasant events our kids get to participate in, this tournament provided great confidence boost for our young athletes. Our club returned with four 1st place winners, three 2nd and three 3rd place medallists. It is an immense sense of accomplishment for the club coaches, the parents, and especially for the kids to have such great results at such young ages from 5 to 8 years of age. Congratulations to our new champions!!!

09/2008 Vadim Zavlunov and Saro Balagezyan have recently attained US Regional Judo Coach Certifications. Major Judo governing organizations and associations in conjunction with the United States Judo Olympic Committee recognize and attest that these coaches have sufficient experience and knowledge, demonstrated skills and abilities to train Judo as martial art and sport to students off all ages and gender. This is a significant accomplishment for the club that now proudly employs a certified Continental Level and two Regional Level Judo coaches.

08/2008 Steve Fayzakov won Gold Medal at the USA Judo Junior World Team Trials, which now gave him a ticket to the Juniors World Championship. Now with the school starting and getting ready for the World Championship, Steve is faced with a difficult challenge of balancing intense workouts and studies at the university. Good Luck! Congratulations!!!

07/2008 After quite a busy month of July Steve Fayzakov and Yan Kafarskiy can now take a deserved break from two Gold and Silver medals each. Steve took the First place in USA Judo National Junior Olympics while Yan brought back another Gold from USA Judo Open. Also, Yan took the Second place in the Junior Olympics while Steve brought back Silver from the US Open. Two outstanding results for two outstanding athletes of Spartak. Another example of hard work paying back great dividends. Congratulations to both!!!

07/2008 On 07/07/2008 Spartak Sports Club presented Valera Sim with the Academic Achievement Award, 2007 - 2008 as the best Student-Athlete of the club.   We have proudly launched this new program, which is aimed at identifying the student-athlete who achieved the highest academic marks for the year.   This is one of many steps we take to promoting Great Education -- the number one priority of our club.   The teaching staff of the club carefully evaluated our students' academic progress to identify our club's best Student-Athlete.   Students' discipline in the club and behavior at home significantly factored into the screening process.   Valera, as the best Student-Athlete, received an Award Trophy, Certificate and a free trip to Florida in November 2008 for an upcoming competition. Congratulations and the best of wishes to Valera Sim!!!

07/2008 Akram Iminov and Akbar Iminov returned with gold medals from 2008 -- USJA Junior National Judo Championships. The brothers fought flawlessly securing solid victories each in their categories. As they wrestled, these athletes used the techniques precisely as they learned them back at the dojo making the coaches and the club very proud. Fellow judoka and the coach commented on error free execution of the techniques demonstrated by Akbar, which brought him the desired First place. Akram showed maturity as a fighter and ability to work closely with the coach while on the mat, which accompanied by wrestling strategy and skills guaranteed a Gold medal. Exhibiting dedication and great desire for the victory both fighters proved to be the best at this tough championship. Congratulations to both!

06/2008 Taraje Williams-Murray is now getting ready for Beijing to compete at the Olympic Games 2008.   Recently, he came back from Las Vegas where he wrestled at the Olympic Trials and won the honor to represent United States of America at the Olympics this year in the category -60kg.   This is an outstanding accomplishment for Taraje and for the club.   Training hard under Arkadiy Aronov of Spartak and Jimmy Pedro of Team Force for techniques, tactics and fighting strategies in combination with strength and conditioning under Rhadi Ferguson, Taraje is now within reach of realizing the ultimate dream of every athlete -- Medal at the Olympic Games.   Taraje's hard work and dedication is nothing short of a stellar.   The club is proud and grateful to have brought out a student such as Taraje.   Already one time Olympian, Taraje now has a lot more of hard training to do to come back with a medal from Beijing in August of this year. Congratulations and Best of Luck at Olympic Games 2008!

05/2008 (2) Igor Bazilevich made it to the Spotlight the second time this year.   Recently, he came back from AmCan Judo Challenge `08 where he won the first place.   A record breaking one thousand competitors took part in this annual championship representing every U.S. state and Canada.   Showing great skills, strength and stamina Igor delivered three exceptional wins all by Ippon throwing Harai Makikomi, Seoi Nage and Sumi Gaeshi.   The Head Coach Arkadiy mentioned how happy he was to have Igor as a student who not only showed the judo skills, but also was attentive and followed instructions on the mat under the immense pressure of a competitive match.   Igor's outstanding performance at the tournament is a result of hard work and dedication he has been bringing out in each class for the last few years.   He shows great potential and we wish Igor the best of luck and thank him for making us proud. Congratulations!

05/2008 (1) Some stardust has landed on the shoulders of the club.   Our popularity is increasing in the community and bringing the club more exposure to the local media.   These have been exciting times for Spartak. Recently, New York City Councilwoman, Melinda Katz visited the club.   Newspaper correspondents and television crews were at the club with Ms. Katz capturing this important for Spartak event.   Her visit gave the club a chance to show the leaders of our community a first hand view and experience of how we implement the mission of our organization "Serve the Well-Being of Our Community's Children Via Athletic and Academic Activities".   The Councilwoman was excited and happy to witness so many kids being involved in healthy and safe activities in the club as an alternative to running the streets and getting in trouble.   She inquired about some of the challenges the club is faced with and understood how the city can help.   Importantly, Ms. Katz realized the great benefits of our programs and encouraged our kids to continue on the great path that Spartak Sports Club laid out for the students.

04/2008 (2) Taraje Williams Murray won the Second Place at the USA Judo Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, VA.   He is now getting ready for Pan American Championships that will be held on 05/08-10/2008 and then followed by Olympic Zone Championships both in Miami, FL.   He is training hard in preparing to attend the Olympic Games in China in August of this year. Steve Fayzakov returned with Silver medal from 2008 Junior Pan American Championships fighting at IJF 90kg weight category in Buenos Aires, Argentina.   He also faught in the team matches and won his both fights providing crusial support to our team from US.   Steve is now practicing to participate at Morris Cup and AmCan Challenge in May. Yan Kafarskiy returned from Montevideo, Uruguay.   He brought back Bronze medal from this prestigious and tough competition.   He also will be joining Steve and our other athletes at Morris Cup and AmCan Challenge. Congratulations to our athletes in The Spotlight!

04/2008 (1) Steve Fayzakov and Yan Kafarskiy returned with medals from 2008 -- USA Judo Youth and Scholastic National Championships.   Steve won gold and Yan silver medals.   Both athletes showed that the hard work during training pays back great dividends in a competition match.   As they wrestled, Steve and Yan used the techniques precisely as they learned them back at the dojo making the coaches and the club very proud.   Steve effectively executed a beautiful combination Sukui Nage --> Tani Otoshi worth of applause.   Yan countered with a stunning continious Uchimata.   Take a look at Steve's amd Yan's performances (download or view in youtube.com). Congratulations to both!

03/2008 He's done it again!!! Steve Fayzakov demonstrated exceptional skills at the 2008 New York Open, an international B level Judo Tournament.   His outstanding performance at this highly respected international competition brought Steve the most prestigious award -- The Best Technique of the Tournament.   Watch Steve (in white gi)