OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2012. IOC TOP Partner, McDonald's has overseen the final of the "Golden Puck" junior ice hockey tournament in the "Megasport" ice sport arena in Moscow's Khodynka Field. This was McDonald's fifth year as the title sponsor for the event, which was established over 40 years ago by the great coach Anatoly Tarasov.

By supporting the development of junior ice hockey in Russia, McDonald's draws society's attention to issues such as developing youth sport, promoting a healthy lifestyle and attracting children and teenagers to sport, whilst also keeping an eye out for young talent.

With only two years to go before the 2014 Games in Sochi, , McDonald's is actively supporting sport at a  local level. McDonald’s is currently holding a youth hockey tournament for    local teams, called "McDonald's - Golden Puck", and it is supporting a junior International Ice Hockey Tournament, the Vladislav Tretyak Cup. The company is devoting  its attention to keeping the public educated and informed about physical exercise, holding "Olympic lessons" in schools, "Fun starts" in kids' summer camps, and "Get active!" relays for all the family in outdoor arenas in Russia's cities. Special campaigns are often run for children in McDonald's restaurants, in support of the "McDonald's - Golden Puck" tournament.  Thanks to the "Take up ice hockey!" campaign,  the number of children enrolling in  sports training centers is steadily rising.

Vladislav Tretyak, President of the Russian Hockey Federation and a three-time Olympic champion and ten-time world champion, noted: "Ice hockey is one of our national sports - that's something I'll never get tired of repeating. And today, it brings together everyone from young junior players to respected veterans of the game. I want to express my gratitude to the Government of Moscow and to the McDonald's company. McDonald's is not only  helping to develop ice hockey in our country, it's also acting as an IOC TOP Partner at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. ".

McDonald's PR director in Russia and Eastern Europe, Svetlana Polyakova, said: "McDonald's has been sponsoring the tournament for 5 years now, so this is a sort of anniversary for us. It is  important to give those who want to play sports - including ice hockey - the opportunity to do so,  There are  two major events ahead of us, - football's European Championships and the Olympic Games and McDonald's is  taking this  opportunity to make sure children can one day participate in these kinds of competitions. For some, "Golden Puck" , is the start of a journey into professional sport, but the main aim of the competition is  to provide a chance for physical development and a healthy lifestyle, for everyone."