Master of Sport

a title in sports established in the USSR by a resolution of the Higher Council on Physical Culture of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR in 1935. It is awarded for life to sportsmen who have fulfilled at official competitions the norms and requirements for the title as established by the Uniform All-Union Sports Classification. Between 1935 and 1972 the title of Master of Sport was awarded to 93,200 sportsmen. In 1965, to encourage Soviet sportsmen to attain increased mastery in world sports, the Central Council of the Union of Sporting Societies and Organizations of the USSR established the title Master of Sport of the International Class, which is awarded to victors and prize winners of the Olympic Games, to champions of the world, Europe, and the USSR, and to prize winners at the largest official international competitions. In late 1972 there were 2,300 international class masters in the USSR.

In 1934, by a resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR the honorary title of Honored Master of Sport of the USSR was established. It is awarded to two groups of sportsmen: those who have achieved outstanding successes in international and all-Union competitions and are active in the development of physical culture and sport and those who have won the title of champion of the Olympic Games, the world, or Europe (twice). Between 1934 and 1972 the title of Honored Master of Sport of the USSR was awarded to 1,874 sportsmen, including M. P. Butusov (soccer), D. M. Vasil’ev (skiing), N. S. Tepliakova (tennis), P. A. Romanovskii (chess), M. G. Shamanova (track and field), and Ia. F. Mel’nikov (skating). Sportsmen who are awarded the titles of Master of Sport, Master of Sport of the International Class, and Honored Master of Sport of the USSR are given chest badges and certificates.