Some even found their partners here. For the trainers life without spouse and children isn't always easy. The gymnasts live two or three to a room in the apartment building on the Base. Usually they are divided over the rooms according to age and character. Although occasionally they still quarrel and argue, they live an harmonious life, fully dedicated to their sport.
Staff takes care of the bedding etc.
The balcony comes handy during summer, in the winter they run clotheslines through the rooms. When winter comes, the gymnasts quickly start complaining about the cold and draft. The central heating is hardly adequate when it gets real cold, so additional electric heaters are brought in. The gymnasts decorate their rooms with souvenirs, posters and cuddly toys, to give themselves a feeling of childhood at home. Oksana, Lena, Liuba and Natalia Television sets are standard inventory, with a limited choice of channels in Russian and Ukrainian language, plus Eurosport in English.