During the third International Students’ Massage Championship, which was held on 5 March 2014, the laurels were won by a representative from Panevezys. Eigirdas Spokauskas, a student from Panevezys College won the first place, and was followed by Vainius Petrauskas and Deividas Balseris, students of Kauno kolegija / University of Applied Sciences, who shared the second and third places.
The students demonstrated their mastery in compulsory and optional programmes. The participants of the classic programme of the championship were faced with a challenging surprise. Some famous personalities of the city of Kaunas ventured to lie down on the massage table and entrust themselves to the hands of students.
The “models” of the classic massage included Juozas Petkevicius, the legendary masseur of the Lithuanian basketball team; Stanislovas Buskevicius, the vice- mayor of the city of Kaunas; and Saulius Skambinas, a dancer, who kindly agreed to participate in the event. Associate professor Dr. Algirdas Amsiejus, better known as a beekeeper and gardener; Bartas-Nojus Bartaška, a singer who has conquered youth audience, and other celebrities were also courageous enough to entrust themselves to the hands of young masseurs. After the procedures, the “models” enjoyed their improved state of body and mind as well as high spirits.
During the free programme, the organisers and the audience were amazed by the ingenuity of the students. One could witness Ayurvedic Kerala, bamboo, four hands, Hawaiian, Thai, shiatsu massages as well as massage with cigars. During the Championship, the Thai massage was demonstrated by Erika Roldugina, a massage therapist from the Health Center “SPA Vilnius”.
At this specialized event, which was organised by the Faculty of Medicine of Kauno kolegija / University of Applied Sciences, 16 students from Lithuanian and foreign institutions of higher education fought for the title of the winner. The championship was held in the premises of A. Astrauskas’s Company First Step, and the future physical therapists and beauty professionals from Kaunas, Utena, Panevezys, Siauliai, and Klaipeda colleges as well as Daugavpils University, Latvia, had a try at massage tables. This year, the championship did not see representatives from Vilnius.
Students’ performance was assessed by the Board set up from professionals, which included Elena Bartnikiene, the owner and manager of the SPA Centre Sauleja; Diana Reklaitiene, associate professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Rehabilitation of Lithuanian Sports University; and Svetlana Stalidzane, a lecturer of the Department of Rehabilitation of Daugavpils University, Latvia. The Board was headed by Ruta Stratkauskiene, who has a 13-year experience, and is the founder of the School of Holistic Massage, the author of individual spa rituals and massage techniques, and a first-class SPA master. She is a graduate of the Academy of Woman’s World International (India), a student of the International Academy of Holistic Eniology and Alternative Medicine, and a prizewinner of Lithuanian SPA Championship of 2007, Baltik SPA Championship 2007 (Latvia), 1st World SPA Championship 2007 (Moscow), and Baltik SPA Championship 2008 (Latvia).
