Attitude of university students towards the state sports program ready for labor and defense

Increased student motivation and interest in active physical training and sports is a major trend in the development of the national sports and recreation. In this redard, the state has carried out a series of large-scale events, including the ones to restore the sports program «Ready for Labor and Defense» (GTO), popular in the Soviet Union.The author studies the attitude expressed by the students of St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of of Humanities and Social Sciences towards the GTO sports program. The study is based on the survey conducted among 322 bachelor students of St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of of Humanities and Social Sciences in order to determine the significance of abovesaid programs for the students. The survey resulted in 966 responses to questions which were processed and analyzed using Excel software.The study reveled that most of the surveyed univeristy students are aware of the GTO program and its content, however, they are not ready to join it on volutary basis. Despite this fact, the students believe that when introduced, the GTO program will become an important tool for public engagement in physical education, sports and recreation.Key words: students; sports program «Ready for Labor and Defense» (GTO); survey.