Physical training is a required subject for undergraduate students in all fields, although master’s and doctoral students also have the option of taking physical training classes if they wish. A special feature of physical education at HSE University is its sports club structure. Here you can choose the club you like. The university has organized over 20 sports clubs at various city locations: Ultimate, football, volleyball, basketball, badminton, tennis, table tennis, hockey, rugby, water polo, athletics, swimming, biathlon, skiing, fighting, wushu, gymnastics, cheerleading, shaping, chess, tourism, sailing and more. HSE dorms feature well-equipped gyms. To attend the selected club you need a medical certificate, sports uniform and, in some cases, a certain level of physical fitness.

The clubs are run by experts in physical training from various categories of sport. The department is headed by Oleg Bulykin, master of international sport in volleyball, multiple USSR champion and winner of European Cups. The swimming club is headed by Sergey Birk, multiple world champion in scuba diving, a 10-time world record holder in speed swimming in fins, and international master of sport in scuba diving. Olga Shitova, European champion, master of international sport in rowing, instructs students in the gym at 3 Bolshoy Trekhsvyatitelsky pereulok. The HSE yacht club is run by Andrey Maslov, international master of sport in sailing.