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A Seminar Which Convinced Europe
Sunday November 21 2010 01:04 PM
In the week from 15th to 21st November, organisers of the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival (EYOWF) 2011 in the Liberec Region have passed the biggest and most thorough inspection of their preparations. After meeting with members of the EOC Coordination Commission for EYOWF 2011 and subsequently with the Technical Delegates for each of the sport disciplines, there was a crucial meeting, a seminar with representatives of all the European National Olympic Committees from the participating countries.
Roman Kumpošt commented on the event: "The main task of the seminar was to convince and assure foreign delegates (members of the National Olympic Committees of the participating countries) that the preparations for the 2011 Festival are almost complete, with only a need for the fine tuning of certain logistic and technical issues. I believe we have succeeded in this mission and have sent a positive signal, as the reactions of all the participants were spontaneous and quite affirmative."
More than eighty participants came to the Liberec Region in order to obtain all the necessary information about the EYOWF 2011 project. This was carried out not only by means of presentations by each of the departments, but also through viewing the actual environment for the first time with their own eyes. They went through the venues, facilities, accommodation capacities and the adjoining infrastructure. Each person received sufficient information in order to be able to form a clear picture regarding what to expect in the Liberec Region in February.
"The Chefs de Mission genuinely appreciated the organisation of the seminar, especially the dedication, motivation and readiness of the entire organising team and were pleasantly surprised by the young average age of the team and their efficiency. The participants found the state of preparations on such an advanced level that the final two-hour discussion was basically limited to questions regarding sports or the number of officials in each national delegation. We know we have set a very high standard, but I can promise we will keep it high in February 2011," said Kateřina Nyčová, Executive Director of the Organising Committee.
Apart from the required meetings and travel procedures, the delegates also found time to explore some of the interesting sights in the Liberec Region. They visited the Sychrov Chateau and the peak of Ještěd. Before going home, the majority of the participants also packed the plush mascot of the Festival, Rampich the Icicle, who attracted a great deal of attention.
The week of intense diplomacy in Liberec symbolically concluded with a speech by Janko Dvoršak, President of the EYOWF 2011 Coordination Commission of the EOC. "I would like to thank the organisers for preparing this great seminar. They have convinced us that they understand their work and can accomplish things. Over the last two days, they have also demonstrated what a cohesive and excellent team they are. I am sure they will perform the same over the course of the Festival itself. They have already proved their abilities when organising the Olympic Days for Children and Youth of the Czech Republic 2010 and I am also certain they will even improve the quality by February of next year."
More pictures in Photogallery.
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