Slovakia is hosting the 16th year of EYOF: I feel proud that it is here
BANSKÁ BYSTRICA – The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) has been a reality in Slovakia since Sunday. Its 16th summer edition, which was opened from July 24 to 30 by the guests of Banská Bystrica and the surrounding area, in the Banská Bystrica Park under the SNP Museum, with the participation of athletes and implementation teams from 48 countries, as well as other participants and guests.
The official opening with a cultural program and the lighting of the peace fire brought the functions of this sports event closer to the young athletes and visitors of the Olympic movement. “After a long wait and a year’s postponement, we also got the biggest multi-sport event in the modern history of Slovakia. We see it as a great opportunity to make our beautiful country more visible in Europe. Sports events all over the world are priceless advertising for the host country.” said the president of the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee (SOŠV), Anton Siekel.
Difficult period for SOŠV
Slovakia organizes the EYOF in a difficult period. Since 2016, SOŠV has been developing a big initiative to make the European Youth Olympic Festival in Slovakia a success. “We had to deal with several obstacles that stood in our way. I am convinced that our Slovak hospitality and ability to organize ourselves even in difficult conditions of important competitions and races will be shown.” stated Siekel.
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Source: TASR/Martin Baumann
After Sunday’s ceremonial opening, the future stars of world sports will compete in the heart of Slovakia from Monday. “I am happy to be in one of the most passionate sports countries in Europe. Slovakia will become the fifth country to host both the winter and summer EYOF. This week, more than two thousand future stars will shine, embodying the values of excellence, friendship and respect in ten Olympic sports Good luck to all competitors, enjoy the event and take away memories that will last a lifetime.” wished the president of the European Olympic Committees (EOV) Spyros Capralos.
City of sports in central Slovakia
Banská Bystrica is turning into a city full of sports, most of the participants arrived at the EYOF venue during the weekend, where in ten sports – athletics, badminton, basketball, road cycling, judo, handball, swimming, sports gymnastics, tennis and volleyball – they will reach twelve dozen medal collections. “I still vividly remember the feeling when I stood on the podium in Baku in 2019, receiving the flag as an imaginary relay and inviting young athletes from all over Europe to the heart of Slovakia. At that time, I had no idea how long and difficult the journey would be Today I can state that it was a challenging long-distance race through many obstacles. Despite several pitfalls, over the past period we managed to reconstruct and restore the infrastructure, accommodation facilities for youth, involve hundreds of people in the organization, develop and promote sports in the city and the region, thanks to which we can motivate young people to play sports,” said the mayor of Banská Bystrica, Ján Nosko, who is also the president of the organizing committee.
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Source: TASR/Ján Krošlák
His words were followed up by the executive director of the EYOF Banská Bystrica 2022 organizing committee, Peter Hamaj: “Everything, including sports fields, is ready. Expeditions from 48 participating countries have already arrived, including one athlete from the refugee team. The total number of expeditions is 3,328 people, of which 2,252 are athletes – 1,125 boys and 1,127 girls. We issued a total of 7,369 accreditations. Monaco has the smallest expedition with a three-member delegation, including two athletes. The largest was sent by Slovakia, it consists of 210 members, of which 149 are athletes, the second largest is Germany with 180 members.”
Danka Barteková can’t wait
One of its ambassadors, Danka Barteková, is very much looking forward to the European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica. “For me, as a fan of Olympics and a four-time Olympian, it will certainly be very emotional. I feel so proud that an event of such magnitude is being organized here in Slovakia. I firmly believe that EYOF will ignite a love for sports in all of us and remind us of the important values for life thanks to him, we can find each other. The Olympics are great for young sports hopefuls in their breakthrough moment.” successful shooter and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who arrived two months ago with the flame of peace for EYOF 2022 from Rome, the seat of the EOV.
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Source: TASR/Martin Baumann
In addition to Banská Bystrica, Zvolen, Detva, Slovenská Ľupča and Badín will be the venues of the competitions. Entry to the sporting event will be for spectators.
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Number of photos: 4
- the author: © List
- Source: TASR