There are certain diplomatic activities and important meetings that will precede the events of EYOWF 2011 in the Liberec Region. The most significant one is undoubtedly the meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), which takes place on 12th and 13th March 2011 in the Clarion Grandhotel Zlatý Lev in Liberec. It will be attended by the complete directorate of the European Olympic movement, presided by the EOC President Patrick Hickey.
Financing European sport, educating young people to be involved in sports, organisation of top sporting events for youth, sports training, security aspects of winter sport – these are some of the topics that are going to be discussed at the specialised conference entitled Europe – Youth – Olympism. The event takes place from 10th to 12th February 2011 in Liberec and is organised by the Natural Science-Humanities and the Faculty of Education of the Technical University of Liberec and the EYOWF 2011 Organising Committee with the support of the Czech Olympic Committee.
A crucial contract has been signed recently by Zdeněk Kůs, the Rector of the Technical University in Liberec and Petr Doležal, Chairman of the EYOWF 2011 Administrative Board. According to the agreement, the university will provide its accommodation and dining facilities at the university campus in Harcov to participants of EYOWF 2011. The Olympic village will provide the athletes with modern, recently reconstructed grounds offering adequate comfort and room for free time activities. Medal ceremonies will be held there every day and the press sub-centre will also be located here.
The EYOWF 2011 Organising Committee wished to express deepest condolences to the Polish Olympic Committee whose President Piotr Nurowski died tragically in a government plane crash at the Smolensk Airport on 10th April 2010. The Olympic movement has lost not only an executive member of EOC, but also a friend of Czech sport and a great supporter of the Youth Olympic Festivals. We shall honour his memory.
Are sporting achievements on the junior level a direct ticket to the medal world of senior athletes? Are the stars of European Youth Winter Olympic Festivals destined to also become stars among seniors? The statistics compiled by the EYOWF 2011 Organising Committee offer an interesting perspective on this problem.
The EYOWF 2011 Organising Committee has expanded through opening a new and important department, which will primarily communicate with the national Olympic Committees and provide full services at the same time. The head of this department is Marie Sokolová (see photo), who has successfully held a similar position during the Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec in 2009, during which she worked closely with the attachés of each national delegation. There are 49 countries expected to participate at the 2011 Festival.