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On 17 January 2015, the congress of the International Street & Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) decided that this year´s championships would be played in the Czech Republic. Since then, a lot of time has been devoted to preparing Pardubice for the big event. "The fact that the championships will take place just in Pardubice, we started to negotiate with the federation while visiting the last ball hockey championships in Zug. We soaked in the atmosphere, and from my perspective, it was one of the nicer sporting events because of the additional events that were staged as part of the overall program," said Pardubice Regional governor Martin Netolický at Wednesday´s press conference.
The tournament from two years ago also inspired Pardubice Mayor Martin Charvát. "It was a really fun, social event, and we have every indication that this year will be more of the same. Pardubice is a sports town and is home to two ball hockey clubs, one of which last year won several trophies including the title by the senior team. Ball hockey is on the rise. For me, it´s a popular sport," the Mayor expressed.
Organization? Definitely not easy
In the past six years, Pardubice has hosted two inline hockey championships, but compared to those, this will be an even bigger event. A total of 24 national teams will come to participate in the men´s and women´s ball hockey championships!
"The organization is definitely not easy, with so many teams. Organizing accommodation and catering for the competition itself and the accompanying events is a very challenging issue. For that reason, it´s taken two full years to organize this event," said Netolický, who is nonetheless looking forward to it. "Every sporting event with an international outreach is a great asset for the city in which it takes place, but also for the larger region. So, as we experienced last year with the Olympic Park, I think this year we will all enjoy the Ball Hockey World Championship together."
The final preparations for the championship, however, have not been without complications. Due to the cancellation of expected subsidies from the Ministry of Education, the organizers don´t have all available resources that they were originally promised.
"The Ministry promised to grant three million crowns to the program through its channels, but that amount will no longer be credited to the tournament. It is annoying that the organizers now have to discuss other financial plans with suppliers. On the other hand, it is still good news for all of us that the championship will still be one of the most important events which will be held inthe Czech Republic this year," the regional governor added.
The total budget of the championships is about CZK 15 million (approximately EUR 570,000). The City of Pardubice is contributing CZK 1.6 million, with CZK 1 million from the Pardubice Region, and the remaining CZK 9.4 million will come from the Czech Street and Ball Hockey Association.
Home is home, but it won´t be easy
Just like two years ago in Zug, there will be a lot of events taking place outside the ball hockey championships themselves. "I hope that visitors will take the time to go around our city and get to know it," Mayor Charvát said. "They will see that Pardubice is a great place in the centre of Europe for sport, relaxation and entertainment."
Once the championships start running, organizers will have something in common with the Czech national team. "I hope to see our team be as successful as in the last two championships they played at home in Plzeò and Litomerice, and representatives from the teams have confirmed that they will be playing to win," Netolický concluded.
Charvát echoed: "I hope that in the finals we will be able to proudly wear our Czech jerseys and cheer for both the men´s and women´s teams. It won´t be easy, because as we saw in Zug, there are a lot of good teams at the top level, but I believe that the fans will drive both of our teams forward."