Press releases

MINSK, 8 January (BelTA) - The President of the European Athletics Association Hansjorg Wirz and Vice resident of this organization Karel Pilny are in Minsk on an official visit. One of the main objectives of the visit is to see the sports facilities which can host European athletics indoor championships. On 8 January the high sports officials inspected the athletics arena of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture and Minsk Arena, BelTA has learned.

Mr Karel Pilny noted that the athletics arena of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture is an excellent facility for training and for hosting national athletics indoor events. As for indoor world or European championships, the facility needs to meet all standards in terms of competition. There must also be more seats for spectators, VIPs, and also media facilities. “Now I am supervising the organization of the winter world championship in Prague. 800 seats are needed for the media alone. If we consider Belarus as a possible venue for indoor athletics championship in the future the velodrome of Minsk Arena is too small as it can seat only about 2,000 people. The big stadium in Minsk Arena can host an athletics championship. But there are some issues too. The platform with running tracks will need to be raised to a height of over 5 meters. This will require temporary removal of some of the lower sectors of the stands. It is pretty expensive, but this practice is not uncommon. For example, this was done at last year's winter European championship in the Swedish Gothenburg,” Mr Karel Pilny said.

The most suitable venue for a European championship is the skating stadium of Minsk Arena, Mr Karel Pilny believes. "Here, in my opinion, much already complies with the necessary requirements. The organizers will need to lay running tracks, choose the space for VIPs and media. The winter European Athletics Championship in Turin six years ago was organized in a similar way, at the skating stadium which hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics competitions. Thus, there is a successful experience in staging major indoor athletics events at indoor skating facilities. They are big enough,” emphasized the Vice President.

With regard to when Belarus can possibly host a winter athletics championship, Mr Karel Pilny noted that it can happen not earlier than 2019. “In 2015, we are beginning official preparations for future competitions. The European Athletics Association will invite all applicants for a special seminar. After that we will be able to speak about the bids portfolio," he said.

European Athletics President Hansjorg Wirz inspected all sports venues, which can host winter European championship, got thoroughly acquainted with their infrastructure, and also visited the new athletics arena of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture. "What I saw today shows that everything is being done for the success of Belarusian athletes. I am sure that the country is ready to reach a new level. For its part, the European Athletics Association appreciates all that is done in Belarus for the development of the national sport. Therefore, this experience can be extended to the international level. The association is ready to provide support in this,” said Mr Hansjorg Wirz.

At the same time, he noted that the European athletics family consists of 50 nations that wish to host international competitions. As top events are not many, their host is chosen thoroughly, he said. According to Mr Hansjorg Wirz, the countries which have relatively new sports venues that can host the most prestigious competitions should start with minor competitions. He praised Belarus for the construction of athletics facilities and the reconstruction of the Dynamo Stadium in Minsk which can be assigned the first category. "The country is making serious efforts to ensure that it can host the most important athletic events in the future. This will not remain unnoticed,” said Mr Hansjorg Wirz.

The European Athletics President and Vice President also visited the National Olympic Committee of Belarus to discuss a number of issues with the senior officials of the sports industry of Belarus.