From Diligent Effort to Global Success
STYL ROZHOVOR
64 POSITIV 2/2024
out of the region. There are great young people here.
However, in order to remain passionate about sports
and determined to give it their best, they need to see
athletics in person. Zlatá tretra Ostrava plays it big and,
I think, not fully appreciated role in this. Here, children
and young people get excited when they experience
the energy, emotion, power and see the world's best
athletes live in action. This is irreplaceable. And it is
also not easy for schools and clubs to keep up with
the times in technical and technological equipment,
which also includes sufficiently erudite people and
coaches. In this respect, however, the cooperation
between the regional academy and the University
of Ostrava on the accreditation of the coaching school
here in Ostrava is promising. This can give the coaches
a feeling of a greater confidence that if they throw
themselves into this demanding job full time, they can
support themselves and continue to grow. There is
also a great deal of work to be done in this area for
the entire athletic community.
The organisation of the Golden Spike is significantly
associated with your career. What do you enjoy
most about this work and how does the meeting
contribute to the development of the region and
Czech athletics?
Jan Železný: It's another continuation of my life's
journey. For me, the Spike has always been the most
important competition after the Olympics. When
I got the offer to be the director of the meeting,
I was delighted. To have such an eminent meeting in
the country is important. It helps the development
of Czech athletics and it connects the Czech
environment with experts from abroad. It gives Czech
athletes the opportunity to fulfil the limits for big events
in front of a domestic audience while qualification
points for the ranking are at stake. The live broadcast
is then streamed to 140 countries around the world,
which is great publicity for Ostrava and the region.
The world notices that Ostrava exists. It will come and
see. Plus, it's a long-running event with a great tradition.
And there aren't that many of those either. The Spike
will always be here.
What is the importance of international contacts
and cooperation with other athletics organisers
around the world for you and your work? Can
you give an example of how this cooperation has
contributed to the success of your meeting?
Alfonz Juck: We are able to help each other in
negotiating dates and choosing disciplines. If the dates
are so close that the athletes can go from one meeting
to the other, the cooperation is even closer, it is
possible to share the costs of transport. Meetings do
compete to see which one will be better in a given
year, have more records, more stars, more spectators,
higher overall ranking, but this is just such a natural,
constructive rivalry and friendly relations are our
priority.
How difficult is it nowadays to get funding to
organise an event of such a scale as the Golden
Spike Ostrava?
Alfonz Juck: Yes, this is always a crucial question,
but fortunately the meeting can rely on the support
of the City of Ostrava, the Moravian-Silesian Region and
the National Sports Agency. However, there are larger
events in the Czech Republic and in the Moravian-
Silesian Region especially. Therefore, we would be
very happy if the Golden Spike would become a kind
of family jewel for the region's strong companies, for
which they can bring both a strong marketing and
relationship platform with a good feeling that this world
“
There is the only full-edged athlecs
stadium for major compeons,
relavely high-quality accommodaon in
its vicinity, the only athlecs hall used by
foreign athletes, including stars such as
Ewa Swoboda, a tunnel, gyms.
”
Alfonz Juck, Jan Železný, Neeraj Chopra