BEKKEVOORT/CHARLEROI - Those who have been following our website and social media could not have missed it. From July 21 to 24 and from July 26 to 30, our federation organized the European Championships inline hockey under the auspices of World Skating, the international federation of roller-skating sports. It was an organizational success. After all, it was the very first time that such a European Championship for as many as five age categories was organized simultaneously at the same location and within the same time frame.
Some figures
- 2 temporary rinks
- 9 competition days
- 127 matches
- 900 players
- 45 country teams
- 14 countries
- 5 series, notably:
SEN MEN (11)
CZE, POL, SVK, ITA, BEL, GER, SWE, FRA, GBR, SUI, ESP
SEN WOMEN (8)
ESP, FIN, GBR, NAM, FRA, ITA, BEL, IRL
U19 MEN (11)
CZE, BEL, ESP, ITA, NAM, GBR, SUI, FRA, FIN, SVK, GER
U19 WOMEN (6)
ITA, GBR, ESP, NAM, BEL, FRA
U17 MEN (9)
CZE, FIN, IRL, ITA, SVK, FRA, GBR, BEL, NAM
No doubt quite an achievement to get it all organized. Marc Verlinden, vice president of the KBIJF and project leader agrees. "Here we have shown that we are strong organizers and that we are able to actually manage the biggest inline hockey event organized in Europe to date without too many problems. All teams returned home with a very positive feeling. We can be proud of this organization that we have put together in just four months. Admittedly, not everything went smoothly, which is always the case when organizing big events, but the result was very good. That is obvious from the reaction of the delegations."
So, is such event organizing worth repeating? Verlinden thinks so. "We just want to continue in the same way. I think we have now proven to ourselves and to the federation that we can handle such large organizations also thanks to the much-appreciated support of the members and supporters of our clubs. This enables us to set up a budget for development and organization for inline hockey in the future as well, to further evolve this sport within our federation here in Belgium. Meanwhile, a few new inline hockey clubs have been established that wish to become members of our federation and we hope to increase the number of clubs further in the coming years. The organization of such events can undoubtedly contribute greatly to this. It makes inline hockey more popular in Belgium and can only help to getting more clubs established in our country."
"This format with two temporary hockey rinks, equipped with boards and the special inline hockey floor, is only feasible for big events, not for a three-day event. I think our ambition now is to be able to organize other formats in addition to World Skate events, such as large international club tournaments like the 'Sparta Cup'. With the know-how we have gained in recent months, I think we as RBIHF are ready to venture into that. This only contributes to the improvement of inline hockey in Belgium. Tougher competitions with stronger opponents will lift our own players to a higher level. We must aim for that," said the vice president.
"The results are indeed very positive," added Thierry Leenders, director of the event and chairman of the RBIHF Inline Committee. "I think the tournament itself was a success. The participants are very satisfied. Still a fine achievement when you consider that some 900 players were active here over the 10 days. You must manage that with shuttles from the hotels to the venues and back, make sure the catering is tuned to the teams' match schedule, that all the matches start on time ... and all that with only volunteers. I think that would be a great achievement to have such organization run almost flawlessly. The many happy and smiling faces of the participants did not lie. Marvelous!"
A true promotion for inline hockey then? "I am absolutely convinced. The strong organization was a clear signal to World Skating that we can handle this as a federation. I have also spoken to the press several times and we have been on national television. There have also been talks with aldermen of sport. Because the cities need to get to know the sport better and our clubs need access to the city operated sports halls so that the sport can continue to grow in the future."
Charleroi as a location was a perfect fit. "From the beginning, we knew we were right with the choice of Charleroi as the host city. The ability to implement two rinks side by side was fantastic. In fact, all the teams took advantage of the proximity to Charleroi airport to come here. Moreover, we are not far from the French a German border. That in turn ensured that the French and German teams brought more supporters. In short, the European Championship was a success on all fronts."
Players and coaches are also full of praise for the EC and attest to a valuable experience.
"We knew beforehand that it was going to be very difficult," said Janick De Vylder (players Team BEL SEN Men). "The group went into this very positively and everyone learned a lot. We were given a hard time in difficult matches against tough teams where collectively we still gave our best and managed to win two matches against Sweden and Poland. If we want a better team performance in Rome next year, we now know what we need to work on."
“It was a very big tournament with a lot of strong teams," responded Perinne Dumenceau, player Team BEL U19 Women. "We had a very good atmosphere in the team. There is still a lot of work to do, but I am convinced we are making progress."
"Our players gave their all and kept going for it until the last match," stated Thibault Ryckaert, coach of Team BEL U19 Women. "That last match was heavy on everyone's legs, but still they kept fighting. Throughout the championship our girls evolved from individual players to a real team. The team atmosphere was good during the whole tournament and that was one of my main goals. If we continue working on this momentum, I think we can achieve something beautiful."
Christian Pierre
Media & Communication