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The IX FIRS World Championship was held in the town of Pisek, Czech Republic
26 June 2003 - 06 July 2003
The Venue:
Pisek is a small town of with a population of about 30k, being about 110km
(65 miles) south west of Prague. The Czech Republic is one element of the
former Czechoslovakia.
The event was held in the local ice rink, with a 'Stilmat' floor replacing
the more normal ice, I did ask what the spectator capacity of the rink was
but no one I asked seemed to know.
On 13 August 2002, some 10 months prior to the event the centre of Pisek
was inundated by a massive flood of the River Otava, there are a couple of
pictures to be found at the following websites. I have further images of
the effect of the flood upon the ice rink, both internal and external and
am trying to obtain permission from the copyright holders to publish these
pictures on some appropriate website.
Editorial amendment:
A number of photographs have been supplied to the author by a member of the
championships organising team, it is understood that the photographs were
initially supplied from the Pisek Town Hall. The author acknowledges and
thanks the several unknown photographers who originally supplied these
photographs to the Pisek Town Hall. >> >>
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It is indeed a credit to all
concerned that the premises and the surrounding areas were reinstated so
quickly.
The Hockey:
15 Countries were represented, from four continents: The Americas, Europe,
Asia and Oceania. The organisation was very good, the games were played on
time, the refereeing was (to my way of thinking) perfectly acceptable. OK,
so there were missed calls, or were the incidents seen but ignored? Anyway,
anyone who complains, should be invited to do a better job!
There was a mix of teams in attendance, from countries with both well
developed and less developed inline hockey environments. The tournament
rules were written in such a way that 'goals against' would be taken into
account should any teams finish the group games with equal points. Therefore
it was not necessary to amass giant score lines in the group games. With one
notable exception, the better teams played to obtain a simple score advantage
and then in general gave the lesser team an opportunity to benefit from
playing against a better team. Accordingly it wasn't easy for this layman to
read anything of significance from the results tables of the group matches.
However when the quarter finals started the whole thing stepped up a gear or two,
the games were superb, the sportsmanship was (generally) good. OK so there were
the odd black sheep and a few roughing penalties were awarded. All in all, for
someone from the UK without access to a local 60x30 ice (or roller) rink, the
money spent on travel and accommodation for this event was a good investment.
The Final
What a privilege it was to be in the arena!
I am assured by a number of locals that the rink was fuller on this occasion than
it ever is for any ice hockey match. Czech Television covered the match "Live Time"
I counted at least six cameras at rinkside alone, there may have been more, plus
those up in the gods. There were three (maybe four) other TV crews in attendance.
At half time the score was 1:2, 6m18 into the second period Team Czech equalise,
and the atmosphere in the stadium is electric. The quality of the play on the blue
floor was at times more akin to ice hockey on wheels rather than to non-checking
inline hockey.
Period three is Golden Goal overtime, then at ten minutes, a short break, then
another ten minutes of Golden Goal O/T, the atmosphere had to be lived through to
be believed! Another short break, how much longer could this be kept going? 1m22
into period five and its all over. The non Czech spectators provide fitting
applause, but it's a big building and the applause is somewhat drowned-out by
other activities!
Team USA provided a superb exhibition of Inline Hockey at its best.
Soapbox in use
What a pity the Czech supporters couldn't put aside their jingoistic support.
As the game progressed Team USA were subjected to appalling 'Bird'.
For those spectators from countries other than the Czech Republic, this exhibition
of appalling behaviour by a considerable proportion of Czech supporters was only
matched by the Czech team's appalling treatment of the minor teams during the
group matches.
Was it really necessary for the Czech team to thrash Team Greece: 32-0?
Surely this is not the way to promote the sport of inline hockey in those countries
where the sport is still in the development stage.
Such teams need encouraging, not humiliating!
Much better the approach of Team USA when playing the less able teams, they were a
joy to behold, Team USA played to win (of course) and then provided the other team(s)
with a level of experience, skills and gamesmanship these teams simply don't have
available in their respective home countries.
I am convinced that all of the players who met Team USA on the blue floor benefited
from the experience and went home that much the better.
It was indeed a privilege to watch every Team USA game, and most of the other
matches as well.
Soapbox away
Off the blue floor, both within the stadium and around the town, Team USA were
gentlemen in the true sense, no one was below them, my observations were that they
spoke to all as equals, they were all ambassadors of both the sport and the USA.
You have a team to be truly proud of.
It has been an experience and a privilege to be in attendance during the 12 days of
the event.
---
John.
Great Britain.
Story First published on
Inline Hockey Central 07 August 2003
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