Maciej Jaloszynski is a former participant from Poland in the European Athletics Young Leaders Forum Helsinki 2012 and is now one of the youngest employees of the Technical & Sport Department at the Polish Athletic Federation.
Jaloszynski is very involved in the organisation of the Zygmunt Szelest Memorial and is part of the media team for the upcoming IAAF World Championships U20 Bydgoszcz 2016 and European Athletics U23 Championships Bydgoszcz 2017. He was interviewed by Katarzyna Wita, who is part of the communications team in preparation for the European Athletics Young Leaders Forum held on the sidelines of the Championships in Amsterdam.
Katarzyna Wita (KW): Maciej, in 2012 you represented Poland during Young Leaders Forum in Helsinki. What was the greatest part of that experience?
Maciej Jaloszynski (MJ): It was a great honour! Being a participant in the conference oraganised by European Athletics and UNESCO was a unique experience for me. The unique thing was that the forum was held in Finland, a country that breathes athletics – As a participant it felt like I was part of a larger athletics community and it was great meet people with similar backgrounds to mine.
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KW: Do you still have contact with participants from Helsinki 2012?
MJ: Yes, of course, among others, with a colleague from Hungary, who was in the same working group during the Forum, and today works in the Hungarian Athletics Federation. I also have contact with Polish representatives from previous editions of the Forum, among others, Filip Moterski, who is now an international judge, and participated in the Forum in Barcelona 2010.
KW: During the Forum in Helsinki there were a number of interesting workshops and lectures. Did you incorporate any of these ideas back in Poland?
MJ: I remember well a lecture about the structure of European Athletics, and another one dedicated to top events held by European Athletics. We spoke a lot in Helsinki about volunteering and the development of athletics. I think that from each of these discussions I was able to - even in small way – introduce something in Poland.
KW: What did you appreciate most about the event back in 2012
MJ: It was great to give participants the opportunity to watch the best athletes compete for medals at the European Athletics Championships. After the intense lectures and group work, there was time to relax and watch the championship at the stadium. I was able to see the final of my beloved javelin! And it was in Finland, a country where javelin is the national sport!
KW: You are from Poland, a country where athletics has developed tremendously over the past few years with many international events being organised and athletes performing well at the major championships. You and Krzysztof Glinka (Polish Athletics Federation) have even a create a new highly ranked event with Zygmunt Szelest Memorial.
MJ: In Poland there are several interesting meetings which have been organised in creative ways. I always try to use my experience and knowledge to contribute and one of my main functions is to support organisers of large events. Within the federation we always try to do everything so that people recognise the beauty of athletic competition. By co-creating an athletics meeting in Warsaw, I also want to show people that athletics can be 'sold' as a show - an innovative product for athletes, sponsors and fans. While organising the Memorial Zygmunt Szelest, we thought of ways to raise the interest for the public. That is why in this season we decided to set an additional speaker directly on the field, who is responsible for javelin comments, beside the main speaker who is responsible for all track and field events. We are also trying to popularise combined events and organise international competition in mini-combined events, showing the versatility of athletes in less than 2 hours. Of course, the biggest challenge is finding the resources to fund these creative ideas.
KW: What would you like to say to the participants of YLF Amsterdam in 2016?
MJ: The Forum is a platform that allows for the international development of their passion. I hope that all participants will leave the Forum full of new ideas that they can implement in their own countries. That will give a fresh look to athletics and will help to promote the different disciplines. Also, I would recommend to the participants to be active during the Forum, show what they are passionate about, and share their ideas with one another. Working with each other, cooperating and sharing good practices in order to make athletics the best sport it can be!
KW: Thank you for interview!