“Little Mole”, the world-famous cartoon character created by Czech animator Zden„›k Miler, has become the official patron of the Prague 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
The local organising committee of the 6-8 March event agreed the partnership with the granddaughter of Miler, Karolína Milerová. Profits from merchandising will go to the Zden„›k Miler foundation.
Little Mole’s mission does not end with the European indoors as it will also take part in the project “Athletics for the kids”, which has been running for five years in athletic clubs and units around the Czech Republic.
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“We are very pleased that we agreed on this patronage of the Little Mole within the European Athletics Indoor Championships and afterwards within our project Athletics for the kids,' said Libor Varhaník, president of the Prague 2015 local organising committee.
'Little Mole or Krtek is a very popular character among kids and thanks to its patronage of the championships as well as our kids’ project it will be a big motivation for all kids in athletics,”
Karolína Milerová said, “We greatly appreciate this project and the following cooperation with ‘Athletics for the kids’. Our reason is to be able to support children also in the developing attitude to sports and the healthy lifestyle. The Zden„›k Miler Foundation recently supports three institutions: the Motol hospital, Department for Mother and a Child in Praha Podolí and the Children´s crisis centre. Athletics for the kids will become the fourth subject we would like to help in the future.”
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Sale of Thursday program tickets starts
Less than two months before the beginning of the European Athletics Indoor Championships, 90 percent of tickets have been sold.
“There is a huge fan interest that makes us very glad. There are still a couple of tickets left for the classic Friday program and Saturday morning session,” said Tomáš Jank…¯, executive director of the European indoors.
The organisers have opened ticket sales for the Thursday program that will be dedicated not only to shot put and long jump qualification but also to the opening ceremony of the European Athletics Indoor Championships.
“I think that fans definitely should not miss the opening ceremony. They will have a chance to watch a special multimedia show by the director Michael „Œech,” said Jank…¯.
“It will be about the artistic picture of athletics perfection and also about excursions into its past connected with the recent achievements of the Czech athletes. We will introduce the living athletic legends as well as the recent stars of the queen of sports.
'We would like to show that the Czech athletics has a rich history and just like the present we should be proud about, and the European Athletics Indoor Championships is the right occasion to show the beauty of athletics.”
2,000 tickets at 190 CZK/7 EUR each are going on sale.
Prague 2015 also continues with its “The fan is a part of the team” campaign that has been communicated via advertising spots and also via children’s competitions in athletic clubs and via competitions for schools.
“We would be glad if the fans take the championships as their own event and we are trying to include them within the action. For instance we created a sticker with a slogan 'The fan is a part of the team,' which they can paste and win VIP tickets for the European indoors. We are also running an exhibition of the Czech athletics in the Harfa Gallery,” said Jank…¯.
For more information please follow www.praha2015.org.
Meanwhile, Czech athletes have been busy training ahead of Prague 2015. Check out Zuzana Hejnova in a super slow-motion training video below.
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The Prague 2015 Facebook page also shared a great picture of Darya Klishina training, asking the question of whether the Russian long jumper can win her third European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medal.
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