For the second time in history, the Czech Republic will host the European Universities Table Tennis Championship. The first such event was held in 2007 in Ostrava and this year will see the competition move to Olomouc. The 8th European Universities Table Tennis Championship will take place in a Sport Hall of Palacký University from the 20th till 25th June.
Academic table tennis is becoming more and more popular all around the world, with winners of the world Universiades making marks at significant international competitions of adults. The European University Sports Association (EUSA) assigned the organization of the 8th European Universities Table Tennis Championship to the Czech Republic, namely Palacký University Olomouc. “We are proud to co-organize this Championship and assist in many different ways: most importantly, we provide the facilities as the Championship will take place in our Sport Hall; and at the same time, we offer organizational and logistic support. I hope that this top table tennis event will be visited not only by our students and academics but also the public,” said rector of Palacký University, Jaroslav Miller.
Likewise, Palacký University Accommodation and Dining also participates in the preparations for the event. “Upon agreement with the residing students, we set aside almost the entire capacity of the Evžen Rošický Dormitory to be available for the participants of the academic championship. We are also striving to make their stay here as comfortable as possible and our guests will be able to enjoy new coffee and soft drinks vending machines in the dormitory lobby,” said Josef Suchánek, managing director of Palacký University Accommodation and Dining.
The Championship is expected to attract a record number of table tennis players representing universities from all over Europe, as well as representatives of Czech universities. “We have noticed increased interest in academic table tennis in recent years. Palacký University Olomouc will be represented by Jan Boháč, Libor Smoček and Dávid Šikula as for men and Aneta Kučerová, Karolína Mynářová and Andrea Daňová for women. Aneta Kučerová and Karolína Mynářová are representatives of students who play in Czech Women´s Extraliga and I believe that the women´s team has a real chance of winning a medal,” said Vít Ratajský, chairman of the table tennis committee of the Czech University Sports Association.
There will be six different events during the Championship – team tournaments (men’s teams, women´s teams) and individual tournaments (men’s single tournaments, women´s single tournaments, men’s double tournaments and women´s double tournaments).
For more information about the European Universities Table Tennis Championship, click HERE.