EYOF as a part of the great atmosphere at the Olympic Festival at Štrbské Pleso

The Olympic Festival at Štrbské Pleso took place from 10 to 13 February on the occasion of Beijing’s celebration of sport. The European Youth Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica and especially its ambassador Nastya Kuzmina also became a part of this event. 

The three-time Olympic champion was honoured to bring the Olympic torch to the opening ceremony of the festival and handing it over to the president of Slovak Olympic and Sports Comittee, Anton Siekel. 

“The festival has its charm in that during this special holiday we try to raise the sport and tell people who are not top athletes that sport unites us and does not divide us into professionals and amateurs. We simply do not differentiate between Olympic and non-Olympic sports. We cheer, play sports together and the visitors of the festival explore the sports that they haven’t tried yet,” said Kuzmina.

In addition to the EYOF Ambassador Nastya Kuzmina, Peter Hamaj, Chairman of the Organising Committee, also took part in the festival. “Our goal is to prepare an event that will make Slovakia and Banská Bystrica visible and also to show that we can organise a major international event in our country. EYOF can also help the development of sports and its popularization among young people in Slovakia. That is why we are glad that we were given the opportunity to present it to a wide range of sports fans and that we could introduce and present the European Youth Festival to them.”

Another important topic was volunteers. Recruitment of more than 1,500 people continues. “We would like to offer the public the opportunity to be part of the largest sporting event of 2022 and meet the set quota. Many people are not aware of this possibility and that is why we have used the space to present the benefits of this position from which everyone can choose the field that is close to them and gain experience for life,” adds Peter Hamaj.

The biathlon star absolved a few kilometers out of a total of 727 kilometres on her way to EYOF. “I also found some time for some activities at the Olympic Festival. I still have a large portion of kilometers ahead of me, so I have to play sports regularly, including here at Štrbské Pleso. At the same time, it is about promoting this project and I hope that many more will be involved. It is not a race between each other but mainly the chance for the common joy of movement,” says Nastya Kuzmina.