Vladimir Leonov: FISU delegates express their high opinion of us22.07.2010

- Can you tell us about preparation for the Championship? How long did it take you to decide questions about the athletes’ accommodation and the stadium set-up?
- It didn’t take us long as we got assistance from the professional team of the Russian Volleyball Federation. It was Ilya Volodarsky who also lent us support in the tournament organization. His rich experience in this field enabled us to solve all the infrastructure issues. We started preparation at the moment we applied for hosting the Championship. It took us two months to select the location for the tournament. It was very important to make provision for all the details, for instance parking spaces.
I’m glad that despite the fact that Kazan is hardly a resort city or city of beach volleyball the tournament has drawn a lot of foreign players. We want to see more foreign guests in Kazan. I think that those students who visit Kazan once on arrival home will be telling how it’s beautiful, interesting and hot in Kazan. I’m pleased that the Championship entrants are satisfied with the Championship management. Besides international specialists I had a chance to talk with consider that the Kazan tournament is the best European Universities Beach Volleyball Championship in its entire history. And it’s the seventh in succession.

- We had information before the tournament that the beach volleyball championship would be held in the equestrian centre. Why did the organisers change the location?
- As before we regard the equestrian centre as the location for staging sporting events. The real reason is different. For the beach volleyball championship we needed a playing area that is open to most citizens and has a picturesque view at the same time. It’s the Riviera entertainment complex that perfectly matches these criteria. I think that we’ve chosen the right place.

- Who bore most of the responsibility for the championship organization?
- Surely it is the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate that is responsible for the tournament management, it’s clear and logical. Besides the Russian Championship was held a week before on the playing area near Riviera. That’s why the management of both tournaments resulted in team work of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of the Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Volleyball Federation. Besides a number of outside agencies provided their assistance as well.

- Can we mention the business end of the Championship?
- A business end is very advanced in western countries. We know that tickets and TV broadcasting are sold well. Beach volleyball is a new but very spectator sport in Tatarstan. We only start developing understanding and love for this sport. I think that these issues will be challenging in future.

- How does the financing structure look like?
- We talk about the consolidated budget here. For expense optimization we combined the Russian Beach Volleyball tour and the European Universities Beach Volleyball Championship. Thus we managed to cut expense side of the budget in half. The funds for staging the Championship come from the Ministry of Sport of Russia and from the Tatarstan Ministry, from the Volleyball Federation and eventually from the entrants. But these resources are spent on accommodation and catering not on infrastructure.

- What other events does the Universiade Executive Directorate plan to stage?
- We make preparations for staging the so-called Eurasian Games. This is a complex international competition in 14 sports. We expect about 2,000 16-17 year-old athletes to arrive in Kazan. This event is also in the list of the Universiade test competitions.

- According to the rules Kazan is to host events in 26 sports by 2013. Will we make it?
- Of course we will! The rules don’t set a strict framework. For example we can stage the Russian Championship in this or that sport among pros as well.

- Kazan has hosted two test events already: the European Universities Table Tennis and Beach Volleyball Championships. What is your value judgment of them?
- Naturally there’s definitely a room for improvement and we take notice of our imperfections and errors. But at the same time specialists highly experienced in organization of such tournaments express their high opinion of us. The principal trouble of the Championship is the Kazan audience that doesn’t seek to attend such events. Despite the fact that the tournament is heavily advertised and the admission is free. Even with all the pressure of business I find time to attend the competitions with my family. I feel that it’s useless to resort to any administrative leverage here. We try to use different ways to attract the audience: prize drawing, dance performances, show programmes… We have a huge amount of work to do in this direction as we need to affect people’s consciousness.

- Whose work at the Championship do you wish to single out?
- I’d like to thank each person involved in the Championship! Thanks a lot to our partners, the representatives of the Volleyball Federation, the ministries, the volunteers who showed a good level of work in such heat wave and earned the honorable mention of the athletes and the guests of the Championship, the media representatives and first of all those who worked in the press centre and provided daily coverage. In general I would like to thank everyone who was tied into the staging of the Championship. I wish us to correct faults and hold the beach volleyball tournament on the highest level at the 2013 Universiade. Especially now when the Olympic sports are in progress and the world attention is being increasingly focused on them.

- Who do you build relations with the FISU concerning holding of championships?
- In terms of the organization the FISU has a wide range of the championships that the cities can bid to host. If there are a few bids for the same sport a vote is held. We clear the bid with special-purpose federations and departments. Having won the bid to host a championship we start organizing it in coordination with either the FISU if it’s a world championship or with the EUSA if it’s a European championship. We send out invitations to universities and fix a tentative date of the European tournament and prepare the playing areas.

- What are you favorite sports?
- I’m always on the move but still I make time to play competitive sports such as football, basketball and volleyball. I have been playing water polo for nine years but at the moment I do not have time for training but all the same I go swimming once a week. For sure sport is an integral part of my life.