Leonz Eder: The Tatarstan government supports sports on all levels 10.07.2010

-Can you say a few words about the EUSA Executive Committee, what are the functions of the committee?
-The European Universities Sports Association has not only the Technical Committee, CT Chairs, but also the Executive Committee. And I was elected as a regular member at the Technical Committee recentely. We work on the issues like regulations, sports program, etc. As you know we have a lot of universities in Europe.

-What is the goal of your current visit to Kazan?
-At every European Universities Championship one person from the Executive Committee is send to be an official delegate, official representative of the EUSA. And I was very happy to be appointed to come here in Kazan to see the EU beach volleyball. And I represent the EUSA and especially the Executive Committee of the EUSA.

- As far as I know it’s your fourth visit to Kazan, when did you visit Kazan before and what were the goals of your visits to Kazan?
-I’m not only the member of the EUSA Technical Committee but also I am the member of the Technical Committee at the FISU. And at that time I was the member of the Evaluation Committee when Kazan bid to host the 2011 Universiade so I had a chance to visit Kazan. And I visited Kazan in this function and I was also in your city on a private visit, when I came to see my friends in Moscow with my wife and we also went to Kazan because It’s a very beautiful city. So I visited Kazan not only for professional reasons but also for private ones. It’s my fourth visit now and I hope it won’t be the last one. I always enjoyed my stay in Kazan. We visited the Raifa Monastery, it’s an amazing place, I saw it in winter time and yesterday I had a chance to see it in summer. The city center is also very beautiful. I like very much the Kazan Kremlin: it’s a fantastic monument. Kazan is a wonderful combination of traditional and old-style buildings with modern architecture. And I’m glad that the сity tries to preserve the old-style buildings and keep the legacy for the future generations.

- There was a lot of positive feedback during the European Universities Table Tennis Championship. What do you think about the current tournament management?
- Well, first of all I must say that before the Championship the contacting with the Organizing Committee was very helpful and very useful. We emailed them and a few hours later we got a reply. They gave us all the information so the pre-organisation was very helpful and useful. Of course visa procedures took some time but the rest was great: you have a wonderful management, super-volunteers and the referees are on high level. From my point of view, though I’m not expert in sports field, especially in beach volleyball but as far as I know the general organization was very good: transportation from the airport to hotels and around the city, food and security are no problem. And as you can see everything is going smoothly. And I would like to thank the Organizing Committee for that.

- It was mainly thanks to the Russian Volleyball Federation and Ilya Volodarsky that Kazan managed to hold the Championship.
- They are doing a great job. And the venue they’ve chosen is really fantastic, because it’s a very good place between the Riviera hotel and other entertainment buildings. The view is so astonishing. So spectators need to be careful when you look at it otherwise they may miss some important moment on the court. The volunteers are doing a fantastic job, there are like 80 of them, they work so hard and they are a big part of the success of the Championship.

-As you know there is no perfect organization. Do you have any recommendations or comments to the Championship managers so that to stage better championships in future?
-I think that because this Championship is the part of the preparation for the Kazan Universiade, you have already a very good contact with the FISU and I think there is a good exchange of experiences with other countries. But from my point Kazan is on a good track to reach a high goal during the Universiade. You’ve already had the table tennis championship, now it’s beach volleyball and the next one is the rowing championship. I think that the Organizing Committee has enough experience, they know what to do, I don’t have to advise them. Theу are in a regular contact with the FISU members. The Organizing Committee has a lot of visits, inspection visits, exchange visits. The most important thing is that you have the support on all levels: from Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin, Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism Rafis Burganov and of course from the new President Rustam Minnikhanov. They support so much that I think you have all open doors to do a fantastic sporting event.

-This is true. Thanks to the victories of Rubin, Ak Bars, Zenit-Kazan and of some other sports teams Kazan is often called the sports capital.
- Yes, I agree. I had a chance to be in the President’s Palace in the Kremlin about three years ago and meet the government and former Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov, and I could feel how proud they are and enthusiastic to develop the city also through sports but not only through sports. You have all the opportunities to make your city famous. And I congratulate you as Kazan is truly the capital of sports.

-You’ve mentioned that we have super-volunteers at the Championship. What are the main qualities of a good volunteer?
- The main thing is that you need to know foreign languages, it’s very, very important as it helps to connect with people. The volunteers here are open-minded, they are professional and really very helpful. I think they work very hard, for so many hours а day. They are doing a great job.

- As a member of the EUSA EC you should have travelled to many countries, can you say any difference between volunteering in different nations?
- I can say that it’s more difficult to find volunteers in Western Europe as they won’t do it for free. You pay them, they work. But then they are not really volunteers. So this is the difference. Here I have the feeling that the volunteers want to be part of the game, part of the event, they want to share it, they gain new experience. Of course it’s easier to attract volunteers to top events, such as the Olympics, World Cups, but as for low-ranked events it’s much more difficult to find volunteers. I know that hundreds of volunteers applied for the 2013 Universiade. They want to be the part of the game and this is a very good attitude.

-As a member of the EUSA EC your work is connected with sports. Do you do any sports?
- When I was young I practiced artistic gymnastics. Later on I played volleyball and handball. But not in the top level, but maybe in the third league. And now I just do some sports at my leisure time. I go hiking, biking. I also play golf a little bit when I have free time but unfortunately I don’t have enough time now. I exercise in the morning and in the evening to keep fit.

-When will you pay another visit to Kazan?
- I’m not involved in the preparation of the 2013 Universiade unfortunately I’m not but I would like to. So I don’t know when I visit Kazan next time. But now as the FISU Assessor and Vice-Chair of the Supervision Commission for the Winter Universiade I will visit Erzurum in September. So we are preparing for Erzurum in 2011, Maribor in 2013 and Granada in 2015. I know that Russia wants to stage the 2017 Universiade in Sochi so maybe I will come to Russia in future.

Elena Egorova, special correspondent of press-center
VII European Universities Beach Volleyball Championship