„I’m very contented with this European Championships. It was a great event. But that should not mean that we can’t improve”, concluded Frantisek Janda, President of the European Fencing Confederation (EFC).
Indeed, the figures about the Championships are impressive. More than 1.200 fencers, officials and persons in support joined Leipzig, 416 athletes from 40 nations participated in this prestigious European competition and 247 volunteers helped to assure a smooth course. 112 journalists from all over Europe reported on the matches, there were live-coverages in France, Russia, Suisse and Italy and at least a live stream of the whole tournament. And in Germany more than 2,7 millions people watched for example a coverage on Saturday and Sunday on TV.
“I have to thank everybody – the city of Leipzig, the German Fencing Federation, all volunteers. It was a good organisation and I hope we will meet in a few years here again”. We will see – but at first the English city of Sheffield will have the chance to host the European fencing elite on July 2011.
