Thursday was all about Cycling Festival for Schools and Junior Short Track
- 24 hours ago
- 2 min read
Even before the Vysočina Arena was filled with elite competitors from the Mountain Bike World Cup, it was dominated by children. A new event in the program - the Cycling Festival for Schools - brought more than 750 pupils from all over the Vysočina to Nové Město na Moravě on Thursday, who tried out dozens of sports, technical and knowledge disciplines.
On Thursday, 753 children from 36 classes and 10 schools arrived at the complex, with local schools from Nové Město na Moravě also being significantly represented - a total of two schools, 15 classes and 340 children. The most distant participants arrived, for example, from Ledeč nad Sázavou, Tasov or Želetava. There was also a special school from Chotěboř.
The festival was far from just about sporting achievements. The organizers prepared the competition system so that all children across classes could participate – not just the biggest athletes. The competition teams were entire class groups and individual years always competed with each other across both days of the program.
The children were expected to do pump track, sprints on ROUVY trainers, obstacle courses, service disciplines or skill riding under the banner of BESIP. In addition to physical activities, there were also knowledge competitions on contemporary cycling, environmental quizzes or road safety issues.
An interesting discipline was the digital creation. The children had the task of filming and editing their own one-minute video mapping their day at the festival. There were no limits to creativity and the organizers are already admitting that this discipline was one of the most original parts of the program.
A special children's press conference, which the organizers prepared directly in the Vysočina Arena, was also a great success. Leading Czech bikers Adéla Holubová, Barbora Bukovská and Ondřej Cink sat in front of the schoolchildren, while the foreign scene was represented by the talented Briton Charlie Aldridge, one of the representatives of the young and fierce generation of world biking.
The children surprised everyone with a number of interesting, original and funny questions, and there was a great atmosphere throughout. Everything was discussed — from fear of racing to falls to favorite parts of the track or how fast the world's bikers actually ride. At the end, there was a joint selfie and autograph session, which was very popular among the schoolchildren.
The program continues in the same spirit on Friday, when another 610 students from 28 classes and 12 schools will arrive.
The results of the festival competitions will be evaluated after the end of the Friday program, and the winning classes will receive attractive prizes during the main program of the World Cup on Sunday, right in front of the packed Vysočina Arena.
