Are you ready for the Games? SPORT
Êtes-vous prêts pour les Jeux ? TEXTE Duncan Roberts PHOTOS COSL
The 15th Games of the Small States of Europe is being hosted in the capital city from 27 May to 1 June. It may not have the glamour or budget of the Olympic Games, but the biennial Games of the Small States of Europe provide athletes who may not usually get to compete in a major sporting event with a chance to show their mettle. At the 2013 Games, around 170 athletes will represent the Grand Duchy and compete against athletes from Iceland, Andorra, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Montenegro. 807 competitors have been attracted to the 2013 event, organised by an organising committee under the umbrella of the Luxembourg Olympic Committee (COSL), whose slogan is “Are you ready for the Games?”. The Games of the Small States of Europe were launched in 1985 following a meeting four years previously at the European Olympic Committee. The Games, limited to countries whose population is less than one million, is held in the same spirit and in accordance with the rules of the Olympic Charter. The very first Games were held in San Marino, and since then seven more countries have hosted the event including Luxembourg in 1995. Luxembourg traditionally does well at the Games, and stands third in the all-time medals table behind Cyprus and Iceland. The majority of the events in 2013 are scheduled to take place in the capital city. What’s more, entrance for spectators is free of charge (except for the opening ceremony at Josy Barthel stadium) which means local residents can just turn up to an event and see international competitive sport on their doorstep.
Arquebusiers Club. And the Tramsschapp in Limpertsberg will be host to the shooting and judo events while cycling takes place around the streets of Cessange. The Games also put Luxembourg in the spotlight, at least in the other eight competing countries. Among the guests at the opening ceremony, for instance, will be the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein. The Games will be officially declared open by Grand Duke Henri and the ceremony also includes the lighting of the Olympic flame. After the opening ceremony the athletes can look forward to some tough competition against their peers in some of Luxembourg’s finest sporting facilities with the help of some 550 volunteers who have been especially recruited to help out at the Games. On 1 June the Games close with a ceremony at Abbaye de Neumünster, after which athletes and volunteers will party in the city. Hosting the Games of the Small States of Europe is a chance for the capital to once again demonstrate that it is a city of international standing; a city that is, indeed, ready for the Games.
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Luxembourg’s all time medal haul Les médailles remportées par le Luxembourg
261
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267
274
Capital venues D’Coque in Kirchberg will host the basketball, volleyball, swimming, table tennis and beach volleyball events. The Josy Barthel stadium on the route d’Arlon will host athletics and the Belair sport centre opposite the stadium will be home to the gymnastics. Tennis will take place just down the road at the
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LYNN & JO’S CITY MAGAZINE LUXEMBOURG