European Games 2019 in Minsk
Durch eine private Iniziative war HEMA dieses Jahr Bestandteil der „2nd European Games“ in Minsk. IFHEMA-Präsident Gábor Németh nahm an der Veranstaltung teil. Hier seine Stellungnahme (Englisch):
„Dear delegates,
I have just returned from Minsk and I would like to share my experience with you, as the overall experience was good. I have arrived as the representative of IFHEMA and hoped to make more out of it, than just being another „politician“ at the event, and while the tournament presented small chance for this purpose – swords talked louder than words 😉 -, I am glad I have joined a day before and participated the in the conference on HEMA’s cultural heritage. Presentations were held on various topics with Daniel [Jaquet] serving as Master of Ceremony. This was accompanied by the physical evidence of our past thanks to Roberto Gotti’s collection. Both were in the focus of this day, while Saturday and Sunday were all about the tournament. 3 continents, 29 nations, 150+ athletes are the balance with names that anyone of us would recognize, and you cannot count them on your two hands and two feet. I will not say names not to miss anyone.
Whether this moves the mission if IFHEMA forward, I cannot say yet. But it was definitely a memorable event and with the high quality of all of the gatherings and tournaments nowadays. I trust none of the participants regrets spending their savings on Minsk choosing it over any other venue. And it will definitely dig HEMA somewhat deeper into common knowledge.
While the event didn’t provide much exposure to IFHEMA on the spot, we have left our mark. We were patrons of the event and as such we provided Awards to the finalists – 1st, 2nd and shared 3rd places in 4 disciplines, Long Sword, Sword and Buckler, Rapier and Rapier and Dagger. Also, none left the event without a personal Certificate, that was provided to every participant. Let me express my gratitude to my friends who prepared these: George Zacharopoulos from the Greek Federation, who took care of the awards that turned out subtle but remarkable, and Tamas Kiss from Shirthau who provided the design for the certificate, that was equally subtle but very much fit for the event. My thanks for their help.
Minsk can be something we build on, but it is still like in the story of the mouse and the elephant, that are crossing the bridge („Elephant, can you hear us rumble?“). We need to build our image and our brand. While we don’t want to be an authority that forces anything on its members, we need to work harder to be the umbrella that can provide support to members. An umbrella organization that can serve as a forum to agree on common standards that federations can apply at will and on an occasion basis. This would allow to close some of the gaps we have in between one another, even if only for the duration of an event we have in common.“
Gábor Németh
IFHEMA-Präsident
Hier zu lesen gibt es ein Statement von Fechter Simon Rieger, der im Langen Schwert in Minsk antrat. Die offizielle Facebookseite der für HEMA verantwortlichen Veranstalter findet sich hier.