June 7, 2011; by: Marie Kohoutová; section: i-Forum informs, Translation: Pavla Horáková

Concise and refined. Those are the words describing the opening of the 10^th Czech Academic Games which took place on June 6, 2011 in the Bethlehem Chapel. In attendance were Prague mayor doc. MUDr. Bohuslav Svoboda, CSc.; the chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee MUDr. Milan Jirásek; the rectors of Prague universities; many other distinguished guests but above all the athletes. Sport at Czech universities was for now represented by culture – great works of classical music and historic architecture.

From left to right: doc. PhDr. František Dvořák, CSc., chairman of the Czech Association of University Sport; Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček, CSc., Rector of the Czech Technical University

In his speech, Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček, CSc., Rector of the Czech Technical University, also stressed the cultural dimension of the Czech Academic Games, the largest sports event of Czech universities organized by his university for a second time. “It is my great pleasure to greet you at this concert on the occasion of the opening of the 10^th Czech Academic Games on behalf of the Czech Technical University in Prague, the oldest technical university in Europe and the largest technical university in our country. I believe this meeting in the Bethlehem Chapel is going to promote culture, sport and other leisure activities. It is true today more than ever that those who devote more time to computers and live in a virtual world can be knocked down by the blows of the real world, unlike athletes whose personalities are more rounded.”

The chairman of the Czech Association of University Sport, doc. PhDr. František Dvořák, CSc., also greeted the guests, mentioning last year’s celebrations of the 100^th anniversary of the foundation and existence of Czech university sport. He thanked the organizers of the CAG for the preparation and running of the games and wished the student athletes success in their effort to win the title of Czech Academic Champion.

The 10^th CAG are organized by the Institute of Physical Education and Sport of the Czech Technical University in collaboration with the Department of Physical Education of the Czech Agricultural University. The games are held under the auspices and with the support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Interior Ministry and the Prague City Hall.

The concert on the occasion of the ceremonial opening of the 10^th Czech Academic Games featured violinists Jaroslav Svěcený and Julie Svěcená and pianist Václav Mácha who performed works by Jean-Marie Leclair, Ástor Piazolla, Bedřich Smetana, Dmitrij Šostakovič and others.