Snowy ski championship sans fans

For more than a year, organizers of the upcoming World Skiing Championship slated for Liberec in February have worried whether they would have snow for the event. Snowfall and freezing conditions so far this year have eased that concern. But other worries continue to emerge, the latest of which is the interest of local fans in the championship, perhaps exacerbated by weaker performances of some of Czech skiing's main flag bearers this season.

In contrast to last year, when thousands of people watched a Tour de Ski event held at Prague Castle, the same race staged early this year at the Výstaviště grounds of Holešovice attracted only several hundred of the most devout skiing enthusiasts.

"It's true that the atmosphere could have been better," said elite Czech skier Lukáš Bauer after the recent race.

The organizing committee's spokesman, Zdeněk Soudný, told The Prague Post in mid-December that revenues from advanced ticket sales trailed expectations.

"We expected to clear some 120 million Kč in admissions, but we've so far sold tickets worth merely 20 million Kč," Soudný said at the time. "It seems people are still waiting to see what happens," Soudný said.

At the same time, Czech skiers have been doing little to pique home fan interest.

Bauer, who last season dominated the Tour de Ski event and later won the World Cup, struggled in the Tour de Ski races this season. In Prague, he finished a lowly 48th. Overall, Bauer finished 11th after the Tour finale in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Jan. 4.

Bauer said he was determined to improve in the World Championship. "It'll be the highlight of the season," he said.

Not even ski jumper Jakub Janda appears to be a major box office draw before the championship. Three years ago, Janda won the Four Hills competition held in Germany and Austria, as well as the World Cup. This year, Janda finished 22nd overall in the season's Four Hills competition that ended in Bischofshofen, Austria, Jan. 6.

One downhill skiing highlight is Šárka Záhrobská, who won for the second time this season a place on the podium in a World Cup race after finishing third in Zagreb, Croatia, Jan. 4. Two years ago, Záhrobská celebrated her first podium finish in the World Cup just in Zagreb. Since then, she became the world champion in women's slalom in 2007 and became an elite competitor in slalom. Záhrobská ranked fourth after the first round but eventually ended the race just behind Germany's Maria Riesch and Italy's Nicola Giusi.

Racing sportsmanship

Eyes of sports fans worldwide are focused on the annual Dakar Rally that for the first time takes place outside Africa and in Argentina - due to security concerns. Aleš Loprais, who drives one of the six Czech trucks that entered the competition, was the beneficiary of old-fashioned good sportsmanship. Loprais, who had been considered a favorite in the truck competition, was halted by a broken clutch near the end of the race's second stage Jan. 5. Loprais received priceless help from competing Czech driver Robert Randýsek, who towed Loprais' Tatra truck with a rope attached to his MAN vehicle for the stage's final 37 kilometers to the finish line. "It's only thanks to him that we could continue in the race," Loprais said.

Looking to the Slovaks

Although Czech hockey teams have yet to score a major victory this year, hockey is still proving a big draw. The junior national team arrived home from the World Under-20 Championship in Canada, ending with a disappointing sixth-place finish. Meanwhile, rival Slovakia was battling for a medal until the last moment, eventually finishing fourth. The relative success of the Slovaks, who traditionally trail the Czechs in hockey prowess, caused some Czech officials to speculate whether the Czech Hockey Association (CSLH) should follow the Slovak model and cede the junior team to top-flight senior Extraliga competition. CSLH Chairman Tomáš Král said there was no way the Extraliga could accommodate the junior team, adding, "The level of the Extraliga competition is too high for juniors."

Nagano is back

The puck drops again on the first-ever opera with a hockey-based plot as performances will soon be back at Prague's Stavovské divadlo. Four performances of the "Nagano" opera - written by actor Jaroslav Dušek and composer Martin Smolka - will show at the Stavovské Theater Jan. 22 and 29, and Feb. 6 and 18. The opera celebrates the Czech hockey team's memorable triumph in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. It was first staged at Stavovské divadlo four years ago, and received the Alfred Radok Prize for the best Czech theater piece in 2004.

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com