Home stretch for the Baku European Games organizing committee. Less than two months before the opening of this first edition (June 12 to 28, 2015), the capital of Azerbaijan is hosting the two final test events, in wrestling and boxing, until the end of the weekend. Baku 2015 Sports Director Pierce O’Callaghan (pictured left) told FrancsJeux the reason for these repetitions. And detailed the sporting vision of the continental event.
FrancsJeux: What strategy did you adopt for the organization of the test events for the first European Games?
Pierce O'Callaghan: Unlike the Olympic Games, where they are compulsory, test events can be organized very flexibly at the European Games. For certain sports, we have chosen closed-door events, which are less costly in terms of time and resources. But we organized six full-scale test events, including the gymnastics event which was a great success. At the European Games, the gymnastics competition will be a sort of laboratory for the vision of the president of the European Gymnastics Union, the Frenchman Georges Guelzec, for the future of this sport. We will have three different mats, with several disciplines at the same time, including aerobics and acrobatic gymnastics. There will be no downtime.
Can the European Games, like the Youth Games, serve as a testing ground for Olympic sports?
Of course. This will be the case in Baku, not just for gymnastics. In judo, a team event is included in the program. In the canoe-kayak race, the athletes will compete in a 200m sprint. In basketball, FIBA wants to test a 3x3 event.
In Baku, the judo tournament will ultimately serve as the framework for the European Championships. Has this new development disrupted your organizational plans?
No. We were supposed to have 350 judokas, we will welcome 400, for a tournament organized over 4 days. But we will have the best. The athletes are very motivated at the prospect of competing in these Games, not only in judo. They want to make history by being the first to put their name on the list. The vision of the Association of European Olympic Committees (EOC), in creating this event, was to host the European Championships for all the sports on the program there every four years. The case of judo is consistent with this ambition.
The Baku European Games include 20 sports. Is this the right format?
We were supposed to have 12, we will finally have 20. But the number of sports in the program will depend on the city which will host the Games. The EOC's desire is to keep the event a size in relation to the host city, with controlled costs and without a real application process.
In Baku, Azerbaijan nevertheless gives the impression of having spent lavishly...
The country took the opportunity to acquire the sports equipment it needed. But there is no competition site in the system that has been built specifically for the European Games. Some installations are temporary. The sustainable constructions were decided before the designation of Baku as host city of the Games in 2015.
Should we expect a significant difference in level between sports where the road to the Rio Games passes through Baku, such as table tennis or triathlon, and the others?
It is still difficult to answer, because individual registrations began at the beginning of April. Inevitably, a difference could be felt. In athletics, in particular, the competition will pit teams from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Slovakia, Israel, Denmark… But for a first edition, the level of participation should be higher than expected.
The organizing committee seems to have encountered no major problems, despite a very short preparation time. How to explain it?
Azerbaijan had no experience organizing major international sporting events. The country's authorities knew this. They immediately made the right decision: to call on international experts. Most of the people recruited to major positions have already worked on organizing the Olympic Games.
