print
´Tomík´ Mascots: figure skaters and ice-hockey players

Quite unusual way how to see their favourite players chose five men, who were almost born with their skates. On the oncoming championship they can pay their experience in movement on the ice to advantage.

 

They all got a chance to clothe mascot´sTomík´s mask. Hand in hand with that came also formidable load – to amuse the fans during the whole tournament. “I used to represent the Czech Republic in figure skating. I am the fivefold champion of the country, I was on the junior championships as well as on European senior ones. At the moment I am part of the skating show travelling all over the world,“ says 26-yrs-old Marek Sedlmajer, one of three skaters who are going to amuse the public in the Sazka Arena.

 

His colleague, 22-yrs-old Karel Šefl, who represented the Czech Republic this January on the World Championship in the category of pairs in Budapest also performed in Mrazík ice-show. The third one, 21-yrs-old Hynek Holeček also feels like at home on the ice. “I used to compete to my 16th birthday and now and I am a coach,“ he says.

 

For all three lads said a good word previous world champion Radka Kovaříková. „The mascot is a very important complement of the championship. So I have chosen these guys, because they are not scared, they are prepared well and they can amuse people. It will be though but I believe they will cope with that,“ she says.

  

Ostrava´s ČEZ Aréna called on ice-hockey players instead of figure skaters. „Both guys can skate very well and I think that they are good showmen,“ blesses the lads Jindřich Šimek, the chief of Ostrava´s mascot team. The one of them is 15-yrs-old Tomáš Janda. „Of course I am a bit worried about it but I believe I can do it,“ says junior player of HC Vítkovice club.

 

Everybody who will clothe Tomik´s mask agreed that it is very nice and cute mask. „I am happy that the lads like it,“ says the author Darina Poláková. „I have only four masks, boys are five. The masks are quite big, one of the lads is tall, the second one qiute small, I gotta think about some multi-purpose size in order to they can alternate in it,“ she smiles. Although the mask is quite airy, Ms.Poláková assumes that the lads may sweat a bit in it. They do know: “I used to skate in much worse costumes than this one is. I don´t have any problems with skating in it but it´s true that it´s quite hot inside. I am going to wear only underwear into my mask,“says Sedlmajer. „I haven´t triend Tomík on yet, but I like sweating. I am going to wear ribano under it,“ claims Patrik Tulej.

 

There are going to be both two mascots for every match in Ostrava. „We worked out a kind of a show – each mascot will fancy one team,“ uncovers the mystery Jindřich Šimek. „We also plan to do some small funny pageants. You can see it during the match during the game between the Czech Republic and Russia for the first time,“ says Šimek. Alhough they have had only one meeting so far, Šimek believes that till the beginning of the 2004 IIHF World Championship they´ll become familiar with the whole show thing.

[ Back ]