It’s three weeks since The World Games 2017. We’ve talked to some athletes and officials to find out their reflections about the Games. In this series follows several articles with people around the world talking about the Main Event of the year, The World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
I thought TWG2017 were great, it was awesome to explore the city, hang out with the climbers, and compete with a world class group. The atmosphere was amazing. There was always someone willing to help wherever you went, and the organisation was perfect. Super easy to get around and you really felt part of the city and the Games. The competitors stayed together and ate together and this made you feel like you were really part of something huge.
My best memory from the Games is walking out to the huge crowd during the Opening Ceremony. This is something that I will never forget. It felt amazing to be part of a larger team and to get such a good reception.
Adam Ludford (RSA), competed in Bouldering / Sport Climbing
The World Games was as always a great event. I am honoured and really appreciate the opportunity to be a part of such a great event!
Best for me was the great atmosphere and the whole event with all the athletes of all sports. We as bowlers never get to feel that otherwise.
Thank you to all organisers. Everyone I met was nice and helpful to us athletes. However the spectating area for the bowling should've been built a little different - it was tough to see much from there!
Osku Palermaa (FIN), competed in Bowling
Concerning my work in Social Media, the most precious information I have got today is that WAKO gained more than 2,000,000 people spreading information about activities during The World Games on social media platforms, only by liking and sharing among the followers, without sponsoring any of the posts. This is information for the period from 20th July -2nd August. This is really fantastic!
The World Games 2017 was a fantastic event: exciting, dynamic, and instructive. I loved the opportunity to see live many different sports; to understand the many different ways of practising sports.
My best memory of TWG 2017 was the evening of the finals of Kickboxing, where we had a sold-out sport hall "Orbita" with a fantastic audience, that was cheering for the athletes with such an adrenaline input. The atmosphere in the hall during the finals was fantastic!
To the organisers I would like to say: thank you very much for your hard work, professionalism and the daily contact we had. Special thanks to all the volunteers! These young people were amazing. So kind, so careful, so attentive, and very well prepared for all work. The network of volunteers was the most precious thing at The World Games. I only hope that they will have some formal benefit of this engagement in their future life. It was very touching when I was saying goodbye to the volunteers at the info desk in the Sofitel Hotel, where we spent ten days together!
The World Games 2021 is of course the main goal that WAKO Kickboxing has in the near future. There were some restrictions as WAKO kickboxing was an invitational sport in Wroclaw, but we have a full heart of expectations that we will become an official sport at the next edition of The World Games.
Marijana Pelevic, Media Officer, WAKO Kickboxing
I personally had a great experience, everything was well organised. One of my best memories is when the Dutch Korfball team took their place on the stands and they were cheering a lot for the Dutch players. Not only after a strike, but also before throwing the ball!
