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Dominik Šabata from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Martin Konečný from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, both students of Brno University of Technology (BUT), have become European champions in cycle-ball in the U23 category. On Saturday 19 September in Kamenz, Germany, they defeated an Austrian pair 2:1 in the final. For Czech cycle-ball, this is the first European title in this category in 25 years.Two BUT students are European cycle-ball champions. They won gold in a dramatic final | Author: Pavel Šmíd
For both students it was also their first European Championship. They have been competing together for only their second season. “It was our first European Championship, so we did not have high expectations. We still could not believe it, not even when we were standing on the winners' podium. It is a dream I have had for the last six years,” says Martin Konečný, a third-year student of a Bachelor's study programme at the BUT Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
His team-mate Dominik Šabata is in the second year of the Bachelor's programme in Civil Engineering at the BUT Faculty of Civil Engineering. He has been playing cycle-ball since the age of seven for TJ Sokol Šitbořice. “When I scored to make it 2:1, you can see that I did not even celebrate. I probably did not believe it had gone in. After the final whistle I had no idea what to do: whether to jump, cry or laugh. I had never even won the national championship, I finished second in the final about four times and I kept telling myself that one day it had to come,” he says, describing the decisive moments of the final.
They won the European title in a dramatic final
The start of the championship did not go well for the Czech pair at all. In the group stage they first lost to Switzerland 1:2 and to Germany 1:3. After two matches, it looked as though the tournament might end for Šabata and Konečný without them advancing.
Then came the turnaround. The Czech pair beat Germany 2 by 4:2 and France 3:1. Thanks to a better goal difference they advanced to the semi-final, where they met the first Czech pair, David Petr and Michal Musil from Svitávka. They beat them 4:2.
In the final against Austria, Martin Konečný opened the score after a corner. The Austrians then equalised, but around three minutes before the end Dominik Šabata decided the match with a goal to make it 2:1. The Czech pair defended the remainder of the match and were able to celebrate the European title.
Football on a bicycle
Cycle-ball is an indoor sport in which two pairs face each other on a court measuring 11 × 14 metres. Their aim is to get the ball into a goal measuring 2 × 2 metres. It is played on a special bicycle with a fixed gear, without brakes or a freewheel. Players can therefore move both forwards and backwards and control the bicycle by pedalling alone, playing the ball with the bicycle or with their head.
Touching the ball with the hand or foot is prohibited, with the exception of the goalkeeper making a save. A match consists of two halves of seven minutes each.
Cycle-ball has the strongest tradition in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czechia. In this country, however, it is a relatively small sport pursued by only a few dozen clubs. In Šitbořice the local club has around twenty active players, roughly half of whom are junior players. “I hope that this success will help our sport to gain a little more public awareness again,” says Šabata.Šabata and Konečný were not the only Czech pair at the championship. David Petr and Michal Musil took bronze. | Author: Pavel Šmíd
A success for Czechia and for Šitbořice
Šabata and Konečný were not the only Czech pair at the championship. David Petr and Michal Musil won bronze. Czechia thus won two medals at a single U23 European Championship for the first time in history – gold and bronze.
For TJ Sokol Šitbořice, where both students train, it is also the greatest success since the club was founded in 1992. Both of them prepared for the European Championship throughout the year without a summer break and train intensively three times a week under the guidance of Karel Berger. “The lads have achieved an amazing thing. They both worked hard and it is absolutely deserved for the effort they have put in over the last few years,” says Karel Berger, coach of Šitbořice.
Combining elite sport with study is not always easy. “Managing training sessions during term, and especially during the examination period, is sometimes demanding. At the same time, it is a great way to take my mind off school, which is really difficult at times,” describes Šabata.
Konečný travels 70 kilometres one way from Brno to Šitbořice for training, three times a week. “I use the faculty as my base. Between school and training I rest there or finish off projects, and then I set off for Šitbořice,” he adds.
Both students already have another season ahead of them. On Saturday 26 September they will take to the court as sparring partners for the Šitbořice top-league team at the Czech elite championship in Zlín. In the autumn they will then face the first men's league and the fight for promotion to the top league.