(Liberec, 25 February 2023) - The World Agility Championship 2023 in Liberec is approaching fast. It will return to the city under Jested after six years, and will take place on 4 - 8 October. Preparations for the largest cynological competition in the Czech Republic are in full swing and the organizers have already passed the readiness check by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), which turned out to be excellent.
The FCI representatives came to Prague and got acquainted with the state of preparations, and the championship programme was also checked in detail. This year, for the first time in the history of the competition, it is different than usual. The championship will be one day longer and there will be more height categories. The competition itself will take place in the Home Credit Arena in Liberec, which is already well known to the committee from past competitions, as it is the third time the championship has been held in Liberec and is thus the only city in the world to host the world competition repeatedly.
"The FCI representative is interested in everything related to the championship, the presentation lasted several hours. They were interested in the state of preparations, how we are doing, what everything is ready. We are even more under the microscope because the championship will be the first time under the new rules, when one height category has been extended, which means one third more dogs at the start," said Michaela Bakrlíková, Executive Director of the Organizing Committee of the World Agility Championships 2023.
Hundreds of competitors from approximately 55 countries from all over the world are expected to arrive. Excluded from the championship are competitors from Russia and Belarus. However, the exact number of competitors will be known after the qualifiers in each country. "The qualifiers are not over yet, some countries already had them last year, others are still waiting for competitors. According to the results of the qualifiers we will know exactly how many participants will come to compete," said Michaela Bakrlíková.
The qualification is still awaiting the domestic competitors, whose performance suggests that they will be among the favourites in Liberec this autumn. "Our representatives have been steadily on the podium in the competitions, so expectations are high. In addition, the championship will be unique for our athletes in the support of the home audience and being held in a domestic environment," noted the race director.
Preparations for the world race in Liberec are on schedule. Tickets are disappearing from the pre-sale, and competitors and fans are also very interested in accommodation. "After the unwanted covid break, which limited the organisation of large events, including agility competitions, there is a great demand for top-level competitions. We expect at least three thousand fans, both domestic and foreign, to arrive and stay in Liberec for a whole week. Thousands more visitors will come for the weekend or shorter stays," says Pavel Jakubec, Executive Director of the Organizing Committee for the production and marketing of MS Agility 2023.
The cost of organizing the World Championships is approximately CZK 10 million. However, according to the organisers, the expected benefit for Liberec and the surrounding area will be around CZK 45 million, of which the largest part of which is accommodation and food. The partners of the event are the City of Liberec and the Liberec Region, the Wellness Hotel Babylon and the Home Credit Arena Liberec.
