Dear Friends,
Being an athlete is all about great discipline, hard work and energy.
Being an athlete with a handicap is all of that, as well as requiring a massive amount of willpower, resilience and determination. I sincerely admire and support all those who have decided to actively participate in sports despite their handicap.
Those to whom fate dealt a more difficult hand than to people with perfect health sooner or later find themselves at a crossroads. They must decide consciously or subconsciously whether to allow a sad, inactive, if you like bitter approach to life to win out, or not to give up and to emerge victorious over their handicap.
It is my great pleasure to be able to assume the patronage of the 2020 Emil Open Games. Several hundred young handicapped athletes from various corners of Europe will be meeting in one place to participate in sporting events, to support each other, to have fun, but also to compete.
These are precisely those people who decided at those imaginary crossroads to not allow the misfortune which they have encountered in life to take the upper hand. I take my hat off to you.
I give my thanks and congratulations to the organisers of this event for their wonderful idea. Young people with a handicap not only have the opportunity to enjoy the games and to taste those heady moments of victory or sombre moments of defeat. The Emil Open Games are also an opportunity to meet up, to make new friends, to draw inspiration, to share and to encourage.
My fingers are crossed that the 9th annual games will offer a wonderful atmosphere and an unforgettable experience.
I hope that all of the participants in the 2020 Emil Open Games will enjoy themselves greatly and would like to wish them the best of luck, not only on the field, but also in their personal lives.
Ivo Vondrák, Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region
