European Style and Accuracy Landing Championships The 11th FAI European and 8th FAI Junior European Style and Accuracy Landing Championships will be held in Klatovy 2025.   The Aero Club of Czech Republic the Aeroklub Pizen Bory Sokolovska welcome athletes to vie for the title of European Champion (male and female) for 2025 in the following:  Accuracy Landing,  Style,  Individual Overall,  Team Accuracy Landing,  Overall Nation Style and Accuracy Landing and....Junior European Champions (male and female) in:    Accuracy Landing,  Style,   Individual Overall The Competition will take place at Airfield Klatovy (Josef Hubacek Airfield) in Klatovy Czech Republic.  Provisional Entries are due by April 23rd FAI - Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Design by Penceo - LAB A new sculpture that blends 1980s nostalgia and modern art has captured the imagination of visitors in Klatovy the piece depicts Sylvester Stallone's iconic character Rocky Balboa in his victory pose and is crafted from nearly 50,000 VHS tapes The monumental sculpture is the work of Czech artist Jan Kadlec and is part of his ongoing project The Sistine Chapel is Dead (Sixtinská kaple je mrtvá) The piece made its world premiere at the Church of St Kadlec’s creation stands at approximately ten meters tall and is a nostalgic commentary on the 1990s VHS boom in Czechia symbolizing the degradation of quality with each subsequent copy made—a commentary on both the passage of time and the consumable nature of media The choice of the church as the backdrop adds another layer of meaning The piece is more than just a nod to 80s and 90s pop culture Kadlec reflects on the role of consumerism and the idea of image degradation in the age of mass production The sculpture taps into this visual history using VHS tapes to recreate an image that was never fully authentic much like the countless copies of Hollywood films circulating during that time the work speaks about the recycling of the original image just as big films were brought to us in the 1980s and were constantly copied leading to a distortion of the original image as we never saw the real one," Kadlec told journalists at the unveiling of Copy The piece also has a significant cultural context the 1980s marked the rise of consumerism and the “age of disposability.” Today society finds itself at the peak of this trend where value is often tied to consumption rather than preservation The church setting gives the work an additional layer of meaning making the Rocky sculpture appear almost like a revered religious figure—"a modern-day Jesus," as Kadlec humorously refers to it Kadlec’s work isn't just an isolated piece; it is part of the broader Sculptures in the Streets (Sochy v ulicích) festival an annual event showcasing large-scale sculptures in public spaces across the Czech Republic the festival focuses on works by artists who were influenced by the teachings of Hugo Demartini an influential sculptor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague during the 1990s Kadlec himself was a student of this school and draws on that legacy combining his sculptural work with a critical examination of culture invites visitors to reflect on the ways in which media—once the epitome of modern technology—can become a relic with its own unique history embedded in its very form Copy isn’t the first time VHS tapes have been used as an artistic medium. Notable projects in the genre include the work of Italian artist Lorenzo Durantini who utilized the medium in his collection 2,216 VHS Tapes which included towers built from videos and rooms filled with unspooled tape Get a free 30-min consultation with our mortgage experts to explore financing options Visitors can now see Copy at the Church of St. Lawrence in Klatovy which can be disassembled into ten pieces for transportation will also be presented at other venues across Czechia in the future Your morning coffee deserves a great companion. Why not enjoy it with our daily newsletter? News from Czechia, curated insights, and inspiring stories in English. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s Sébastien Ogier is the early leader of the Central European Rally which began from the Czech capital city of Prague on Thursday This is the second edition of this cross-border event as a round of the FIA World Rally Championship While the rally base is situated in the German region of Bavaria it was some 270 kilometres to the north where the action began on Thursday morning with the pre-event shakedown on the outskirts of Prague In the afternoon the cars crossed over the ceremonial start ramp in the city’s historic castle district a short super special at the nearby Velká Chuchle racecourse Sébastien Ogier set the quickest time to take the early rally lead 0.6 seconds in front of his team-mate Takamoto Katsuta the route took the crews south to Klatovy for the longer second stage of 11.78 kilometres returning to action after sitting out the previous round in Chile completed a strong start with the sixth-best time in SS2 putting him fourth overall and just 2s from the lead with Sami Pajari a further 3s back in eighth as he begins his first asphalt rally aboard the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC 2024 Official Partners 80 skydivers from Finland gathered together in Klatovy to try to break the national record after 9 record attempts it finally happened on the last jump of the day The Finns jumped from four Skyvans flying at 18,000 feet “Skydive Pink Klatovy did a great job with everything and they helped us to make this record happen” said the event’s head organizer Petri Mastola The record didn’t come without a lot of work The Finns started to train for the record in 2015 and since then there were altogether 11 bigway-camps They worked hard to make this happen” The youngest skydiver on the record was 27 years old and the oldest one 71 The jump experience varied from about 200 to 6000 jumps The record event was organized by Petri Mastola The previous Finnish national record was a 63-way and was made in 2009 in Empuriabrava This record is really impressive when you consider there are only 735 licensed skydivers in Finland (488 have C or D licence) over 10% of Finnish skydivers were on the record The video below shows the record and the vibe Finnish Record 80-way Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" You have successfully joined our subscriber list About Skydive Mag Contact Us Advertise Terms of Service Advertising Terms Contributor Terms Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Skydive Mag Limited is a company registered in England and Wales at Companies House with company number 06587800 Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie PolicyWebsite by Kevin Blackledge Central European Rally 2024 data: entry list + itinerary All the information you need before the second edition of the WRC's cross-border tarmac test Words by The penultimate round of the 2024 World Rally Championship is upon us with the second edition of the Central European Rally taking place across Germany It is the first all-asphalt round of the championship since the Croatia Rally and offers an opportunity for Thierry Neuville and Hyundai to clinch the WRC drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns weather is bound to play a part on an event that featured cars from all three manufacturers on last year’s podium Here is all you need to know ahead of round 12 of the WRC Total 44 crews 10 Rally1 crews 20 Rally2 crews (15 WRC2) 13 Rally3 crews (10 WRC3) Mikkelsen is back in the third Hyundai for the third all-asphalt round of the season the field of Rally1 cars numbers 10 although there are a number of changes to the teams’ lineups for what is a very different event Esapekka Lappi’s work is done for the year and he steps back to allow Andrea Mikkelsen to return alongside Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta comes back into the fold after being benched for Chile The Japanese driver is nominated to score manufacturers’ championship points ahead of the WRC season finale in his home country Sami Pajari stays on board the fourth GR Yaris for his third Rally1 outing of the year while Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans – both theoretically still title contenders – lead the team M-Sport will once again field a three-car entry of Ford Puma Rally1s Alongside full-timers Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster veteran privateer Jourdan Serderidis returns for his third start of 2024 Proven asphalt ace Rossel has a last chance to overhaul Solberg for the WRC2 crown the second-tier entry is surprisingly slim with 15 of them chasing WRC2 points – one fewer than in Chile WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg completed his championship season with fourth place in Chile but will still contest CER in a non-scoring capacity in his Toksport-prepared Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Solberg’s nearest challenger Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2) will be gunning to better the Swede’s total as he has 10 points to drop from a previous round His team-mate Nikolay Gryazin is no longer mathematically in contention for the title but will look to end the season on a high and was winner of the previous asphalt event in Croatia Pajari’s Rally1 chance means that he will not contest his seventh scoring WRC2 round until Rally Japan next month Two more Toksport Škoda entries come in the form of Josh McErlean and Gus Greensmith although the latter won’t be scoring points on this event He will instead aim to do team-mate Solberg a favor by beating Pajari in Japan Fifth-seeded Kajetan Kajetanowicz is also Škoda-mounted The lone Ford Fiesta Rally2 in the field will be piloted by William Creighton who completes his season looking to improve on a best finish to date of fifth in Latvia Only one Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 will cross the start ramp too He is joined on the entry list by countrymen Věroslav Cvrček and Petr Nešetřil Joining veteran Armin Kremer as a home entry from Germany will be Marijan Griebel ERC3 champion Kohn is among those competing in WRC3 With the Junior WRC and WRC3 titles already decided only pride is on the line among the third-tier entrants The entry is headed by Mattéo Chatillon and his Renault Clio Rally3 as the French partnership looks to break its duck in the category having twice already finishing second – including on Croatia Rally’s asphalt stages Germans Hermann Gaßner Jr and Timo Weigert (who is not registered for WRC3) pilot the other two Clios in the field Otherwise the entry is entirely comprised of Ford Fiesta Rally3s Czech locals Jan Černý (winner on the Monte Carlo Rally) and ERC3 dominator Flip Kohn will fancy their chances while former circuit racer Tristan Charpentier and Polish teenager Hubert Laskowski could also be in the mix The three winners of the WRC’s Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Program will take up their prize drives on the event The Central European Rally’s second edition has much in common with its first but also includes a significant amount of new mileage The base remains in Germany but has moved to Karpfham some 20 miles south-west of last year’s base at Passau but still close to the border with Austria But the event again begins in the Czech Republic The ceremonial start is in Prague’s Castle District on Thursday afternoon and competitive action begins with the Velká Chuchle superspecial stage Thursday also includes a second stage – the first of three runs through the 7.3 miles of Klatovy a much-extended linear version of last year’s unusual two-lap stage An overnight halt and remote service take place at Janovice nad Úhlavou before a full day’s running of nearly 70 miles in the Czech Republic on Friday before taking in the longest stage of the rally the 16.5-mile Strašín which shares much of its route with last year’s Zvotoky test albeit in the opposite direction Crews will face their third pass of Klatovy before returning to the remote service area for a late lunch They will then repeat Strašín and Šumavské Hoštice before travelling to the rally base in Germany for overnight service Saturday has the most competitive mileage at some 76.7 miles and takes place in both Germany and Austria It features a repeated loop of three stages beginning with the all-new Granit und Wald which is around 12.5 miles long The appropriately named Beyond Borders comes next a 15-mile stage that begins in Germany and finishes in Austria Its route is mostly new but uses some roads that formed part of last year’s Mühltal test Austria’s Schärdinger Innviertel is the shortest stage of the loop at 10.8 miles and is almost entirely new to the rally with only a short section in common with last year’s stage of the same name Crews will return to Karpfham for lunchtime service before repeating the loop in the afternoon the rally stays in Germany throughout Sunday’s leg Two passes of two stages make up 33.6 miles of action with no service a slightly shorter version of last year’s stage which will again form the powerstage on its second pass Tags: , , 2024 DirtFish https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2024/10/7JLsedEX-Evans12CER23cm332-780x520.jpg October 14 Sign up today and be the first to know about special offers Legal Last Sunday the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent joined over 50 members and friends of the Thanet Jewish Community for a special and rare celebration – a Siyyum The siyyum (completion) is an event which celebrates the writing of a new Torah scroll the completion of repairs to an existing one – a very special Czech Memorial Scroll which was owned by the Jewish Community of Klatovy in the Czech Republic.A Jewish businessman visiting Prague discovered a cache of over 1,500 Torah scrolls that had been stolen from other Jewish communities and stored there He arranged for their purchase and they were transferred to London in 1964 where a programme of restoration was set in motion Restored scrolls have been loaned to synagogues worldwide kept and used as a memorial to those who died in the Holocaust The Thanet and District Reform Synagogue is custodian of the Klatovy scroll the Community raised several thousand pounds to finance its repair The return of the scroll to the synagogue is a major event for the Community At the siyyum Marc Michaels completed the writing in the presence of the community – a symbolic event It is about 200 years old and is a link with the Klatovy JewishCommunity In the Thanet synagogue there is a memorial tree on each leaf of which is written the name of one of those 278 Klatovy Jews who were deported firstly to Teresienstadt and then Jiricek, picked sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022, was traded to the Wild last week for future picks and defense prospect Daemon Hunt.  The 21-year-old met with Minnesota reporters for the first time on Tuesday and he admitted that Minnesota being cold is one of two things he knows about the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  "I'm excited, right? I heard it's hockey state so that's the first thing I know. And the second thing is it's freaking cold out here, right?" Jiricek said Tuesday when asked what he knows about his new home. "Those two things, but I'm excited to be Wild right now." Jiricek grew up in Klatovy, Czech Republic, which has a latitude of 49.3956° N. That's nearly five full degrees further north than St. Paul (44.9537° N). But even though he grew up at a higher longitude, the winters in Minnesota are more harsh than the winters he grew up with.  According to Climate-Data.org, January is Klatovy's coldest month of the year, with an average January temp of 29.3 degrees Fahrenheit. January is also the coldest average month in Minneapolis, where the average temp is a balmy 15.3 degrees Fahrenheit.  Even though Jiricek is a high-profile prospect, the Wild revealed Tuesday that the plan is to let the 21-year-old get acclimated with a lot of practice time before he's asked to suit up and play the blue line with the Wild in a regular season game.  By Joe Nelson is the head of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin weather and sports coverage for Bring Me The News Bring Me The Sports and Bring Me The Weather a screening of the movie Sight and Sound says is the best movie ever made saying he'd killed the mother of his child which features a swimming beach and splash pad Kaprizov's pass and two punches to the Wild superstar's face made the cut KLATOVY (Czech Republic) - Spain head into the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship 2019 having won seven of the last eight editions You have to go all the way back to 2008 for the last time Spain were not contesting the Final when they missed out on the podium altogether An impressive list of names have starred in the event and made the transition into the senior game; including those that triumphed in Belgrade earlier this summer to land the coveted FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 title Silvia Dominguez was MVP in 2007 after lifting her nation to their first title at the event and Alba Torrens - who missed out on the aforementioned EuroBasket success - took the top accolade two summers later despite finishing on the second step of the podium They set the tone in establishing Spain among the elite contenders after making three Finals in four years including successive defeats in 2009 and 2010 with Marta Xargay another current star to make an All-Star Five Spain have amassed an astonishing 62-4 win-loss record at the event with seven golds and a silver in a dominant eight-year stretch Here is a look back at a few of the standout performers during that span: Casas helped the Spanish dominance begin as MVP during the 2011 edition after averaging 11.8 points along with 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game Another title followed in 2012 with Casas leading her side with 17 points in the Final victory over Russia - making the All-Star Five once again though the MVP award went to Ksenia Tikhonenko Casas was a member of the recent gold-winning side at FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 - six years after being part of the  team that won the title in 2013 She is a regular in European competition since a teenager and returns to Spain with Valencia next season Ndour has now completed an MVP double in taking the top honor at U20 and senior level The Dakar-born center averaged a near double-double with 17.3 points and 9.8 rebounds during Spain's flawless title run in 2013 and followed with a place in the All-Star Five in 2014 as they had to settle for silver Ndour was playing at FIBA Women's EuroBasket for the first time a year later became an Olympic medalist and enjoyed her first taste of gold at senior level in Belgrade after leading Spain to victory as the MVP Romero led Spain to the title as MVP in Lanzarote 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists including a 22-point haul in the Final Romero had joined Ndour on the All-Star Five in 2014 as they missed out on the title to France Having already broken into the senior setup by playing at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2014 and winning the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2017 title Romero has since missed out on the last two major events whilst playing EuroLeague Women for the first time out of college Quevedo joined Romero in the All-Star Five in Lanzarote before securing another spot in the lineup 12 months later as Spain successfully defended their crown The forward's all-round game was on display in Matosinhos with 10.9 points 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists although the MVP award went to Italian sensation Cecilia Zandalasini Quevedo made her senior debut in between U20 summers and went on to feature at the 2016 Olympics in Rio Next in line hoping to make a breakthrough into the senior side will be the competition's last two MVP winners in Maria Araujo (2017) and Iris Mbulito (2018) with the former having been part of the initial 17-player roster this summer Check out our Players to Watch guide to see all the names to keep an eye on in Klatovy Spectator tickets are now on sale for the WRC's first ever tri-nation event Words by the World Rally Championshp’s first tri-nation event Wednesday’s shakedown stage begins the rally action in Germany’s Tittling region but the opening competitive phase of the rally begins in the Czech Republic with a ceremonial start and super-special stage in the heart of Prague on Thursday Cars and crews will be based in Prague on Wednesday evening Friday is the longest day with a planned 80 competitive miles in the Czech Republic but with a unique format The morning loop will feature an additional spectator stage through the Bohemian town of Klatovy where the mid-day tire fitting zone will also be based The rally leaves the Czech Republic for Saturday and Sunday where each of the final two legs will feature stages in both Germany and Austria Six stages are planned for Saturday with a further four on Sunday Central European Rally’s itinerary remains provisional as approval procedures are ongoing, but spectator tickets are now on sale and can be purchased here Elite skydivers from all over Europe (and a few from across the ocean) gathered this week at Skydive Pink Klatovy in Czech Republic ready to break a record – a 100-way out-facing Diamond Representatives from no less than 21 countries showed up to face the challenge that Dieter Kirsch Patrick Passe and Milko Hodgkinson prepared for us The organizers started working on the project almost one year ago From Dieter’s point of view it was “a piece of cake” The manual for the dive is worth a study even if you are not a big-way addict just because the dive was so ambitious and the plan for it was so carefully designed Skydive Pink Klatovy worked hard to have everything ready for the invasion with Thomas Lewetz and Robert ‘Baerchen’ Jastram in charge This one didn’t come that close to success To this date the biggest complete out-facing diamond is a 64-way one The D100 event started on Wednesday with four training jumps done by separate groups The first two jumps were done with the center 25-way coordinated by Milko the 38-way Front coordinated by Dieter and the 37-way Back coordinated by Patrick For the last two jumps the groups went bigger with a 49-way Base and a 51-way group the teams building first classical diamonds than doing the second point on that… just because we could ☺ On Thursday the morale was high and the team was ready to go BIG despite the clouds that challenged us all day but without succeeding to build the diamond perfectly The front of the diamond did a spectacular job jump after jump The back had a few ‘dramas’ and small mistakes to fix On the first jump we had one person under the formation on the second one just one damn grip missing and on the third one there was a wave strong enough to break the last 5-6 people in the tail.It was close Friday morning welcomed us with a perfect blue sky they could almost see the amazing pictures that they were going to make We went up… only to have a spectacular build in the front again and an ‘impressive’ funnel in the back When a formation as fragile as this one collapses Back on the ground and in the debrief room with the organizers stressing again the keys that would make this formation happen – discipline on approach They also decided for the next jump to slow down the base a little when the formation was close to completion to help the outside people avoid the floating problems that were observed One change was made and the amazing Pete Allum joined the team One more short dirt-dive and the team was up into the air again You could feel the concentration and the determination of the people in the airplane Everyone was ready… and red light… green light The 100-way out-facing diamond built with the precision of a Swiss clock – or some would say German engineering There was some tension in the back but people fought it like heroes and the Diamond flew for 6 seconds before break-off Of course we could not know for sure we did it before watching the videos but it’s always nice to land shouting with joy just because we all felt how amazing the jump was The remarks during the debrief were difficult to hear after the first “We did it!” the team applauding and shouting like crazy and people embracing each other This amazing team just set a new record – the biggest outfacing diamond ever built We’ll see what challenge the organizers have for us tomorrow “We have been working on this project for many months The most important thing was the selection But the interest for this project was so high that the selection was easy It is very difficult and expensive to go every time to US for this kind of event and the skills level of the European skydivers is great Even with the high skills of the skydivers taking part the formation was so difficult so tricky to fly that it was never guaranteed “Dieter and I have been talking for some years to do some high challenging events in Europe because there has been a lack of them in recent years. We had an amazing one last year in Empuria, the European Challenge which was such a success We knew we’ll have a super event and a big challenge for the European skydivers also this year with the D100.” On the possibility of success: “You have to believe that it’s going to happen But you never know… the weather can play against you things can happen… With this formation sometimes it was difficult to spot the exact problems “The key of success was slowing down the base when the formation was close to completing That trick and an incredible teamwork made the skydive It was very important for us to show that Europeans can make this kind of challenging events that you could lately find in US On the 100-way diamond successful video: “When I saw this video for the first time I said to the cameraman: ‘okay… Now I want to see it in full speed’ He looked at me and said: ‘this is in full speed!’ It was such a beautiful skydive!” I have been thinking of nothing except this skydive for the last 2 months a week to let it sink… I am happy about this project On the start of the project: “I was initially approached by Skydive Pink Klatovy with the idea to do a challenging formation Baerchen suggested the dive and I liked it then Milko and we started really working on it.” On the difficult parts of organizing this event: “there were no difficult parts ☺… I was very happy to work with Patrick and Milko, there are the easiest people in the world to work with. They are world class organizers, they know what to do and it is a pleasure to work with them. For sure we will have some new challenges in the future for the European skydivers. We also found here in Skydive Pink Klatovy a great environment ‘Baerchen’ Jastram and the DZ did for this event was outstanding” I had good confidence when I arrived here about the possibility of success because the people here were very very good The captains did an excellent job with their choices “I had good confidence when I arrived here about the possibility of success I thought that the front of the diamond would be more difficult but because of the quality of the skills the front was complete on every jump did a spectacular job and we were successful so I mainly had to take care of the 49-way base.” On future projects: “Based on the success that we had both last year with the European Challenge and now with D100 – and don’t get me wrong – we were lucky with the weather with the team – everything helps to make an event successful when everything is working well around you – I can say for sure you will see more European projects like this in the future.” The Complete 100way Outfacing Diamond jump Planes are like women – they make lots of noise and cost a lot of money… but we still love them ‘When Baerchen first told me about this project with a 100-way I told him we don’t have the planes He told me: ‘work on it!’… so I did I am very happy that Skydive Pink Klatovy was able to offer the platform for the big diamond I invested 100% of my time and ability to make it happen I am very proud we hosted this event for some of the best European skydivers It was one of the most super cool skydives I have ever seen!” ‘Baerchen’ is Skydive Pink Klatovy‘s main Load Organizer – the man with the idea for the event and for the formation – the 100-way outfacing diamond: “I had this idea for many years worked hard with the DZ to make it happen and we did We really wanted to offer a perfect organization to the participants With two days left of the event and with the incredible Diamond in our pockets the organizers presented us the next challenge: the team was going to try a 2 points 100-way WITH TOTAL BREAK!! The cheers of the crowd on hearing the plan were deafening… On Saturday we did only two jumps; one in the morning but not good enough… On Sunday blue skies told us ‘good morning’ Klatovy was going to say good-bye in style It’s an incredible feeling to do a jump and feel… perfection… We got the 2 points so easy… We held the second point for a long time We landed still feeling ‘high’ In the debrief room the smiles on Dieter’s One more jump – OF COURSE we prepared to go for the third point with total break!… Up into the air again… and another perfect jump I must honestly admit I didn’t think we’d do it… Even after watching the videos the feeling was “… did we really do that?! There are few moments in our skydiving careers when you feel… truly blessed Amazing things can happen when you put together a great organisation all the stars aligned! Thank you Dieter Kirsch Skydive Pink Klatovy and all my teammates for creating these pieces of history together #Chapter 4 – Patrick’s Closing Comments “To me, this D-100 event was my best event of this kind, and one of the top five in my skydiving career. Last year, the Skydive European Challenge in Empuria where we made 4 sequential World Records with 106 people we added some more magic by making a very challenging formation that skydivers have dreamed about for a very long time This 100-way Diamond flew so nicely: it was the perfect skydive I booked 5 planes for next year for more or less the same dates… so keep tuned “We finished the event by touching the deeper meaning of large formation sequential flying These consecutive 2-point and 3-point 100-ways with total separation between each formation were just perfect and it showed the true quality of this European group have the deep feeling there is at the moment a big momentum in the large formation community in Europe for the high quality events We want to use this momentum to achieve more challenges in the near future More news to come about future projects that we will organise!”  3-point 100-way, Day 5, 10 August 2014 Andreea started skydiving at 16 years old and the step between hobby and passion was almost immediately made former captain of TNT 4-way team and a Romanian Airclub athlete Playing in the white-hot atmosphere created by a rousing support for the hometown Czechs, Hungary managed to prevail 88-85 in the second of those games with Studer coming up big during overtime and Dubei amassing a scintillating 27 points "I was very excited and I had some downs during the game "We hadn't beaten Czech Republic in the last couple of years and we really wanted to do this for both the win itself and because it was very important to give us even more confidence "It was quite difficult to play in the atmosphere and especially on the free-throw line because we were not used at youth level to having so many fans making so much noise and booing us it also gave us an extra kick and determination to show everyone that we could win the game As for her major contributions in the extra session Studer says the reason was quite simple: "I saw that some of the other key players in the team were getting tired and needed a lift in overtime "I felt an impulse to do something extra and so I just tried it and it worked out for us "It feels really great to play in a FIBA World Championship youth event for the first time and especially as I am one of the younger players on the team "I just hope that I can learn a lot from it." was the established leader for Hungary coming into the competition and her contributions so far have shown why she also reiterated the importance of beating the Czech team and after last year's bronze medal at the U16 European Championship she is now cautiously eyeing up yet another podium challenge "It was important mentally because we didn't succeed in the past against Czech Republic I was able to make some crucial shots and after half-time other players made them and my team-mates all stepped up "Now we have a real chance to win the group advance to the best eight and perhaps to the best four in the tournament "We have already shown what we are capable of doing at European level and so far in this competition we have shown that we can win against anyone." Hungary will wrap up their Group A campaign against Korea on Tuesday CER route to set new WRC record Friday's loop will contain stages in three different countries - the first time that's happened in the WRC This year’s Central European Rally will traverse three countries within the same loop of stages – the first time that has ever happened in the history of the World Rally Championship A new addition to the calendar back in 2023 CER broke new ground by being a tri-nation event – co-organized by ASNs from Germany the rally has previously comprised stages in all three countries and crossed borders from Germany to Austria within the same leg But never before have stages been held in all three nations on the same day like they will in 2025 Thursday’s leg comprises two passes of the new Gold und Therme stage in Germany – with the golf and spa town of Bad Griesbach replacing Prague as the location for the ceremonial start This year's CER will regularly leap between countries  Friday’s is the leg that makes history with the first stage of the loop (Grant und Wald) in Germany the second (Böhmerwald) in Austria and the third (Col de Jan) in Czechia Those three stages are then repeated in the afternoon but in reverse order as the rally makes its way back to Germany for the overnight service Saturday’s leg features two stages in Germany and four in Czechia with Sunday heading for Austria and Mühltahl (which will run as the powerstage) as well as the Beyond Borders test that crosses the border into Germany mid-stage The event takes place on October 16-19 as round 12 of 14 of this year’s WRC Thursday October 16 Stage 1 – Golf und Therme 1 (GER) Stage 2 – Golf und Therme 2 (GER) Stage 3 – Granit und Wald 1 (GER) Stage 4 – Böhmerwald 1 (AUT) Stage 5 – Col de Jan 1 (CZE) Stage 6 – Col de Jan 2 (CZE) Stage 7 – Böhmerwald 2 (AUT) Stage 8 – Granit und Wald 2 (GER) Stage 9 – Made in FRG 1 (GER) Stage 10 – Keply 1 (CZE) Stage 11 – Klatovy 1 (CZE) Stage 12 – Keply 2 (CZE) Stage 13 – Klatovy 2 (CZE) Stage 14 – Made in FRG 2 (GER) Stage 15 – Beyond Borders 1 (GER / AUT) Stage 16 – Mühltal 1 (AUT) Stage 17 – Beyond Borders 2 (GER / AUT) Stage 18 (powerstage) – Mühltahl 2 (AUT) Tags: , , , , 2025 DirtFish https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/04/ghQfmtxR-Ogier12CER24cm196-780x520.jpg April 11 The well renowned trio organized an amazing and successful event For the fourth year in a row Sequential Games put together a team of amazing skydivers towards a very challenging goal over the pretty beautiful landscapes of the Czech Republic which once was described to me by a good friend as “Paradise” Now I know what he meant and I couldn´t agree more a cool circus tent for debriefs and a friendly staff are more than any skydiver could ever ask for Skydive Pink Klatovy once was described to me by a good friend as “Paradise” the date arrived and although some luggage didn’t make the connecting flights we all got here -106 skydivers ready to be challenged and build this intricate formation but we later found out that it was inspired by a mandala known as the Flower of Life There were seventeen six-way donuts linked together surrounding one another We all knew the plan; we got the manual for the dive a few days in advance It could be noticed that everyone had studied it they put big printouts up outside the tent just in case But the first day is all about the training jumps which was the seven rings in the middle got together the five rings from the left made one group and the remaining five from the right made the third group but he is working in a top-secret project which EVERYBODY KNEW ABOUT It was the kind of amazing opportunity that NOBODY should miss should he choose to accept it; was to train some agent called Ethan Hunt Gary Wainwright and Henny Wiggers on camera Dieter’s and Herman’s group went first (the outsides) The jumps looked really neat from the ground They got both groups together for the third jump a couple more there; and there it was: a solid base in the next jump By the third jump we even made a second point; just for the fun of it We had an event dinner planned for that day at the drop zone we are like a family; and that was a pretty good family dinner The next day we were all eager for the big jump It was´t a bad jump but it was not great either It was the first time the outer rings saw the real base But did I mention that this was a great team 12 rings had built nicely and 4 of the remaining seemed to be building correctly and in great shape Enough time to go for a swim or have a nice lunch another long break we had; but apparently it didn’t help us either followed by a grip frenzy and the dive went annoyingly bad again Maybe we all thought we had it and we got complacent they played for us the video of the second jump of the day; which so far had been our finest Dieter and Patrick had the perfect ones to put the right mindset on us It is well known that at the Klatovy 100way challenge the magic happens on the third day We were supposed to meet at the briefing area at 08.30hrs geared up and ready to go The weather was a little dodgy and some of us didn’t think we’d go up But there was no announcement and our instructions were to meet in the briefing area with gear on ready to go There was an amazing vibe going on at the dirt dive Everybody was focused and the sky began to clear up We could hear the engines starting and we boarded right away Then the light turned white and the door got opened I dived out of the lead plane and got to my slot as I looked the sequence of the build going smoothly as planned The cross reference was very important to keep the shape of the fragile 6way donuts It was very hard work; but you could feel the help of your teammates docked behind you but we could feel the magic that Patrick likes to talk about My group and I tracked away in the second wave and we were all euphoric many of us were shouting loudly and high-fiving We all gave our best and had an amazing skydive I was packing when I heard Patrick giving an announcement This time we would not debrief each sector separately; we would debrief altogether instead We all knew then; we had done it… And you could hear cries of joy everywhere We had the Flower of Life – the Klatovy’s 17 Rings – in our pocket We saw the video and the jump wasn’t perfect At some point the base slid and rotated a few degrees The approaching trajectories of everybody moved with the base as if we were all one single piece already we could easily say that it was the camera men who rotated 17 Rings completion – Klatovy 2017 The job was done… but we still had 6 more jumps to do and the fun had to keep going The organizers thought a two-point 106way with complete breaks would do the trick We kept the same exit order from the 17 Rings The goal was the complete break sequential We jumped and got the first point with plenty of time so the key was given It was an amazing feeling to fly a no contact 106way But after the pictures were taken; it was as if we entered a grip frenzy mode It was worse in fact; there was a huge funnel in the base I guess at this point what we all wanted was to celebrate The time came then to get our well-deserved event t-shirts We wanted the sequential and there were only 3 jumps left so a few changes were made in the formation Siân had to fly back and somebody was grounded Herman had been a great safety officer and he wouldn´t allow anything risky getting by him The weather wasn’t as good as it had been with us this time; but the weather hold was a godsend for some of us still with a headache from last night’s celebration About two hours later we had our window and went for it The formation was quiet and perfectly on level If we’d gone to full altitude we would have nailed it for sure The weather was lousy the rest of the day and we couldn’t jump any more But there was another event dinner planned at the drop zone for this day the weather hold was a godsend for some of us still with a headache from last night’s celebration I couldn’t see much but I suspected we had it Then I saw Patrick through the formation and my suspicions were confirmed but I’m sorry Tony; not even the Kiss’ visor was big enough to see the entire smile in Patrick’s face not even the Kiss’s visor was big enough to see the entire smile in Patrick’s face We had built a 2-point 104way with complete breaks and there was still one jump to do… Almost three points! We got the same amazing feeling during the jump we remained only two grips short of that third point it was an amazing way to end an incredible event an amazing dropzone and a great crew of pilots All of it was the recipe for success put together by our great captains I can´t wait till the next year to do it again… KLATOVY (Czech Republic) - Billie Massey is having a big summer for Belgium with more impressive performances at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship helping push her goal towards the senior team The 19-year-old is already averaging 17.5 points and 18.5 rebounds through two games following a recent All-Star Five showing at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Thailand ⭐️ A post shared by Bill (@billiemassey4) on Jul 28 Massey stepped up on the big stage to lead Belgium to a fourth place finish as they missed out on the final step on the podium with a 58-52 loss against Spain "It was a very nice experience to not just play against European teams but against different styles of countries and basketball," she said and it it is nice to be recognized in the All-Star Five but it was a shame especially being that close to a medal." Little hesitation comes when asked about her favorite memory in a Belgium jersey as Massey recalled her triumph at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship in Sopron two years ago - also claiming the MVP award along with the title The added bonus of doing so alongside her twin sister Becky made it that much more special and they share a great relationship on and off the court having also enjoyed success together in FIBA 3x3 competition "We are very supportive of each other and literally do everything together," said Billie "It's like a bond that you just don't have with anyone else and it's a great feeling being on the court with her Massey's basketball journey began 13 years ago in her hometown of Ostend after following her niece into the sport Her development is picking up pace and the evidence is clear to see as she makes a strong case to step up to the next level "In the last few years I've taken a big step with my game," she declares "With my defense especially and rebounding that is something I can always rely on Now it is my scoring that I have to work a lot on keep my rebounding up and find ways that I can score more." Back at it 😈 A post shared by Bill (@billiemassey4) on Jul 30 The Belgian Cats have captured the world of basketball with their performances in recent years and it is by no means an easy feat to break into the senior setup with the prospects of heading to the 2020 Olympics on the horizon "It's definitely a goal of mine to be on the team," says Massey "I like to watch players like Emma Meesseman and just to see what she does in certain situations so I can learn from that "The Olympics is something I've always wanted to go to - it would be nice The 1.86m (6ft 1in) center set her mark on this tournament with an opening double-double before taking things even further against Hungary with an impressive 20 points and 23 rebounds in a crucial win Massey sat out the final group win against Belarus on Monday in order to rest ahead of the knockout stages with bigger tests to come "It was a weird feeling," she says on sitting out The games will get tougher and we just need to play together for the whole game I try to show leadership with my actions because I don't talk that much I just take my responsibilities with my rebounding and try to help the team as much as possible "I hope we can go all the way and win the title - it would mean a lot and another gold would be immense." Massey is on the right path to success and it might not be too long until she makes that next step the chance to produce more golden moments this week remains the primary focus Neuville takes CER lead Hyundai's third car slid wide into a fence while the championship leader stormed past Sébastien Ogier Andreas Mikkelsen crashed out of the Central European Rally on Friday morning’s stages as his Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville moved in the lead overall Mikklesen was one of four drivers to lose hybrid boost during the morning but that turned out to be the least of his worries After a revised set-up gave him increased confidence on Thursday he struggled for confidence on Friday’s lower-grip conditions before running wide and crashing through a fence on SS5 He and co-driver Torstein Eriksen quickly exited the steaming i20N Mikkelsen had admitted: “I was too much on the careful side not sure how grippy these cars are in these conditions – you can drive much faster than you think The top four overall are covered by 6.3 seconds with overnight leader Sébastien Ogier is 2.7s down on the leading Hyundai Neuville’s team-mate Ott Tänak is a further 0.9s back and the Toyota of Elfyn Evans lies fourth Toyota driver Ogier extended his advantage over Neuville to 3.2s on the day’s opening stage a repeat of the previous night’s Klatovy test The top of the leaderboard closed up dramatically on SS4 Strašín In tricky conditions with drizzle and mist in places making for a damp surface and changing grip levels Evans went quickest despite claiming it “seemed like we weren’t using all the grip available” But SS5 Šumavské Hoštice had more opportunity for cuts as well as leaf cover making it difficult to read grip levels Neuville and Tänak took advantage of being the first two cars on the road 0.3s quicker than Neuville and 3.3s faster than Ogier “We had a bit more cuts so I tried to put a bit more dirt on the road,” admitted Neuville lots of grip changes and we still struggle with the balance in those conditions.” Ogier made light of an earlier moment where he ran wide at a junction and clipped the base of a tree But he reckoned conditions were against him on SS6 adding: “I think this one was a bit expected that it get quite dirty from the front cars It was just a mistake from me on the last junction again where I lose a bit of time but otherwise it was OK stage.” From being just 0.8s off the lead after SS4 Evans dropped another 6s or so on the next test There was a section in the middle with the leaves where it seemed like you had no grip but the leaves are everywhere so you can’t read the road at all Ogier had looked the dominant force in Czechia until stage five Thankful for the organizers’ anti-cut devices keeping the earlier stages cleaner than they might otherwise have been Katsuta had briefly been third overall after the day’s opening stage He slipped back on the longer tests with a risk-free approach “I just back off quite a lot but this is the plan for today,” he said The rest of the manufacturer entries all suffered hybrid problems to compound their difficulties finding grip on the stages Toyota’s fourth driver Sami Pajari was the first to lose his power boost But he appeared to be dealing with the lack of grip better than many others and lies sixth overall Mikkelsen and M-Sport duo Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster all lost their hybrid power after heavy landings from a jump midway through the long middle stage But Fourmaux admitted his time loss was due more to a lack of feeling with the car so I’m struggling,” he said after the 16-miler “The stage is tricky but the car doesn’t help me.” He is seventh overall The manufacturer entries are completed by Munster whose run through SS6 was interrupted by Mikkelsen’s accident He had been 20s behind his team-mate after the previous stage “I don’t manage to get the front turned in Sami Pajari had been fastest on Friday's opening stage in the early splits until his hybrid system stopped working a stunning run through the longest stage handed Nikolay Gryazin a lead of nearly 30s WRC2 championship leader Oliver Solberg isn’t scoring drivers’ points on this event but was fastest of the Rally2 entries though Thursday’s stages Solberg’s Škoda was pipped by Gryazin’s Citroën on Friday’s opener but remained ahead overall Asked for his reaction to Gryazin’s team-mate Yohan Rossel’s 30s time loss the previous night after the Frenchman kept hold of his Chile win despite a further review of his crucial notional time by by the stewards “If they don’t want to give him any penalty because they think it was dusty or whatever they think in their heads but apparently it was dusty and I was in the way apparently So I think they got to look at that again and then maybe use some common sense It was Gryazin who had the most fun through SS4 and more than 20s faster than the rest of the WRC2 field I also struggle here,” he said in surprise “But I think it’s [the same] for everyone and I was not really risking and 28.2 clear of a close battle for second among the WRC2 points-scoring drivers I have no grip and I don’t understand the reaction of the car.” 2024 DirtFish https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2024/10/gvInHQBF-WhatsApp-Image-2024-10-18-at-10.51.26-1-780x585.jpeg October 18 Copyright © 2025 DirtFish, LLC. All rights reserved. Czech Republic (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - The 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women came to a dramatic conclusion in Pilsen on Sunday Spain's Angela Salvadores did her best to put an end to the Americans' reign with a monumental 40-point effort, but Lauren Cox and Asia Durr stepped up for the Americas who claimed a third consecutive U17 Women crown Cox finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Durr contributed 17 points and both came up with big plays down the stretch. Click here to read the full game report Kiss had 21 points and 10 rebounds as Hungary rallied from a 15-point deficit to edge out fellow debutantes and tournament hosts Czech Republic 67-61 in the Third-Place Game. Click here to read the full game report Final Standings of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women1 The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women and FIBA also proudly annnounced that the sum of 307,709 Czech Korunas (11,211 Euro) was raised through the All Baskets Count (ABC) social responsibility programme associated with the tournament All the proceeds will be used to help improve the quality of life of people in need in the region of West Bohemia About the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women The success and interest in the first two editions of the Championship was so high that, starting in 2014, the tournament will consist of a 16-team field – the same competition format as the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women Charismatic big-way organizer Patrick Passe has achieved many world records where others have tried and not succeeded He organized four World (and European) records in one day; a 2-point 106-way and was one grip away from a World Record with a total break with his partners Dieter Kirsch and Milko Hodgkinson were the first to complete a 100-way outfacing diamond. The annual Klatovy Challenges have become legendary due to the beautiful formations The Klatovy formations have run over four consecutive years and have a 100% success rate The dives are superbly slotted – frequently without moving a single person at the event with the dives and slots released well before the event in a comprehensive participants’ booklet Patrick was a world silver medallist in 8-way His two ground-breaking films Crosswind and Antigravity Patrick has been organizing skydivers for over 30 years He was a World Team captain at every event spanning 20 years of World Team; 1994 (Bratislava I started skydiving at the end of the seventies In those days it was all about RW- relative work 4way and 8-way was the cool discipline – now it’s freefly but then it was RW After one or two years of skydiving I had in mind to build a 4-way team with my brother Bruno [Editor of Paramag] We did quite good and were on the podium quite often The French Federation started selecting the team for world meets Patrick de Gayardon and more …for the National French 8-way team In ‘83 our goal was to go to the World Meet of ‘85 in Yugoslavia enjoyed the 8-way but it was a lot of work Training and all of that wasn’t fun enough for me I even declined an offer to be part of the French TAG 4-way team that became World Champion 2 years after I’ve chosen to travel around the world with my 16mm cameras in my luggage and I’ve jumped in lot of very special places for all the fantastic adventures and unforgettable memories You made the most points World Record sequential in 2014, at Empuria, with the 5-point 106-way Euro and World record Will you organize this kind of many-point sequential again The main difficulty actually in Europe is to have the planes We can have many ideas but the problem is the fleet of aircraft is very difficult to get We are waiting to see if there is a place that can accommodate the number of planes needed At the moment it’s good to have our event in Klatovy People are more interested in that format rather than doing world record events with something like 120 people to get 4 or 5 points the best way to get the record is to have the outside people doing the moves but it’s not so interesting for the people in the middle like more than 200 because it’s always special to go that big plus it’s a challenge for the base to build as fast as possible the Sequential Games… 100 people and a difficult formation Dieter and Milko set the first 200way+ sequential record at Perris It’s about spending the necessary time before the event We have all the necessary information about the people we jump with We work a lot on the slotting before the event Do you think the sequential qualifications are too easy I think the rules should be different depending on the size of the skydive The rules are good enough for a big formation But for a 100 or 120-way the rules make you design the dive by having only a few guys doing the move Building a 100-way with an international group of people It’s not very interesting for the center guys Now when we are talking about the bigger formations to get the first point complete is quite a challenge We should have rules depending on the size It doesn’t matter if you jump from 14,000 feet or 20,000 feet The Klatovy Challenges – the Diamond, the Crystal, the Compass-box – have been amazing formations We cannot get a challenge formation straight away. Sometimes it’s two months of work. Dieter and I are on Skype every week coming up with ideas. After different talks we come up with the final plan. It’s hard to come up with a new idea, which is challenging but not too crazy. But difficult enough to excite people. It was quite difficult to come up with the 17 Rings this year What was the inspiration for the 17-rings Dieter was so fond of the book titled The Flower of Life On the front cover there was a circular logo that looked very cool We started to draw out the logo with a formation It’s very difficult to make a formation from a picture We are very happy because before the challenge we knew it was going to be a difficult one For the Olympic Rings opening ceremony dive BJ selected only people from the podium at World Championships It had five 6-way rings and it was a challenge We had the same formation but with 17 rings What’s going to be your approach at the 3-point 225-way world record event coming up in October the plan in Eloy is to go for 3 points so we need to have a fast base with people moving around it We have to work on what we achieved last time the 1st point is going to be already a challenge We could have thought to play with a total break this time but we don’t want to lose the 3-point world record by trying it it could be a good idea to do a specific 200-way event just to see how it works with so many people I’ve never been to any other record events where they don’t move people In a group with more than 200 selected participants we know 70% of the people very well and we know the background of all of them Then we work with the other captains (listed below) We pay a lot of attention about the weight Just two or three guys not in the right place can make it bad… and a bad skydive with 200 people is just terrible We do our best to avoid making one skydive just to discover that one guy is in the wrong place During more than 30 years as a dive organizer I have never wanted to annoy people and make them tired French people get quickly impatient with annoying things And I discovered it was the same for Milko and Dieter We don’t need to tell them the basic stuff and perhaps some small details about their slot We trust the people invited to our events because we spend a lot of time on the selection Tell me about your approach with the ‘bench’ The alpha team have to be really good people We cannot replace someone making a mistake with someone that you don’t know so well or a guy who is there because he didn’t make the selection We need the best people waiting for replacement It was the case when BJ organized the 400-way the alpha team was only jumpers who were on the international podium It’s a priority to have super good people in the alpha team We had success with the 202 because Dieter Milko and I decided to move on from the past We just want to go for a goal that no-one reached before and we have now Craig Girard who just joined us All these captains coming from different backgrounds of large formation organization and coaching It’s so nice to work with these guys… Earlier I said it’s not good to spend too much time on briefing the people it’s like this.… in 5 or 10 minutes we can have a captains’ meeting With final decisions and ready to go again It saves energy and it makes the events run very smoothly One local company in the south of Czech Republic is taking advantage of tourism to the area by installing a one-of-a-kind potato vending machine The local company Vesa, located near Velhartice in the Klatovy region, grows and cultivates their own potatoes, according to iDnes The vending machine lets people insert coins and in turn buy fresh potatoes the machine sells the Suzan variety of potatoes and soon they will have Magda potatoes and other varieties “We adjoin Velhartice Castle and breed varieties of potatoes, which we also sell,” Kopačka told iDnes “There are a lot of people going to the castle around us so we took it as such promotion of our varieties We sell exclusively what we grow in our country.” The potato vending machine doesn’t look like other vending machines People can only buy two kilograms worth of potatoes at a time you can insert your money and the potatoes will insert into your bag through a metal pipe you will find a belt scale that will weigh out two pounds of potatoes and deliver them to the customer when the money is inserted “We didn’t invest a lot of money in it, we did it very easily,” the director said. they have sold more than 60 purchases a day He believes it’s because people want Czech products and local food “A lot of tourists and locals go there and they are probably satisfied with the quality and taste of our potatoes,” Kopačka said The director said people can also buy potatoes in the fall to store for winter He hopes people come to taste their potatoes and find them delicious “Of the range of varieties that are on the Czech market, about 80 percent are foreign and only 20 percent Czech,” Kopačka said. “We think we have good varieties that should be consumed more at home.” The Velhartice company farms on 430 hectares of land near the Šumava region. Over the years, they have bred dozens of different varieties of potatoes. Last year, with Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) ahead of Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (SWE/SWE), ŠKODA Motorsport celebrated a convincing one-two at the Rally Šumava Klatovy in the west corner of the Czech Republic. This year, however, the two teams are following different paths. While Tidemand/Andersson are already on their way to the next round of the WRC in Argentina one week later, Kopecký/Dresler will be taking to the tarmac on home ground in their ŠKODA FABIA R5. At the WRC Tour de Corse two weeks ago, Jan Kopecký demonstrated with top-class driving and two best times that he is one of the fastest drivers on tarmac. Only huge misfortune on the Mediterranean island prevented the Czech champion from securing a top slot. The Rally Šumava Klatovy begins on Friday 21 April at 4.35 pm and runs on best times over 166 kilometres divided into 14 special stages. The winners are expected over the line in Klatovy on Saturday 22 April at around 7.00 pm. Alongside Jan Kopecký’s works ŠKODA FABIA R5, more than half a dozen other ŠKODA FABIAs are expected on the grid in various different categories. The 2017 calendar for the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) To stay up-to-date with all the latest press information and events, please enter your email below The Company's principal business activities are the development, production and sale of Škoda cars, components, genuine parts and accessories, and the provision of servicing. but only after France and the Czech Republic narrowly A paltry four points in the last quarter had left Italy wondering what might have been and it was a very similar case for the Slovak Republic, who allowed France to snatch a 47-42 victory from the jaws of defeat They also held an eight-point lead going into the last period but their offensive wheels came crashing off too as they harvested an eye-watering four points in the final 10 minutes Ornella Bankole showed she had ice running through her veins by scoring over half of her 22 points for France from the free-throw line and not missing a foul shot all night. Veronika Remenarova claimed 17 points and 11 rebounds for the crestfallen Slovakians The Quarter-Finals will take place in Pilsen on Friday with the teams who missed out on a place in the last eight all congregating in Klatovy to fight it out for the 9-16 Classification Places 22 April 2017 – Unperturbed by weather shenanigans Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (ŠKODA FABIA R5) have driven to a resounding victory in the Rally Šumava Klatovy ŠKODA Stablemates Jan Černy/Petr Černohorský were unlucky when a time penalty caused them to lose second place to Ford driver Václav Pech Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler (ŠKODA FABIA R5) laid the foundation for their resounding victory in the Rally Šumava Klatovy in the first stage on Friday The Czech champions drove four convincing best times with the fifth special stage abandoned for safety reasons due to oil on the road left behind by one of the vehicles participating in the historic category Kopecký and Dresler finished the day with a comfortable lead of around half a minute Kopecký and co-driver Dresler (ŠKODA FABIA R5) turned in five more best times on Saturday despite heavy rain transforming the morning’s fast stages around Klatovy into treacherous slippery roads Brand stablemates Jan Černy/Petr Černohorský in their private ŠKODA FABIA R5 had pushed their way into second place and were locked in a thrilling duel with Ford team Vacláv Pech/Petr Uhel On their way to a refuelling stop between the eighth and ninth stages Kopecký’s co-driver Dresler and Černy’s navigator Černohorský misinterpreted an unclear instruction in the roadbook and missed a junction both teams reached the refueling station via a route other than the one specified and each were penalised 15 seconds While Jan Kopecký continued on his way unaffected at the top of the leader board the penalty was enough to lose Jan Černy the battle for second place Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler drove the remaining stages with their ŠKODA FABIA R5 with a controlled speed safely bringing home their second win of the season and extending their lead in the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) Rally Šumava Klatovy (MČR) final standings To stay up-to-date with all the latest press information and events The Company's principal business activities are the development Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting The Hyundai driver will take a 1.2s lead over M-Sport’s Ott Tanak heading into Friday’s six asphalt stages in the Czech Republic Tanak had assumed an early rally lead after winning Thursday’s opening 2.55km super special held around a racecourse in Prague But the Estonian was unable to hold onto the advantage when the rally headed to its second super special stage of the day Neuville completed the two loops of the Klatovy test 2.2s faster than Tanak to leap from third into the rally lead I don’t know about the tyres - I think I was in between the wet and the soft and I decided to go soft at the very last minute," said Neuville "The anti-cut devices were reflecting from the lights so you couldn’t see very well Tanak felt he struggled to generate sufficient temperature in his soft tyres but still managed to clock a time faster than rest of the Rally1 field Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera was third on the stage although the effort was enough to see the Finn climb to fourth overall with eight-time world champion Toyota team-mate Sebastian Ogier ahead in third overall by a tenth of a second Ogier admitted he struggled to find "the feeling" in his GR Yaris, dropping 6.1s in the process. The Frenchman posted the fifth-quickest time behind the recovering Hyundai of Esapekka Lappi who copped a 10s penalty for jumping the start in stage one The Finn will start Friday in ninth overall In sixth on the stage was Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen, ahead of M-Sport’s Pierre-Louis Loubet and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta Title contender Elfyn Evans was ninth fastest on the stage as he shipped 7.8s following a costly overshoot at right junction who needs to outscore team-mate Rovanpera to prolong the title fight to a deciding round in Japan will start Saturday 10.7s away from the lead "I had an overshoot at one of the junctions just locked up at one of the braking zones so it's a shame for that," said Evans M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster completed the top 10 on the stage ahead of top WRC2 runner Yohan Russell. In the battle for the WRC2 title, Toksport Skoda’s Gus Greensmith ended stage two third in class and ahead of rival and team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker The Thanet & District Reform Synagogue (TDRS) in Ramsgate included a dedication service for their newly commissioned sculpture at their recent Yom HaShoah service conducted by Rabbi Cliff Cohen Over 50 people attended the civic service including the Mayors of Ramsgate South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay and members of Christ Church Canterbury University who had chosen the Klatovy scroll for a special project He brought with him the Klatovy Scroll in the care of North West Surrey Synagogue The town of Klatovy in the Czech Republic was home to 278 Jews in the early 20th century but the community was wiped out as part of the Nazi programme of deportations to death camps in 1942 The Torah scrolls from Klatovy and the surrounding district were rescued in the 1960s refurbished over the next 20-30 years under the auspices of the Westminster Synagogue and the Memorial Scrolls Trust and re-distributed to synagogues The Thanet community is custodian of one of the Klatovy scrolls which is used regularly for their services created by Glasgow-based metalwork artist Lauren Fox to form a centrepiece in the synagogue building each individually inscribed by members of the community with the names of the lost Klatovy Jews providing a personal and persistent link between the communities 30 April 2016 – ŠKODA Motorsport enjoyed a perfect start to this season’s Czech Rally Championship (MČR) with a highly-acclaimed one-two Thousands of fans at the 51st Rally Šumava Klatovy celebrated the win for defending champions Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) The second ŠKODA works duo of Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (S/S) who were making a guest appearance in the national championship The first round of the 2016 MČR season was a triumphant success for the ŠKODA brand: the Czech car maker occupied all three spots on the podium one year after the successful Fabia R5 made its debut “That is a great start to the season in the home of our brand It was at the Rally Šumava Klatovy one year ago that Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler claimed the first win with our ŠKODA Fabia R5 on the car’s debut The fact that our new rally car was successful across the board this time is confirmation of the great work put in by everyone in the ŠKODA team,” said ŠKODA Motorsport Director Michal Hrabánek the rally in and around the Bohemian Forest opened with a stage with for ŠKODA’s biggest rival Václav Pech (CZ) white and black cars of the ŠKODA Motorsport works team dominated the remaining eleven special stages Experienced 34-year-old Kopecký won stage two with a stunning time to take the lead After about 150 kilometres against the clock on the narrow asphalt routes the enthusiastic rally fans celebrated Kopecký’s third victory at the iconic rally and the fans were thrilled – you cannot ask for more Our Fabia R5 was once again a wonderfully quick and reliable tool Pontus made us work pretty hard for the win,” said Jan Kopecký This rally in the Czech Republic was huge fun and the perfect preparation for the coming challenges in the World Rally Championship,” commented Asia-Pacific champion Tidemand Tidemand/Andersson and Kopecký/Dresler will line up in the WRC 2 class at the Portuguese round of the World Rally Championship The opening race of the MČR around Klatovy was also a great success for ŠKODA Czech Republic thousands of fans poured into the ŠKODA Park in the service park in Janovice where visitors were treated to an attractive support programme “ŠKODA made a perfect start to the season in the MČR – both on and off the stages I would like to thank the many visitors who flocked to the ŠKODA Park and showed such a huge interest in our successful models,” said Luboš Vlček The number for the Rally Šumava Klatovy: 8 Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ) were at the wheel of the ŠKODA Fabia R5 when the car made its competitive debut at the Rally Šumava Klatovy the field featured eight (!) of the new rally cars a further six drivers from customer teams also put their faith in the Fabia R5 the top ten in the overall standings included six ŠKODAs one driver was underway in each of the predecessor models Rally Šumava Klatovy – Final Overall Classification 160430 One-two – ŠKODA Motorsport enjoys perfect start to the season in the Czech Rally Championship and the fastest time on eleven of twelve special stages: the new ŠKODA Fabia R5 enjoyed a dazzling rally debut in its native Czech Republic Asia-Pacific champion Jan Kopecký (CZ) guided the rally car to a dominant victory at the 50th anniversary of the Rally Šumava Klatovy which proved to be both fast and reliable on its debut “The rally debut of our new ŠKODA Fabia R5 symbolically launched a new chapter of our motorsport tradition in the home of the brand we are particularly delighted to have made such a successful start and the debut showed that we are on the right track with the new rally car,” said Michal Hrabánek the ŠKODA Motorsport Director warned against getting carried away: “We do not want to read too much into the first result The car and the team will have to come through some very different tests at the coming rallies.” the opening round of the Czech Rally Championship (MČR) went like clockwork The ŠKODA Fabia R5 became one of very few rally cars ever to have won its first official special stage And there was more success to come: by the end of an impressive display over 150.71 kilometres had opened up a lead of 1:34.6 minutes over Bryan Bouffier having finished runner-up in the 2013 European Championship – again behind Kopecký in a ŠKODA “The first start with our new ŠKODA Fabia R5 could not have gone better only an actual race would truly reveal how well the car was running And it worked perfectly: we are very happy about the win and hope we were able to impress a lot of people with our new Fabia R5,” said debut driver Kopecký who was even able to try out some different set-ups on his first outing with the new rally car “We are already really looking forward to the next rallies The experienced 33-year-old will be back in action at the Rally Český Krumlov the second round of the Czech Rally Championship ŠKODA Motorsport will make its comeback in the WRC 2 category of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) from 21st to 24th May European champion Esapekka Lappi (FIN) and new signing Pontus Tidemand (S) will be at the wheel of the new ŠKODA Fabia R5 Hrabánek: “Running two cars will be another challenge with our new rally car The win puts us in a good position going forward but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.” The number for the Rally Šumava Klatovy: 11 Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler won eleven of the twelve special stages as the ŠKODA Fabia R5 made its race debut Not only did the new car triumph on its very first special stage but it won the longest stage on the rally by an impressive margin Kopecký finished over 17 seconds ahead of Bryan Bouffier on both runs of the 25.59-kilometre stage 150425 Perfect start – New ŠKODA Fabia R5 wins on its rally debut What’s the worst thing that can happen during a wedding ceremony How about when the groom says “no” when asked if he’ll take the bride as his lawful wedded wife that’s exactly what transpired at on unfortunate wedding ceremony this month in Klatovy happened to be at the wedding as a registrar “Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” he told Novinky.cz “Sometimes one of the betrothed will say ‘no’ for kicks or as a joke The identity of the young couple was not revealed The mayor described the wedding as ‘restrained’ and the participants ‘polite’ It’s extremely uncomfortable for everyone involved,” Salvetr continued There are clear rules in Czech law that govern the unusual response “When one of the betrothed says ‘no,’ they must be asked again,” Jitka Kunstová who has over thirty years of experience at the Plzeň register must the marriage be declared unfinalized.” Heavy rains have once again raised the levels of many rivers in the Czech Republic with over 40 locations reporting one of the three degrees of flood alert early this morning the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMU) announced on its website today The highest third degree warning was declared on the Labe (Elbe) River in Vestrev Several dozen other places declared the second or first (lowest) degree of flood warning a heavy rain warning is valid until Thursday morning and a warning against flooding of rivers until further notice The Otava in Rejstejn near Klatovy reached the third degree of flood danger before 3am this morning and is now fluctuating between the third and second degrees The Labe River in Vestrev near Trutnov has been on the third degree since 4am The second degree of flood alert is in application on the Cidlina River in the Hradec Kralove Region on the Vltava River in the UNESCO-listed Cesky Krumlov in the South Bohemia Region on the Otava River in Susice and the Kremelna River in the Plzen Region and on the Bilina River in the Usti Region precipitation will be more frequent in the mountains so fluctuations in water levels can still be expected in the mountain and foothill areas around the first and second degree of flood activity,” the CHMU said Meteorologists forecast heavy rains in the South Bohemian Region around Cesky Krumlov in the Plzen Region in the Susice and Klatovy areas in the Liberec Region around Jilemnice and Tanvald and in the Hradec Kralove Region in the vicinity of Trutnov and Vrchlabi until Thursday morning the water levels of several rivers in the Czech Republic were already rising before Christmas Eve and around 170 places reported some degree of flood warning during the Christmas holidays Advertise with us Privacy Policy Brno Daily is a Czech media outlet for expats Our partners Thierry Neuville has carried his Shakedown pace into the first two stages of the tri-country WRC Central European Rally (CER) topping the Rally1 field around the Czech capital of Prague The field travelled from the service park in south east Germany to the Czech capital for a varied surface opening on the Velka Chuchle racecourse arena before SS2 took them through the town of Klatovy on the outskirts of the city Rovanpera takes to the streets of Klatovy where thousands of spectators turned up for the Czech Republics first ever WRC stages I think it was in between the wet and the soft [tyres] and I decided to go to the soft at the very last moment,” Neuville said “The anti-cut devices were reflecting from the light so we couldn’t see very well but the Frenchman said that he felt uncomfortable with the set-up of his GR Yaris whilst his Toyota teammate and champion elect Kalle Rovanpera was just a tenth behind Ott Tanak on the hunt for two straight WRC round wins 120N part-timer Teemu Suninen was fifth behind the young Flying Finn whilst Takamoto Katsuta and Pierre-Louis Loubet followed Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi finished behind Evans in ninth after raking a 10s penalty for being guilty of a jump start on SS1 with the Finn posting good enough times to sit over Ogier Rounding out the ten was Ford M-Sport ring-in Gregoire Munster with the WRC2 regular suffering from handbrake failure in his Rally1 Puma After the crews travelled back to the service park in Passau the first big hit-out of the rally sees the field heading back to the Czech Republic for an early morning start with 121.8 km of competitive action over six stages For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE It’s the penultimate weekend for Supercars and we delve deep into all the happenings in our latest podcast episode The ongoing GT4 saga and a tribute to Allan Horsley Get the latest updates delivered directly to your inbox 72853Sumich gets Bahrain podiumOscar Piastri was not the only Aussie to stand on the podium in Bahrain with Caleb Sumich doing the same in Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East The final round of the NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is set for a thrilling conclusion at Teretonga Park on April 11-13 as part of the George Begg Festival […] Australia’s Joanne Ciconte scored her first F1 Academy points in the second round at Saudi Arabia last weekend Ciconte got the breakthrough with a ninth place finish in the feature […] McLaren CEO Zac Brown has ended years of speculation and suggestive teasing confirming that the Papaya team will/have committed to an LMDh Hypercar program for the FIA World Endurance Championship […] Caroline Garde[email protected] Where can I find Auto Action Premium? Click here The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response 9 APR 2024BookmarkFriends paid tribute to skydiver Martin Skrbel (right) with a special jump over Skydive Pink Klatovy Photos courtesy of Brian Cumming (left) and Rob Lloyd (Image: Brian Cumming / Rob Lloyd)One of the nation's most popular skydiving cameramen was a "fun was found dead in his car near his home in Hibaldstow A coroner concluded that he had taken his own life The inquest at Grimsby Town Hall last week heard tributes to Martin's outstanding professionalism The tandem jump master took scores of people on jumps at Skydive Hibaldstow which is regarded as one of the top ten jump sites in the UK he was awarded a prize in a prestigious photographic competition His stunning photos regularly appeared in the British Skydiving Magazine said Czech-born Martin was an "independent goal-oriented student who dreamed of becoming a pilot or a professional driver or a cosmonaut." the married father-of-two had worked in Dublin as a IT security consultant For months he lived in a campervan at the northern Lincolnshire jump site before moving into shared accommodation in Hibaldstow His camera work while jumping gained international recognition He filmed many of the northern Lincolnshire thrill-seekers who jumped at the popular skydiving centre Many of them were captured jumping for various charities Nathy Odinson a fellow skydiver who died tragically during a base jump in Thailand earlier this year wrote a statement for the inquest before his death He described how highly regarded his housemate was He said: "He [Martin] would take excellent photographs of the team He went on to be a tandem instructor taking people on the skydiving experience He always went the extra mile to help others kind and great person to work with." Martin was a "true professional good fun and an excellent photographer" The inquest heard that Martin had been in debt a close friend from the skydiving community stated that Martin did not live a lavish lifestyle Brian explained how Martin was involved in organising jump events in the Czech Republic and arranged accommodation for scores of skydivers when they travelled to his home country He said: "Martin was a voracious learner He was kind and had a generous personality I considered him to be my right-hand man." Brian spoke about Martin's financial problems He said: "If he had told friends about his difficulties there would have been little blame but there would have been a lot of help." A GoFundMe Appeal was set up in Martin's memory said that a missing person report was filed on June 14 2022 after Martin's wife contacted friends to say her husband had not been in touch for a couple of days Housemates recalled Martin had tested positive for Covid and had stayed isolated in his room for a while They searched the home and contacted other friends The police officer later discovered Martin's body in his car Senior Lincolnshire Coroner Paul Smith said Martin was a "dedicated and talented photographer in his chosen field." He highlighted how friends described him as "poor with money." The coroner said he was satisfied that Martin had committed a deliberate act to take his own life and had intended the inevitable outcome He thanked the police officer who found him and passed his sincere condolences to his close friend Brian The coroner added: "He was a very talented and very well-liked [person] I hope you will remember him for that." friends and colleagues paid tribute to Martin We send our sincere condolences to his family." Brian Cumming said: "Martin was a rising star in the skydiving world The photos he took described our sport in a way I haven't seen before So many people have his photos on their wall "He was always so proud when one of his photos was chosen to be on the front cover of a magazine In the year before he died he had four covers He was a thoughtful friend to so many and he leaves a big hole in our world "If you are reading this with the chemicals in your brain mixed up currently you can't stop this life and start again The impact of you going will be felt by so many more people and so much harder than you realise Please send that awkward text message or have that awkward call and chat to someone "If you are reading this and feeling pretty fine right now please reach out to a few people today and check in with them You don't know what's going on under the surface but connection does help People with their brain chemicals all mixed up probably won't reach out Our friend Martin would already be up for the day Getting his cameras and kit prepped as quick as he could To be on the first lift Far in the distance the sun starts to rise To be sure to be sure he would get the right shot Perfection no less you could definitely count on it A favourite phrase of his "Let's get the road on the show" His passion for freefall was second to none It is sad now that his journey has come to an end So for this poem I have poured my heart in North Lincolnshire Council has a comprehensive list of mental health and suicide prevention resources on its website including information on how to access services for children Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.