It´s great promotion for the town, says Prerov mayor

What does it mean for Prerov to host an event of this size?
It is a great promotion for the city. They know about us in the world. We were able to host the World Championship in our renovated arena. We showed that there are fans in Prerov who like hockey.

The attendance in Prerov is amazing indeed. Did you expect that?
Prerov is known as a city where hockey is the number one sport. The citizens of Prerov don’t know much about young women’s ice hockey, of course, so they were curious. They found out that it is a nice sport and they came out again.

You have already mentioned your beautifully renovated arena. Are you pleased that you could host such an important event in it?
We are proud. We put a lot into the renovation project to support hockey. The city of Prerov has tried to do this for a long time. We are very pleased that our arena was chosen for the U18 women’s World Championship.

Can you say what you are doing to support hockey in the city?
We own the arena in Prerov. We try to support hockey bz paying all of the arena´s expenses and we’re adding some other contributions to the club for progress.

Was the city also involved with the organizing of the tournament?
Yes, there were representatives from the town on the organizing comittee. We helped also financially.

The Czechs played just one game in Prerov. Are you sorry about that?
It is maybe a little bit unfortunate. The fans were looking forward to seeing the Czech team, so I’m sorry that they played in Zlin. On the other hand, we have to say that Zlin is the priority and we were the second place. I understand, Zlin is a bigger city and the whole organization was concentrated there. However, I think we witnessed some great games in Preov and the fans enjoyed it.

Are you personally a hockey fan?
Yes, I’m a fan of hockey, and I´m a very big fan of our hockey club.

Have you found time during the week to attend some of the games?
Yes, I was in attendance at four games.