A unique trophy is on offer for this year’s winners of the IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018. The September 8-9 meeting will be in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The trophy symbolises team spirit, unity, and cohesion between nations and continents.
“The centre of the trophy is made up of a combination of smaller elements of pressed glass in the colours of the continents of Europe, America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, in which we see unity among the nations,” says Libor Varhaník, Chairman of the Czech Athletics Union and Chairman of the local organising committee.
IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL! ?
Read all about the unique trophy for the @iaafostrava2018: https://t.co/ixvOZh08um pic.twitter.com/6cfj2eC36r
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 16, 2018
Also, each member of the winning team will take home their piece of the trophy. It will be the first time this happens in the competition’s history.
Varhaník explains the idea behind the trophy.
“We came out of the basic idea of the competition, which is the team spirit and the fact that the individual is part of the team,” said Varhaník.
“We used Bohemian crystal, hand-crafted in the shape of sticks symbolising relay batons as a symbol of teamwork and community. At the same time, Bohemian Crystal brings a trace of Czech tradition to an international event of this importance.”
The trophy consists of 116 crystal relay batons, and together they form the trophy as a whole, which is in the shape of an athletics track. The batons are embedded in three rows on a metal pedestal, which is about 80 centimetres in diameter.
During the event, the trophy will be displayed in an illuminated showcase as a unique glowing object in front of the athletes and viewers at the entrance gate of the Městský Stadium.
