| Article | : | GOC Mannheim 2002 (8)
On the spot report by Werner J. Braun
New Future for German Open Championships
Michel Maugé, General Manager of the Mannheim Rosengarten and organiser of the German Open Championships had invited to a summary press conference. The Members of the GOC Steering Committee assisted him: Karl Breuer, Donnie Burns MBE, Harald Frahm, Wilfried Scheible and Gerd Weissenberg.
He expressed his satisfaction about the 2002 GOC: The again raised numbers of visitors and competitors underlined his statement to the media representatives of eight countries. A turnover plus of 6 % of the visitors - more than 20 000 - and the again increased number of participating nations to now 42 and 2200 participating DanceSport couples, express this clearly. New for the first time was the presence of Australia and with 116 starts - China. "We opened the door to the West for the Chinese competitors!"
The GOC Steering Committee - an advisory committee of Professional and Amateur experts - the members of which promote the event worldwide - was very successful. It is planed from now on to participate in each big international competitions of the Professional World Series such as International London, US Open Miami, Dutch Open Assen, UK Open Bournemouth, British Open Blackpool, Italian Open Cervia, Japan Open Tokio and Russian Open Moscow, with an attractive promotion stand. The PR stand will also be set up at all six German Championships. A series of advertisements in the internationally distributed renowned Dance News always together with the reports on the open series competitions will be placed. Enlarged information in Internet and an intensified PR-work abroad will intensify the promotion work. The Internet presentation will be enlarged with online registration of competitors, online sales of tickets, result reports and direct transmission of competitions.
Many innovations, necessary because of the construction and renovation works in the Rosengarten, such as the Beethoven hall in the adjacent Dorint Hotel as third dance floor will be kept. The wardrobes will be transferred to the Vario Hall downstairs in the Congress Centre. Instead of the night disco - the youngsters had not accepted it - Michel Maugé wants to install next year a Chill out and recreation zone in the downstairs Foyer. The architects of the Youth Hall at this years World Exhibition EXPO in Hanover will be entrusted with the design.
"I am very optimistic for the further development of this event" were the words of Michel Maugé. He explicitly thanked the members of the big team of more than 90 own and extern collaborators, who worked in two shifts around the clock, the panel of 48 judges from all over the World and the more than 4400 competitors of five continents and last but not least, the sponsors. Special thanks went to Prof. Luger who was in charge of the timing. He even managed the problem of 200 additional entries in the last two weeks before the event. Maugé announced the new dates till the year 2008 and as well the changes for the 2003 event. GOC will be prolonged by one and a half day. The official Opening will be on Sunday with a big Open Air Show in front of the Rosengarten and Monday will be a new competition day. "In 2003 the GOC Open Air Gala will be the start of the celebrities of 100 years Mannheim Rosengarten. The whole of Mannheim will be invited to get acquainted with the many facets of dancing," promised Michel Maugé. Besides DanceSport the program will comprise of classical and modern ballet, Tango Passion, Tap-dance, Hipp Hopp/Techno, Rock & Roll, and Formation. A renowned big symphony orchestra will give the frame. Only for this spectacle he expects more than 5000 visitors. So to speak as mountain festival Michel Maugé wants to fulfil himself a long dream of understanding of people and go together of sportsmen and visitors: "Wednesday night from 22 hrs on we will organise a dance party for visitors and competitors in all halls of the Rosengarten". The end of the then six days lasting GOC will be again on Saturday.
The 16th GOC was a success for the German DanceSport. Second in the official medal rang behind Russia makes this clear. Gerd Weissenbarg, Steering Committee Member and Vice President of the German Professional Association made clear that there still is a gap in the starting list of big stars. He sees a change by an improvement of the price money for the all over winner of the World Series in which Mannheim will be integrated for the first time. "We will do everything, that whoever wants to win the "pot", cannot neglect Mannheim". He gave his Steering-Committee Colleaque Harald Frahm, President of the German and "Vice" of the International DanceSport Federation a big hand, because his starting lists of the Amateurs were the best of the best.
In his answer Frahm regretted that not in each of the 25 competitions we saw really thrilling duels. "This is what makes DanceSport attractive. I do hope that we will succeed in keeping our top couples longer as amateurs before they change to Professionals." He regretted the short-dated change of the Russian European Champion Dmitriy Timokhin/Anna Bezikova, who took away the highlight of the Latin-American event. "What we need are heroes like other kinds of sport show us. They do not need to stay 14 years in succession World Champions", was his side-cut to his Steering-Committee colleaque Donni Burns, the Scottish DanceSport legend of the Latin dancers.
In co-operation with the GOC organiser MKT - now under the logo m:con - Donnie Burns has great plans. In December will be founded IDA, the International DanceSport Academy with seat in Mannheim, a supranational, private charity institution, whose members shall be national and international Associations. The Academy directors will be Donnie Burns, Scotland, the "Pope of Dancing" Bill Irvine MBE, England, the icon of DanceSport, Gerd Weissenberg and the at any given time President of the World Dance and DanceSport Council WD DSC. The non-profit IDA should become according to Burns an education place where "children of the World shall learn from the best of the World". At short sight the aim will be a trainings possibility just before the GOC, in the long run such offers shall be distributed over the whole year. "Mannheim shall become a synonym - like Tennis and Wimbledon":
Michel Maugé closed the press conference with the appeal: "See you at the 17th GOC 2003 from 17th till 23rd of August for the Jubilee 100 years of Congress Centre Rosengarten Mannheim!"
All information for GOC under: http://www.goc-mannheim.de
M:con and Werner J. Braun |
