Competition

European Championships Update: The Show Will Go On

November 8, 2022 by
Photo Credit: The European Championships (@ theeuropeanchampionships)
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Last week, The European Championships organizer Carl Saville sent out an email to the 2022 podium athletes, essentially putting it to them to decide whether or not they would support a 2023 competition in attempts to raise enough revenue to pay the unpaid 2022 prize purse. The other option was to “hand the event over to the liquidators.”

This week, Saville confirmed via email that the athletes have spoken and are “massively in favor of the proposal,” and that there “has only been one rejection so far.”

Thus, it’s “highly likely,” Saville wrote, that they will go through with a 2023 competition, hoping it will be the answer to the “large amount of debt” he accumulated in 2022 rendering him unable to pay out the promised £40,000 prize purse.

Remind me: At the end of September, Saville informed the athletes who competed at European Championships in Nottingham, England in August, that he was seeking solutions, including finding more sponsors, bringing on investors, or possibly trying to sell the event to pay the outstanding debt.

When he failed to do the above, he proposed a new solution last week, that included hosting another event in 2023 with a potentially larger prize purse that would depend on the number of tickets sold, but in no means would guarantee he will be able to raise enough to payout the 2022 prize purse. The proposal: 

  • 100% stadium sell out = £100,000 prize pot
  • 90% stadium sell out = £80,000 prize pot
  • 80% stadium sell out = £60,000 prize pot
  • 70% stadium sell out = £40,000 prize pot
  • 60% stadium sell out = £20,000 prize pot

He then essentially let the athletes vote, saying: “If the larger percentages of you wish against this, then of course we will respect your collective decision and hand the event over to the liquidators, as the above option would only work with everyone’s approval. Therefore please reply to this email with your preferred option and we will make the announcement before the 18th November.”

It’s worth noting that the most recent email also alluded to other people Saville owes money to. 

  • “Of course the details in the proposal itself also apply to all crew who are owed money too,” the email said. 

The Big Picture: The athletes have spoken and want the show to go on, so it’s looking like the European Championships will be hosting a 2023 event. More details are coming, Saville promised, but his intention is to “start making these repayments” from money he’s hoping to raise from an upcoming online qualifier.

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