21. ISPU Weltmeisterschaft – 25. Oktober 2012

Mit 60 Teilnehmern aus elf Nationen war die 21. ISPU WM für Riesenschnauzer eine ähnlich
große Veranstaltung wie jene im Vorjahr. Die Veranstaltung war wieder auf vier Tage (davon
drei Wettkampftage) aufgeteilt und er herrschte eine einmalige „Schnauzer-Feststimmung“,
wie sie nur auf Riesenschnauzer-WMs anzutreffen ist.

Einmalig war dieses Mal auch das Wetter: Die Teilnehmer hatten unter widrigsten
Witterungsbedingungen zu starten: Schneeregen, Kälte und Schneestürme sorgten am
zweiten Wettkampf-Tag für irreguläre Bedingungen, sodass der Österreichische
 Leistungsrichter Thomas Damböck die Fährten abbrechen ließ. Die Organisatoren schufen
die Möglichkeit, am Sonntag Ersatzfährten auszuarbeiten – der Zeitplan wurde zwar etwas
durcheinander gebracht, aber in Anbetracht der Wetterbedingungen nahmen dies die Teilnehmer gerne in Kauf. Auch im Station spiegelte sich der plötzliche Wetterumschlag in
 den Leistungen nieder – und viele Teilnehmer konnten vor den beiden Richtern Theodor
Krajčí (CZ) und Joachim Heimburger (DE) nicht ihr eigentliches Niveau präsentieren.

Von
 den 60 Teilnehmern konnten nur 28 die Prüfung bestehen. Die beiden Schutzhelfer Josef
 Kubec und Jan Böhm– beide aus Tschechien – arbeiteten bis zum Schluss alle Hunde
 gleichmäßig.
 Obwohl die Witterungsbedingungen dem WM-Team einiges abverlangte, war die
 Veranstaltung – welche dem Sportkameraden Ralf Achilles gewidmet wurde – hervorragend 
organisiert und die Stimmung auf der WM konnte kein Schneesturm trüben. Die 21.
Riesenschnauzer WM kann trotz allem als eine sehr gelungene Veranstaltungen bezeichnet
 werden und die Teilnehmer freuen sich schon auf die nächste WM. Diese findet von 24. bis 
27. Oktober 2013 in Florenz/Italien statt.

Dietmar Keck

The 21st giant schnauzer WM was the real cynology speciality of 2012

The Czech Schnauzer Club organized this memorable event.
 The really clear and elegant, trilingual website provided detailed information about every event of
 the competition. According to the statistics, there were entries from 11 different countries: 25 from 
Germany, 7 from the Check Republic, 5 from Austria, 10 from Switzerland, 1 from Denmark, 1 from
Estonia, 5 from Finland, 2 from Hungary, 2 from Norway, 3 from Italy, and 5 from Sweden.

The competition took place in a beautiful town near Plzen, which is famous for its beer factory, in
 Horni Briza. At the moment of the arrival it was absolutely clear that we would not only be guests, 
but we could feel at home there for the five days of the competition.
 The opening ceremony on 25th October 2012 started exactly on time and it was really spectacular with
the procession of the entered dogs and teams. It was a pleasure to see the colourful movement of 
dogs and handlers who were welcomed by the enthusiastic audience.
 The interpretation was bilingual; the check presenter exquisitely cooperated with the German
 presenter.

First, Jiri Skubal, the president of the Check Schnauzer Club welcomed the participants, organizers, 
judges and the audience and opened the competition. Afterwards, in the name of the ISPU, I also
welcomed the participants and the organizers. Then Dietmar Keck the sport rapporteur of ISPU 
spoke, and finally the local mayor, Ing. Vojtech Sedivec said a warm welcome. Within the confines of
the opening ceremony we commemorated the German Ralf Achilles who died in the recent past. The 
opening ceremony ended with the national anthem of the Check Republic.

The events of the first day continued at 8 in the evening at the dining hall of the local school. The 
drawing ceremony was also held there. 
On the second day, the competition started with obedience and protection and lasted all day. The 
organizers could handle every second of the day and every single moment of the competition ran like
 clockwork. The grass of the football pitch was nicely cut and the equipment was excellent. The 
buffets were open for the whole time and the supply and the service were impeccable. There was 
also a sufficient number of toilets.
 In the afternoon the wind became stronger and brought snow and sleet.

27 October, the third day was the day of tracking. The tracking field was well chosen, the cereal sown
lately was about 5 cm. However, as an unpleasant surprise there was a thick blanket of snow on the
 field, which left its mark on the day. The dogs sometimes did not even find the head point. The items 
were covered with snow so much, that even those who laid them, could not find them. All in all, the
 weather conditions made the competition stronger for the competitors and the organizers too. While
 some of them gave up the competition, the first 10 made over 90 points in tracking. Some
competitors doubted the results, but the organizers and the judges could handle these problems well.

For the 4th day of the competition the weather was better. The snow remained, but the field was 
cleaned and the sun was shining. The organizers decided to start the closing ceremony early in the
 afternoon, so it was bright sunny during the ceremony. A beautiful moment of the ceremony was
 handing over the flag of ISPU, and with this, handing over the baton to Italy, who will organize the
 next event.
To sum up, the Check organizer team managed the whole organization of the 21st ISPU WM very well.
 The organization was of high standard. The sponsors did their utmost; there was an abundance of
 prizes. All the competitors were given a plaquette and a parcel from the sponsors.

The competitors competed fairly and seriously, and they represented their home countries well. The 
judges worked tirelessly punctually and fairly.
 The helpers showed excellent stamina, condition and preparedness, and they fulfilled their job in the
 severe weather circumstances.
 In the name of the ISPU Board, I would like to thank for the work of the Check organizer team, and
 also the participation to all the competitors. They showed their bravery and stamina against the 
severe weather conditions. The 21st ISPU WM proved again that the giant schnauzer not only by it’s
 size, but by its work abilities is worthy for the name: King Schnauzer.

Pettkó Csaba


Member of ISPU Board