SynchroNice / Fourth Edition / 2019

Miroslava Hajkova At the Mozart Cup in Salzburg this year, we met with the charming Coach of Junior Team “Team Darlings” from the Czech Republic. A country we do not hear a lot about unless it’s Ice Hockey, but where Synchronized Skating is still growing in its popularity. WE SAWYOU WORKING WITH TEAM DARLINGS, IS THAT THE NAME OF THE CLUB? No, the full name of our club is VSK Technika Brno and Team Darlings is the name of the Junior team that I coach. IS BRNOYOUR HOMETOWN AS WELL? Yes, I was born and raised here in Brno. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT BRNO, IS IT A NICE CITY TO LIVE IN? Yes, it is, Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic and has a beautiful and well-preserved historical center. Brno is also known for its Mod­ ernistic Architecture and of course we have our world known University of Brno and for all motor sport fans, we have the Masaryk Circuit where many legendary races were held. ARE YOU THE HEAD COACH AT VSK TECHNIKA BRNO? Yes, that is correct, but of course there are more talented coaches working here, like my assistant for instance, Sylva Túnová. TEAMS IN ALL CATEGORIES LIKE SENIOR, JUNIOR ETC. ETC.? No, but we do have our team Darlings which is a junior team and then there’s team Big Bang, which is a basic novice team, but I’m not their coach. I’M ALWAYS CURIOUS WHERE IT ALL STARTED, DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME ON ICE? But of course, like it was yesterday, I was 4 years old when I started in Single skating. SO, YOU HAD SUPPORT- IVE PARENTS? Yes, my mother was a skater too and my dad was an Ice-hockey player. AND WHERE DID THE COACHING COME IN? After I finished my career as a skater, I became coach for Single skaters but years later Synchronized Skating was introduced to the Club and that’s when I started Coaching in Synchro as well. SO YOU MIGHT SAY THAT YOU’VE BEEN SPENDING YOUR WHOLE LIFE ON ICE? I probably did yes and so is my daughter who’s coaching as well, she does Singles, Dance and synchronized Skating. I also have a niece and a nephew who both skate Singles and Synchronized in Darlings. WHAT ARE YOU AIMING FOR, ARE THERE ANY GOALS SET? For me it’s of the utmost importance that the skaters and coaches have fun and enjoy every minute on the ice, but of course we also want Hello, what is your name? Hi, I’mMiroslava (Mirka) Hajkova That’s quite a mouth full, is that also what the skaters call you? No, they just call me Mrs Haji or even just Haji. We can see you bring in a lot of experience, may we ask how old you are? Sure, but let’s just say I have 35 years of experience in this field. 3 SYNCHRO NICE