Michal Handzuš (source: SITA)
They sent an open letter to the association, in which they specified their demands. One of them is to repeat the election of SZĽH chair, which was won by Igor Nemeček in June. If their demands are not met, they will not represent the country.
“We consider their fulfilment necessary to achieve positive changes in Slovak ice hockey,” ice hockey player and former member of the representation team Michal Handzuš said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
The signatories of the letter claim they will not accept partial solutions, but will “insist on the overall stabilisation of the SZĽH chair election system which will result in new vote under fair conditions”, as reported by SITA.
First of all, the ice hockey players call for changes to the statutes whose aim is to fulfil the basic democratic principles in the association. The representatives of ice hockey clubs and organisations should elect SZĽH chair and executive committee, while the chair should choose the SZĽH functionaries. This system should not be modified by creating “purposeful” solutions as it is today, they added.
“It is unthinkable that the association’s functionaries and members of the association’s committees elect hockey management, which then appoints them,” reads the open letter, as quoted by SITA.
They also fail to recognise any association between them and SZĽH until the election is repeated and held under the new rules.
