Deputy Minister of Sports Lefteris Avgenakis was at the National Shooting Range of Chania on Friday afternoon to watch part of the "Battle of Crete - Stelios Karampinakis" Cup, which is being held until Sunday, honoring the memory of those who fell in the "Battle of Crete", but also the memory of the late shooting champion Stelios Karampinakis, who "passed away" two years ago.
In fact, the emotion of Stelios' father and president of the "Vardas" shooting club, Nikos Karampinakis, was particularly touching, as he presented a commemorative plaque to the Deputy Minister, in front of the first shooting range of the shooting range that has been named after the 45-year-old.
Mr. Avgenakis was given a tour of the shooting range and expressed his satisfaction, emphasizing that this is a facility that will hardly be found anywhere else in Greece, emphasizing that "good things must become better."
"Once again I am in Chania, this time at the beautiful shooting range in Akrotiri for shooting competitions, a facility that if improved and expanded slightly could host important world events", emphasized Mr. Avgenakis. "For this reason, we discussed with the members of the Chania Shooting Association and the president of the Greek Shooting Federation, Mr. Papageorgiou. Soon, and when I say soon, I mean in the coming days, an amount of around 10.5 million euros will be paid to all the Federations, so an amount of this money will also end up in the coffers of the Shooting Federation and after we come to an agreement, an effort will be made to complete this facility so that it can undertake even larger events. Yes, there are shooting ranges elsewhere, but all these hospitality, facilities, and training monitoring spaces do not exist anywhere else in Greece. So I believe that we can make good things better and not just stay with just good things. This is our goal...", said Mr. Avgenakis.
The head of the Shooting Range and member of the Board of Directors of the Chania Sports and Recreation Association, Vangelis Lambakis, also raised the issue of creating a fourth open shooting range, so that the facility can host even world-class events.
For his part, the president of the Greek Shooting Federation, Anastasios Papageorgiou, emphasized that the National Shooting Range of Chania is the best in Greece, while speaking about the national team, he said that it is represented mainly by Chania, along with athletes from Athens and Thessaloniki.
“The shooting range provides the best spaces and the EAK administration fights daily to maintain these facilities. We are lucky to have most of the members of the national team and the federal coach, Mr. Salavantakis. The shooting range has many operational needs, as it has been built for over 30 years now, so it needs maintenance,” noted Mr. Lampakis.
Finally, the president of the Board of Directors of the Chania Sports Club, Takis Svourakis… “Along with those who fell in the Battle of Crete, we also honor Stelios Karampinakis, the trap athlete who passed away two years ago… We, as the management of the Sports Club, are trying to improve the facilities, with priority given to the Nea Chora swimming pool and at the same time the works at the National Stadium of Chania, as well as the shooting range.”
The Deputy Minister of Sports, on the sidelines of his statements, also referred to the Nea Chora swimming pool, emphasizing that it is a top priority project and announcing that the official presentation of the completed plans, the amount of the budget and the funding will probably take place on Monday, May 30.
Regarding the swimming pool in Akrotiri, following the completion and presentation of the study by the Technical University of Crete, he added that some discussions are taking place with the committee, since the priority is the creation of the area for the throwing events, noting that more will emerge in the coming days.
Finally, regarding the velodrome and its non-inclusion in the Recovery Fund projects, Mr. Avgenakis, responding to a relevant observation that he himself may have been involved, responded characteristically... “"Tell those who have medicine to throw it in another direction."
Photos from Mr. Avgenakis' visit: