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| Atli and Otli - the mascots of Ostrava 2011. |
Following a pan-European online poll, the athletic fans have picked the names Atli and Otli for the official mascots of the European Athletics U23 Championships to be held in the Czech city of Ostrava from 14-17 July.
The mascots are cartoon figures of a prehistoric hunter and his female partner, inspired by a famous stone statute found in the area, more than 20,000 years old.
36% of respondents picked the winning names Atli and Otli. The proposed names of Bob and Bobina received 22% votes while the names - Atle and Tika was voted for by 17% of the respondents.
'According to the statistics of the online voting, fans from all over Europe participated in the polls, which also suggests the final choice of names,' said Sarka Mokra, the main coordinator of the European Athletics U23 Championships.
The winner along with the nine other authors of the top ten name suggestions will be contacted by email and invited to the official launch of the official mascots which will be held in the FUTURUM Shopping Centre in Ostrava.
'We are planning to have the launch in the second week of June. The exact dates will be confirmed soon,' added Mokra.
As a part of the official launch party, the winner together with all the finalists will be awarded a prize for their suggestions and will also meet one of the athletics stars of the championships, followed by an autograph session. Keep an eye on the www.ostrava2011.com for further details.