The tops and flops of the JPee in Andorra

The 20th games of the small European countries took place in Andorra last week. The athletes have been back home since Sunday and now have time to review the last few days. After Analysis by mission chief Laurent Carnol During the final press conference, the « Luxembourg word » also draws a conclusion.

What was great?

Pola Giorschetti

The competitions could not have been going better for Pola Goriorsti. After the Karateka had to pause over a year and a half due to injury, the JPEE 2025 was a more than impressive return to the Tatami for the 28-year-old. In the final of the weight class -68 kg, Goriorti defeated the Liechtensteiner Stella Sprenger 4-0 and then let her emotions run wild. « This medal means more than just a win, behind this moment there is so much more. Many thanks to everyone who supported me in this way », it was the perfect comeback in Andorra.

Gold medal trick on cycling

Marie Schreiber and Nina Berton were able to settle off the field early in the women’s street races and supported each other for the rest of the race, so that they waived a final sprint. « We decided that each of us deserves to win the race and therefore wanted to go to the finish line, » says Berton. « We could not have imagined that it would work so precisely, » the judges could not see who was faster in the end and therefore distributed a gold medal to both athletes.

Dream weather

In terms of weather, Andorra can be an absolute surprise bag in the Pyrenees at the end of May. So there was a few drops of rain on Sunday before the games before the thermometer climbed closer to the 30-degree mark during the week in bright sunshine. Just in time for the day of departure a week later, a storm front pulled across the country – too late to soak viewers and athletes.

Volunteer

A multisport event like the JPee cannot be implemented without volunteers. In Andorra, these were represented in large numbers. Highly committed, they were always kindly supported by the advice and action.

Team Lëtzebuerg

The Lëtzebuerg team always gave exciting insights behind the scenes via its Instagram channel. Many short video clips showed up close, unadulterated, unadulterated emotions of the athletes directly at the competition. Even a visit to the athletes team hotel was on the program and gave intimate insights.

The panorma

From most sports facilities there was a direct view of the Pyrenees. The real highlights were the mountain bike route from Pal Arinsal at almost 2,000 meters and the stadium of the Centro de Tecnificacion Deportiva de Ordino, where the rugby tournament was held. « I have never played with such a beautiful scenery rugby, » said FLR youngster Clément Piquet.

What were the flops?

The yellow bus line

The organizers of the JPEE installed special, colored bus lines for the duration of the games, which should bring the athletes and the spectators uncomplicated and free of charge to the competition sites. Unfortunately it didn’t work really well. The yellow bus line turned out to be particularly unreliable. « There is a schedule, but it doesn’t work. You never know when the buses come and not where they stop at all, » tennis player Alex Knaff summed it up. With the COSL, you have organized your own shuttle buses for safety.

Short -term changes in the program

The organizers have created a schedule for the competitions, but he had the habit of changing several times before the start of an event. « Sometimes start times and other important things were changed at very short notice. Something like that shouldn’t happen, » said mission chief Laurent Carnol that something like this should not happen in Luxembourg in 2029.

No 5×5 men’s basketball

Because sufficient nations could not set up a men’s team in 5×5 basketball, Luxembourg was denied the chance of defending the title. In 3×3 basketball, no men’s team from FLBB competed, even though this tournament took place.

Arrival and departure

Because Andorra does not have its own airport, the arrival and departure to the principality was difficult. Team Lëtzebuerg decided to drive in coaches for hours, which was an unsightly experience, especially for the tall volleyball players. If you used the plane, you had to switch to Barcelona or Toulouse and also plan a more than two -hour drive.