Anna Duskova / Martin Bidar split announced; both aim to continue with new partners

North Americans don't know a) what the term "Maturita" means, the word itself, and b) and the "concept of it" as there are no "Graduation/Exit Exams" on top of "individual courses exams" during last year of high-school. In North Am you only take regular exams for the actual courses you take during last year and if you pass (given you passed all previous years) you get your High School Diploma. (the entry exams into Universities in USA are also a completely different process and concept, not like in Eastern Europe and some other countries in Europe, etc.).

If a person fails in High School, or does not complete all 4 grades of High School, drops out, in other words "does not graduate", he/she can later (at ANY age) take General Education Test/Exam and get a "GED" - General Education Diploma, which is not the same, but equivalent to High School Diploma. US issued GED is often not recognized by other countries. But it can be used in USA (don't know about Canada) to apply to some (not all) colleges/universities and all trade schools.
Maturita is a state exam, to finish school. Usually when they are 18-19 years old. In the UK they have A levels, which is quite similar. I think in most European countries they have final exams from several selected subjects.
So to explain for those who don’t have that, the students study during their school year all the subjects they would have on any school year (and are assessed throughout the year), but on top of that at the end of the school year they have to pass a state exam from several chosen subject (usually 4 subjects at the grammar school, but can be more) - those exams are from everything they learned in those subjects within the four year at the grammar school. Czech school system is based on memorising a lot of materials, so one needs to put in quite some time to put into your head all the knowledge.
And in the Czech Republic there is no equivalent of US GED exam that could be taken later. If you don’t graduate, that’s your problem and you will probably regret it in the future.

This really wouldn’t be a good year for Anna to experiment with going abroad.
 
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Czech school system is based on memorising a lot of materials, so one needs to put in quite some time to put into your head all the knowledge.
:D i would add that the 4 subjects one must select to pass "Maturita" are ALL "exact science" and "languages", not some la-di-da liberal arts stuff, and "memory" is absolutely necessary in exact science and foreign language vs. "having opinions about and giving interpretations on literature or civil issues".
 
:D i would add that the 4 subjects one must select to pass "Maturita" are ALL "exact science" and "languages", not some la-di-da liberal arts stuff, and "memory" is absolutely necessary in exact science and foreign language vs. "having opinions about and giving interpretations on literature or civil issues".
Yes, that’s right.
You forgot to name Czech language (this one has two parts - written part on one day and oral part on another day).
Usually Czech students at the grammar school have to do Czech language and a foreign language, and then the students choose two other subjects (according to what they want to study). The oral exams are taken usually all during one day, which is unpleasant. If one subject doesn’t go well, the student just have to ‘forget it’ and concentrate on the next one. No time to feel sorry for yourself, just switch it off and do the next one.
 
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Yes, that’s right.
You forgot to name Czech language (this one has two parts - written part on one day and oral part on another day).
Usually Czech student have to do Czech language and a foreign language, and then the students choose two other subjects (according to what they want to study).
sorry i did not single ot "czech language", i thought it is included in "languages" line. also, when describing E. European education system in North Am, it's best to be careful when stressing the "memorization" importance, because most people immediately think "oh, you were part of some robot-system, all memory and no analysis and thinking", when in fact the Examinations are based on strictly "exact sciences" where memory is the key.
 
sorry i did not single ot "czech language", i thought it is included in "languages" line. also, when describing E. European education system in North Am, it's best to be careful when stressing the "memorization" importance, because most people immediately think "oh, you were part of some robot-system, all memory and no analysis and thinking", when in fact the Examinations are based on strictly "exact sciences" where memory is the key.
Well, it is a lot of memorising, to be honest. For example, if you do history, you may be asked about French history 15th century and you should know what was going on. So you should know roughly the years of the various kings in England, France and Czech, the important wars at home and abroad.... Or you may be asked about the old Rome and Athens, or about second world war. The history is such a wide subject and all the info is supposed to be in your head because you don’t have access to books when taking the exam. You are not tested on expressing your opinion about it, you are expected to know the facts (what happened, where, when and why) and be able to recall them when you need it. It sounds horrible, but for that exam you just turn into an encyclopaedia.

The foreign language is easier because you don’t need to do memorising, as long as you are able to speak and write in that language. Maths is also easier because that also doesn’t require memorising, and what you haven’t learned in the four years, you probably won’t catch up last minute anyway.
 
Good to know that Czech and Polish school systems have so much in common :) (and yes, here we have a "matura" exam). The "learning by heart" part also applies to Poland!
 
Well, it is a lot of memorising, to be honest. For example, if you do history, you may be asked about French history 15th century and you should know what was going on. So you should know roughly the years of the various kings in England, France and Czech, the important wars at home and abroad.... Or you may be asked about the old Rome and Athens, or about second world war. The history is such a wide subject and all the info is supposed to be in your head because you don’t have access to books when taking the exam.
... and i wish it was a mandatory law for everybody... :D

You are not tested on expressing your opinion about it, you are expected to know the facts (what happened, where, when and why) and be able to recall them when you need it.
... and i wish it was a mandatory law for everybody... :D

The foreign language is easier because you don’t need to do memorising, as long as you are able to speak and write in that language. Maths is also easier because that also doesn’t require memorising, and what you haven’t learned in the four years, you probably won’t catch up last minute anyway.
i disagree.... but that's another subject.. :D
 
Well, Martin obviously knows all this. That’s why I really believe he was selfish to put a pressure on her to make such significant changes in her last year at grammar school. He could have waited for a year and see how things will work out. Perhaps suggest that she chooses university abroad for the following year, or get her place at uni and then postpone her study... There is more flexibility at universities than there is at grammar school. Unlike in the UK where they would be willing to fit the schedule according to the individual needs, Czech school system is quite rigid and students are expected to fit into the school schedule, not the other way round.
 
I have to say I prefered to stay away from this discussion at first, because I think it is very unfair to judge somebody without knowing him and the whole situation personally. But some of the comments made me put my 2 cents here.

I think everybody is taking these „education“ reasons too seriously. For me, this seems like PR reply. Maybe it is one the reasons, but definitely not the only one. Actually, the first idea that came to my mind when reading this sad news was: „ok, so Bidar have finally enough, he fulfilled his job, worked through olympics and worlds and now, he’s running from „them“ as far as he can“

Now first of all, please don’t jump on me and say I’m Anna’s hater, because that is absolutelly not true. There are aspects of her skating I like less or more. I can’t judge her as person (actually I have impression she’s very joyous, nice young lady) and I have a huge respect for her as a sportswoman, especially after her heroic comeback from the injury.

That said, I’ve always had an impression of a very uneven possition of both partners in this pair, with Martin always playing the second fiddle. This feeling started during the EC in Ostrava, when some interviews where shown on the big screens in the areena during ice resurfacing. Mrs. Horklova was talking about the couple. She spend tons of time, talking about Anna as a leader of the couple, how amazing she is, expressive, with great technique,… Then, at the end, she put together 2 sentences about Martin. „He is very calm. His jumping ability is average.“ I was in a complete shock, hearing this. Seriously? How do you think the skater feels, if the coach have nothing good to tell about him? And it is shown to the audience during his first senior championship…. Also, how does she interact with him, if she is fine to comment about him on public this way?

I’m not even trying to find lots of information about them, but on numerous ocasions, I had impression something is really wrong. Them having their music, costumes,…completely organized by their coach. Some comments here and there in the interviews of their coach ("But the leader of the team, Anicka, has it in clear in her head, and I believe that she will always push for it." (does it mean he doesn't ?), etc….) . Having so much emphasis on Anna’s injury, while almost never mention his injuries. His costume miraculously forgotten in his coache's wardrobe….just small details, but to me, that relationship seemed always somehow unbalanced.

Even if you check their last instagram posts, Anna's is about having great memories and being gratefull to everybody who supported the couple, but she didn't really thank Martin at all. Also, her picture has her on the first plan. For Bidar it is the different, he thanks Anna for the years together and he choose picture that shows them equally. Maybe I'm reading too much into the pictures, but the fact she didn't really thank Bidar seems unfortunate to me. Also, I can see how he felt unconfortable, living with her familly at the age of 18 and I find it unacceptable her parents were informed about his intentions to move by the coach, before he had opportunity to do it himself. And if it is really true, that her parents informed the fed about their split without informing him, how can you even blame him for the split ?

Sure, Anna’s big quality is her amazing smile, speed and joy she’s projecting, while skating. But I would argue, Martin is otherwise much better. He should work on the presentation side, but he has much better lines, finishing his movements, he's very flexible for a male partner and pretty strong and reliable. Yes, I really find him strong. You have to consider, that while Anna is not so young (for pairs girls), he is super young (for pairs boy). At his age, parthers are generally dealing with 14 years old tiny girls. Also, from the dance choreographer point of view, I have big problem with, let’s say, aesthetics of her movements and it seems she’s not super helpfull in lifts neither. Again, this is not to criticize her, but to say, imo, he’s not getting credit at all.

I wish them all the best, her to combine her education and skating and not lose that amazing joy and him to fulfull all his ambitions while being more respected and free to make his decisions.
 
Martin Bidar’s brother, Peter Bidar, placed with Kadlecova 7th at Europeans. (For Russian pair it would be a disaster, but for Czech republic it was considered a very good result). But he decided that he would like a slimmer girl (he commented in an interview about her weight. She definitely wasn’t fat, by the way). And the result - no one has ever seen him and his new partner in a competition.

You seem to have some personal problem with Bidar familly, Hanca? Or maybe you just take personally that the Czech republic lost promising couple ? (I'm also Czech, btw.) I don't know if you've noticed it, but Kadlecova simply grew too tall. And you can't say she was in perfect sport shape neither https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jt1COialAA Him ending the partnership was the only possibility to protect his health (and it seems it was too late anyways). And I say this as somebody, who loved young Kadlecova/Bidar even better than Duskova/Bidar. You can be sorry about that, but sometimes, you simply have to make painfull decisions. Had they continued, both would be in serious danger, this is how it works in pairs. You need to have weight difference or to have that incredible lifting technique and shape Sui and Han have. And sadly, Kadlecova is not Sui.
 
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Well, Martin obviously knows all this. That’s why I really believe he was selfish to put a pressure on her to make such significant changes in her last year at grammar school. He could have waited for a year and see how things will work out. Perhaps suggest that she chooses university abroad for the following year, or get her place at uni and then postpone her study... There is more flexibility at universities than there is at grammar school. Unlike in the UK where they would be willing to fit the schedule according to the individual needs, Czech school system is quite rigid and students are expected to fit into the school schedule, not the other way round.
I'm not Czech, but our school system is very similar to Czech therefore my 2 cents, "maturita" especially the oral part is a mere formality in the sence if you were a good student for the previous four years there is no way they are not going to let you fail there. What matters when applying to an university, even a very good one, are your grades for the four years of study, not the result of your "maturita", you just need to have it.

I'm sad to see that this is slowly turning to Martin hate threat. Even if it was his decision, and given all the news it seems it wasn't his decision only, he had absolutely a right to walk away from the partnership any moment he wanted. My feeling is that they came to the point in their partnership when their life goals turned out to be completely different. Martin wants to fully focus on skating, while Anna wants to focus on her education and both are perfectly fine. If he wants to improve his skating, than I don't think wasting another season in Prague would sound too good to anyone in his shoes, especially if it is not certain that it's going to be only one season. He is still young and can build a successful partnership with someone else. And if you find grammar school not flexible with individual student needs, than medicine is one of the most unflexible fields around, it's also one of the few fields that can be studied only as a day-time study. Try to combine that with daily trainings and competitions...
 
You seem to have some personal problem with Bidar familly, Hanca? Or maybe you just take personally that the Czech republic lost promising couple ? (I'm also Czech, btw.) I don't know if you've noticed it, but Kadlecova simply grow too tall. And you can't say she was in perfect sport shape neither https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jt1COialAA Him ending the partnership was the only possibility to protect his health (and it seems it was too late anyways). And I say this as somebody, who loved young Kadlecova/Bidar even better than Diskova/Bidar. You can be sorry about that, but sometimes, you simply have to make painfull decisions. Had they continued, both would be in serious danger, this is how it works in pairs. You need to have weight difference or to have that incredible lifting technique and shape Sui and Han have. And sadly, Kadlecova is not Sui.
I have nothing against Bidar’s family, I don’t know either of the skaters or their families personally and I have no hidden reasons to be siding with one or the other. On the other hand, I can make my own opinion based on what I read, and from what I read, I am just not impressed with the guy who waits until he finishes his school and then pushes her to go abroad whike she is in the most important year of her studies.
Whether Kadlecova grew too tall or not, that’s another matter. I know of pairs that have much less size difference than Kadlecova/Bidar, but if this is how he feels, that’s fine. But the reason for their split he stated that it is because he wants to abroad and she doesn’t want to. And pushing someone in her last year at grammar school to do that, that’s in my view unreasonable and selfish. You may have a different opinion and that’s fine, but I have mine.
 
North Americans don't know a) what the term "Maturita" means, the word itself, and b) and the "concept of it" as there are no "Graduation/Exit Exams" on top of "individual courses exams" during last year of high-school. In North Am you only take regular exams for the actual courses you take during last year and if you pass (given you passed all previous years) you get your High School Diploma. (the entry exams into Universities in USA are also a completely different process and concept, not like in Eastern Europe and some other countries in Europe, etc.).

If a person fails in High School, or does not complete all 4 grades of High School, drops out, in other words "does not graduate", he/she can later (at ANY age) take General Education Test/Exam and get a "GED" - General Education Diploma, which is not the same, but equivalent to High School Diploma. US issued GED is often not recognized by other countries. But it can be used in USA (don't know about Canada) to apply to some (not all) colleges/universities and all trade schools.

Actually some states, like Maryland, now have matriculation exams you have to pass to graduate high school. See “C” describing the four exams:http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/Documents/Testing/GraduationsRequirements2018.pdf

I agree that it sounds like Anna’s options would be foreclosed without graduating and taking those exams. So good for her in keeping the rest of her life in mind, most pair skaters are not Aljona or Meaghan skating into their 30s.
 
I'm not Czech, but our school system is very similar to Czech therefore my 2 cents, "maturita" especially the oral part is a mere formality in the sence if you were a good student for the previous four years there is no way they are not going to let you fail there. What matters when applying to an university, even a very good one, are your grades for the four years of study, not the result of your "maturita", you just need to have it.
..
Well, I am glad maturita is just formality in your country, but I can assure you that it isn’t in the Czech Republic. When I did my grammar school, several students from my year failed. And those were very much ‘above average’ students who did pretty well throughout the past four years. They just suddenly couldn’t recall whatever they needed. They needed facts and they didn’t have them. I am not sure how it works in your country that they ‘don’t let the student to fail’ - it is not 1:1 exam, there is several examiners, so do they all pretend that the student answeed adequately and had the knowledge (when the student didn’t), or how can they not let someone fail? Is it the new thinking, like ‘everyone is the winner’, even if someone doesn’t perform?
 
I'm not Czech, but our school system is very similar to Czech therefore my 2 cents, "maturita" especially the oral part is a mere formality in the sence if you were a good student for the previous four years there is no way they are not going to let you fail there. What matters when applying to an university, even a very good one, are your grades for the four years of study, not the result of your "maturita", you just need to have it.

I'm sad to see that this is slowly turning to Martin hate threat. Even if it was his decision, and given all the news it seems it wasn't his decision only, he had absolutely a right to walk away from the partnership any moment he wanted. My feeling is that they came to the point in their partnership when their life goals turned out to be completely different. Martin wants to fully focus on skating, while Anna wants to focus on her education and both are perfectly fine. If he wants to improve his skating, than I don't think wasting another season in Prague would sound too good to anyone in his shoes, especially if it is not certain that it's going to be only one season. He is still young and can build a successful partnership with someone else. And if you find grammar school not flexible with individual student needs, than medicine is one of the most unflexible fields around, it's also one of the few fields that can be studied only as a day-time study. Try to combine that with daily trainings and competitions...

Thank you for this reasonable and completely true post. I would also like to add that in order to be admited to the medecine, you have to pass entrance exams (biology, maths,... organized by the University). Your grades during the 4 previous years are just part of the final decision. Only a small % of applicants can be admited authomatically, based on their high school results during the previous years. You have to be fantastic student to be admited this way. Anyways, I really believe the education is only a part of the story and we will never know all the true reasons for this split.
 
I have to say I prefered to stay away from this discussion at first, because I think it is very unfair to judge somebody without knowing him and the whole situation personally.
... <snip>
I wish them all the best, her to combine her education and skating and not lose that amazing joy and him to fulfull all his ambitions while being more respected and free to make his decisions.
This post excerpt pretty much sums it up for me. Thanks!

Bottom line: we fans aren't entitled to know/hear "all the true reasons" for a split. Duskova/Bidar had success together as a team and I'm glad they both got to win a Junior World title together, as well as experience 1 Euros, 2 Worlds and an Olympics. I hope they both will enjoy the next stage of their careers, on and off the ice.
 
I'm not Czech, but our school system is very similar to Czech therefore my 2 cents, "maturita" especially the oral part is a mere formality in the sence if you were a good student for the previous four years there is no way they are not going to let you fail there. What matters when applying to an university, even a very good one, are your grades for the four years of study, not the result of your "maturita", you just need to have it.

I'm sad to see that this is slowly turning to Martin hate threat. Even if it was his decision, and given all the news it seems it wasn't his decision only, he had absolutely a right to walk away from the partnership any moment he wanted. My feeling is that they came to the point in their partnership when their life goals turned out to be completely different. Martin wants to fully focus on skating, while Anna wants to focus on her education and both are perfectly fine. If he wants to improve his skating, than I don't think wasting another season in Prague would sound too good to anyone in his shoes, especially if it is not certain that it's going to be only one season. He is still young and can build a successful partnership with someone else. And if you find grammar school not flexible with individual student needs, than medicine is one of the most unflexible fields around, it's also one of the few fields that can be studied only as a day-time study. Try to combine that with daily trainings and competitions...
This is the biggest thing for me. There's a really big difference between 'wait a year and then we'll for sure go train abroad' and 'wait a year and then maybe we can go or maybe I'll go to University. We'll see.'

If training abroad is important to him, then putting it off with no guarantee that it will ever happen would be hard to swallow.
 
Well, I am glad maturita is just formality in your country, but I can assure you that it isn’t in the Czech Republic. When I did my grammar school, several students from my year failed. And those were very much ‘above average’ students who did pretty well throughout the past four years. They just suddenly couldn’t recall whatever they needed. They needed facts and they didn’t have them. I am not sure how it works in your country that they ‘don’t let the student to fail’ - it is not 1:1 exam, there is several examiners, so do they all pretend that the student answeed adequately and had the knowledge (when the student didn’t), or how can they not let someone fail? Is it the new thinking, like ‘everyone is the winner’, even if someone doesn’t perform?
No it's not 1:1 exam, there are also teachers from different schools in the committee, but usually the examiners are not there to push you to fail. Yes, it happens that due to nerves or whatever you can't find the facts but when they see this happening they help you with their questions and get those facts out of you. And no not everyone is a winner, we had cusualities too, but those were below avarage students who sadly did not surprise with a miracously new found knowledge on that one designed day. It's been a few years since I had mine, but as I remember it the written part of maturita was in April and the oral in May/June so I really don't see how that would be incompatible with individual study plan for part of the season. When there's a will, there's a way, but there obviously wasn't any. But we are getting completely off topic now.
 
Actually some states, like Maryland, now have matriculation exams you have to pass to graduate high school. See “C” describing the four exams:http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/Documents/Testing/GraduationsRequirements2018.pdf
Very glad to hear it! I was expecting an "Exit Exam" when finishing high-school, but there was none.... so nothing that i learned was summed up, tabulated and officially recorded. If there was such Exam back then, i would study... if not, then why bother, since i knew 80% of the stuff in 6th grade in Moscow.. and it is more fun to drink beer and smoke pot behind the school's parking lot.. :D

I'm sad to see that this is slowly turning to Martin hate threat.
:lol: well, there is a trend lately - "a man is always in the wrong" if he chooses to leave his female partner for whatever reasons, especially if it has to do with "girl's size and weight"... Men are evil today, so they should break their spines lifting a girl that is too heavy for them, they deserve it.. just because they are men and that means "privilege".. :D
 
Any news about the future partners for these two?
I checked Czechian press, no news on partners. Few bits: Bidar is vacationing in Sumava/Bohemian Woods by the lake with his family/brother. Duskova is swimming/resting during hot days, took a foto in a bathing suite for a sport publication, still states "Bidar is an adult now, wants to travel the world, try himself in Canada. I want to combine sports and studies while remaining locally."
https://img.blesk.cz/img/2/full/4946097_.jpg
„Martin je maturant, a tak se může posunout do světa. Já chci skloubit sportovní a studijní povinnosti doma,“ uvedla v tiskové zprávě Dušková. Bidař chce sbírat zkušenosti v cizině (především v Kanadě).
 
I checked Czechian press, no news on partners. Few bits: Bidar is vacationing in Sumava/Bohemian Woods by the lake with his family/brother. Duskova is swimming/resting during hot days, took a foto in a bathing suite for a sport publication, still states "Bidar is an adult now, wants to travel the world, try himself in Canada. I want to combine sports and studies while remaining locally."
https://img.blesk.cz/img/2/full/4946097_.jpg
„Martin je maturant, a tak se může posunout do světa. Já chci skloubit sportovní a studijní povinnosti doma,“ uvedla v tiskové zprávě Dušková. Bidař chce sbírat zkušenosti v cizině (především v Kanadě).
What is Czechian press? Czechian press from Czechian republic? and here I thought it is Czech Republic, with their currency Czech Koruna and therefore they have Czech press.
 
What is Czechian press? Czechian press from Czechian republic? and here I thought it is Czech Republic, with their currency Czech Koruna and therefore they have Czech press.
They changed the name of the country a few years ago from the Czech Republic to Czechia, apparently to make it easier for people around the world. Since most of the rest of the world doesn't really care, we haven't bothered to adjust the way that we refer to the country.
 
They changed the name of the country a few years ago from the Czech Republic to Czechia, apparently to make it easier for people around the world. Since most of the rest of the world doesn't really care, we haven't bothered to adjust the way that we refer to the country.
I am aware that it is now acceptable to use the shorter name - Czechia instead of Czech republic, similarly as for example you say France rather than French Republic. I just didn’t think they started changing the adjective (using Czechian instead of Czech).

If you think Czechian sounds that great, would you say French bread or Francian bread? Polandian/Polishian books or Polish books?
 
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I am aware that it is now acceptable to use the shorter name - Czechia instead of Czech republic, similarly as for example you say France rather than French Republic. I just didn’t think they started changing the adjective (using Czechian instead of Czech).

If you think Czechian sounds that great, would you say French bread or Francian bread? Polandian/Polishian books or Polish books?
Boure ve sklenici vody ..:p

... it's the feminine "ia" ending in the country's name.....
Macedonia - Macedonia-n
Bulgaria - Bulgaria-n
Bavaria - Bavaria-n
Austria - Austria-n
Bolivia - Bolivia-n
Jugoslavia - Jugoslavia-n
Nigeria - Nigeria-n
Russia - Russia-n
... and Czechia - Czeckia-n
 
Boure ve sklenici vody ..:p

... it's the feminine "ia" ending in the country's name.....
Macedonia - Macedonia-n
Bulgaria - Bulgaria-n
Bavaria - Bavaria-n
Austria - Austria-n
Bolivia - Bolivia-n
Jugoslavia - Jugoslavia-n
Nigeria - Nigeria-n
Russia - Russia-n
... and Czechia - Czeckia-n

Well, the fact that you found enough countries where it is actually correct doesn’t mean that it is correct in this instance. In English for every rule there is a number of of exceptions and I have never heard anyone using Czechian instead of Czech. It sounds awful.
England - Englandian or English?
Great Britain - Britanian or British?
Poland- Polandian or Polish?
France - Francian or French?
Holland- Hollandian or Dutch?
Denmark - Denmarkian or Dannish?
Sweden - Swedenian or Swedish?

ETA: I guess the countries you named, the official/formal name of the country is ending with -ia. But Czechia is not the official name of the country. The formal name of the country remained Czech Republic, it is just acceptable to be using to shorter version Czechia.
 
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In the first article you attached it says “it is recommended to use a one-word in foreign languages, if it is not necessary to use the formal name of the country.” So that sort of confirms what I am saying. The formal name remain the Czech Republic. But thank you for enclosing the link.

I didn’t even bother to read through the others then.
 

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