Vangelis Kotsampas – Caring for your village
It is late Friday afternoon, and Vangelis is sitting with some people in the shade of a plane tree in the platia of Plagia. It is still hot and they drink their Nescafé freddo in small sips, while concentrating on a spreadsheet, that Vangelis is showing them on his laptop. This is THE masterplan for the “Ikaria Run” – the international sports event of Ikaria that will happen tomorrow. And the group gathering here are the ones responsible for ensuring a smooth operation of the event. Most of them are members of the local association of Plagia, others are people from the village who want to help organise the sporting event that has put their village on the athletics map in Greece. Everybody here knows that they are facing a tough day, that tomorrow their quiet village will be turned upside down by hundreds of athletes participating in the run, by hundreds of spectators who will be cheering the runners … and on top of it, Ikaria is just going through another heat wave with nearly 38 degrees at lunchtime. “Popo”, some of them are sighing, “that will be difficult.” But none of them is really worried. They have experience in organising this sports event and above all: they all trust Vangelis, the coordinator of this activity. He keeps everything under control and knows exactly what to do. So, no need to worry.
While the people around the table sip their coffee and roll their cigarettes, Vangelis is finalizing some changes in his spreadsheet before he starts the discussion. “Lambi, did you inform the police to be here tomorrow by 4 p.m.? Maria, have the doctors been told to be here at the same time? Elena, have you printed off the list of participants? You know, we had a lot of problems with the registration last year, we need to avoid the hassle this year.”
The people at the table are nodding in agreement. They know their tasks and they are well prepared. They have been working on this project for quite a while now. Over the past few months, Vangelis has steered them through the entire organisation, always keeping a close eye on the details. In doing so, he constantly had to strike a balance between two different worlds: on the one hand, there is the Ikarian mentality of organising everything at the last minute, always following the motto ‘it’ll work out – somehow’. And on the other hand, there is the professional standard he has developed over the years as the manager of a fitness club in Athens, namely: leave nothing to chance, plan everything in advance and keep contingencies in mind.
But actually it wasn’t that stressful for Vangelis. Why should it have been? He himself is Ikarian. His roots are here in this village. He has known this small community since childhood; he knows everyone and their quirks. What’s more, he is the founder of this sporting event which will take place for the 12th time tomorrow. So, he knows what he is doing, there is nothing to worry about. Everything is under control … even by Ikarian standards.
The Plagiotes are getting ready for the “Ikaria Run”
But nevertheless, later at night, when the platia is full of people enjoying a cheerful summer night, Vangelis makes his last tour through the village, checking the different materials. He is still surprised that more than 300 people have subscribed for this competition. A run with a distance of either 5 or 10 km on the steep roads of Ikaria is a challenge, especially at the beginning of August. And when Vangelis presented this idea in 2013 to the Plagiotes, people nearly called him crazy. Not only that it was a bold idea to organise a long distance run in the middle of summer, but to open it for people not only outside the island, but also outside Greece left people speechless. There was little belief in it, that it would work. But everybody knows that Vangelis is stubborn and that he sees possibilities and solutions instead of problems and obstacles. That is why they have elected him president of the village association on several occasions – even though Vangelis does not live in Plagia all year round, but in Athens, and only comes to Ikaria occasionally. For the locals this is ok, because what matters to them are his dedication and his love for the village. From a very young age, Vangelis has shown that the village, its development and the village community are very close to his heart, so they trust him.
That was why they kept listening to him whenever Vangelis brought up the idea of organising a race – a race that would start and finish in Plagia, followed by a makaronada for everyone.
And eventually they gave in. Vangelis presented them his plan and they simply joined in. Because working together is something the Plagiotes know very well; they have a lot of experience, not only when it comes to organising the annual Panagyri, but also when it comes to supporting one another in difficult times.
Vangelis smiles as he checks the microphones and stopwatches he’ll need tomorrow. “Yes, it was a crazy idea,” he thinks, “but in the end, it was just a logical consequence of my personal development here on Ikaria and in Athens.”
Vangelis has family roots here in Plagia. Both his parents are from this village, which was very remote until the 1970s, when finally a road was built and connected Plagia with the rest of the island (of course not an asphalt road, but a least a dirt road). His grandfather had run one of the two kafenia in the platia and only in his old age did he hand it over to one of his sons who still stands behind the bar today.
Kafenion of Vangelis’ uncle
Vangelis’s parents left for Athens, where Vangelis grew up and became very interested in sports. Of course he was playing basketball, but while watching the Olympic Games as a teenager, he decided to become an athlete, too. He was good, but he didn’t go to a special sports school, instead, he trained at various clubs. Vangelis was very ambitious, but at some point, he realised that he wasn’t going to become a professional athlete. Instead, he enrolled at a sports college in northern Greece and left it as a certified sports trainer. Back in Athens he started working as a personal trainer at a gym and as professionally qualified trainers were in demand at that time, he had a good perspective in this job.
Up until now, Vangelis has worked for more than 22 years in various fitness clubs in Athens and is now the manager of one of these centres., This means he is now working more at management level than on the sports level of the club. To this end, he completed a master’s degree a few years ago, enabling him to perform his management duties more effectively.
But during all these years, Vangelis was and stayed deeply rooted in his village, Plagia. When people are asking him where he comes from, he doesn’t say ‘Athens’ but he always mentions his village on Ikaria. And for him this is true: like every child with Ikarian roots living in Athens, Vangelis spent all his holidays on the island: long summers, Easter holidays, Christmas and – if possible – every other occasion possible. And when he was there, he didn’t just hang out with the other children. From an early age he got involved in the village activities, may it be in painting a wall or repairing fences. And of course, he was there when the village was preparing together the famous Panagyri of Plagia, which takes place every year on 08th September. Here every pair of hands is needed, and Vangelis happily joins in peeling potatoes or putting up tables and chairs in the platia. He was so serious is in his work, that the local community entrusted him with the till at the panagyri, when he was only 15 years old.
Preparation of the panagyri in Plagia
Vangelis always liked caring for his village, and he was very proud about it. So when he was at university, he happily invited friends to his village and showed them around. But it was their disbelief, while visiting the island, and being confronted with the basic infrastructure and comfort, that really got him thinking. Not in the sense that he wanted to bring the Athenian lifestyle to Plagia, but rather with the question: can we do something better? Something better to have a nicer life in our local community? From then on, he has consistently taken the initiative. He suggested that the kafenia around the platia be painted, so that the place looks brighter and more inviting. Vangelis suggested that the platia should not be a car park, but a meeting place for the village community – an open-air living room, as it has always been the tradition in the villages. And he succeeded with most of his ideas. The platia became a lively place again – at least in the evenings, when the locals are meeting, chatting, drinking, smoking and just enjoying being together. In the beginning Vangelis secretly “kept watch” to make sure the cars were actually parked elsewhere.
Kafenion in Plagia at night
But his commitment convinced the locals and at the age of 19 years, Vangelis became for the first time an elected member of the local association of Plagia. And he took this role very seriously. For him “running a local association” is more than just organising the annual Panagyri. As president, one must look after the interests of the village and support its development. Vangelis attaches particular importance to social welfare, cultural development and the inclusion of all villagers. For example, Vangelis has taken the initiative to set up an open-air cinema in summer, which transforms the platia into a cinema. Films for all ages are shown here: feature films, documentaries and children’s films.
The “screen” for the summer cinema programme in Plagia
The consistency of Vangelis’s commitment has won over many sceptics. More people are getting involved in the village activities. And although Vangelis spends a lot of time in Athens, there is a good communication with the other members of the association living in Plagia. This ensures that the villagers are looked after and that no one is left on their own. Among others, the association offers support if someone needs to sort something out at the town hall or if someone is ill.
Through his work at the association, but also at the gyms, Vangelis knows how important communication is. Being deeply rooted in the Ikarian mentality of solidarity and frugality, he has the Ikarian way of thinking and acting in his DNA. Against this backdrop, it is important to him that as many Plagiotes as possible are not only kept informed about what is happening in the village and on the island but also have an opportunity to take part in important political discussions. That is one of the reasons why he founded the association of Plagia in Athens as well. In this way, those who do not live in the village all year round still have the opportunity to look after their homeland and can play an active part during the summer.
At the moment, the association of Plagia has more than 100 members. This means that the management board has to work a lot to keep this community active and to mobilize them when necessary. This is particularly important when it comes to such crucial matters as waste disposal on the island or the construction of wind turbines. Thanks to the association’s persistent efforts, plans to open a landfill site next to Plagia were successfully thwarted a few years ago.
Yes, if you take the role as the president of the local association of Plagia seriously, it can sometimes be exhausting. But Vangelis doesn’t complain about it. His village and its people are close to his heart, and he can see the progress that is slowly being made. He’s delighted by all the support. And he’s still absolutely thrilled that the village has joined him in the adventure of organising the ‘Ikaria Run’.
Indeed, it started as a completely crazy idea, but this one was deeply rooted in Vangelis’ wish to bring together the things he likes a lot: running long distance and supporting his village.
Vangelis has loved running long distances for many years. He has taken part in various marathons all over Greece. And, of course, he trained whilst he was in Plagia. Time and again, he encouraged the villagers to join him. Some followed his lead and gradually began to enjoy running, too.
When the idea came up to organise a running competition on Ikaria, Vangelis thought immediately about his village, especially for practical reasons. Here he knows the people, he can act independently and can control the details, because – in comparison to other Ikarian events, the “Ikaria Run” has to start on time (!). So he started discussing the idea at different tables: at Christmas, at Easter … on other occasions. Putting ideas forward, who could cook, how to take care of the participants, how to get sponsors, how to publish the event nationally ….slowly these became concrete plans. A lot of tasks popped up on the “to-do-list”, but Vangelis stayed firm. Giving up was not an option, because for him the “Ikaria Run” was (and is) a good momentum to advertise Ikaria as an island that is more than “Panagyri” and summer beaches. And Vangelis was proven right. In 2014 the first competition started with round about 170 participants – people coming not only from all the different villages on Ikaria, but also from other islands and from all over Greece. And tourists from different countries who were staying on Ikaria, were joining in so that the Run became a nice international event.
The “Ikaria Run”
For Vangelis, the “Ikaria Run” is not about ‘competition’ and ‘winning’. It is more about the fun, the community and the atmosphere where people of different generations and ages are enjoying being together. To this backdrop, the technical equipment of the race is simple – more Ikarian style: the time is stopped by hand, not electronically; Vangelis is doing the announcements via a simple microphone, the participants are registering by signing by hand and not via an App.
Vangelis making last minute arrangements
And the best part is the “after-race-gathering”: huge amounts of pasta are cooked in the big kitchen under the platia, easily feeding all the participants and spectators. Vangelis loves the moment, when everybody is smiling, talking to each other. And it gives him particular pleasure to see the sparkle in the locals’ eyes – they’re simply delighted that so many people are coming from far to their village and enjoying themselves.
But now it is getting late. Vangelis is checking for the last time the list participants for the 12th “Ikaria Run”. Over 300 people– an impressive number. Looks like that event is slowly developing into a “must do” and “must have” on Ikaria. “Not a bad idea”, Vangelis is thinking, before he is switching off the light in the community hall of the village and heads home. Tomorrow will be a tough day for him … but a good one for the village.
(@ Birgit Urban – text and photos)