Poste San Marino | Ufficio Filatelico Numismatico San Marino

San Marino

16 June 2020

Athletics Championships of the Small States of Europe San Marino

Technical Specifications:

Author: Riccardo Guasco
Printing: 4 colour offset, a Pantone and yellow fluorescent invisible ink by Cartor Security Printing
Perforation: 13 x 13¼
Date Of Issue: 16 06 2020
Value: €3,45
Print Run: 30.000
Printing: Offset lithography

The Championships of the Small States of Europe (CSSE) is a biennial competition in outdoor track and field organised by the Athletic Association of Small States of Europe (AASE). First held in 2016, the competition is held on alternate years with the Games of the Small States of Europe.

The idea for a stand-alone athletics championships for European small states arose through discussions with AASE president Edwin Attard and European Athletic Association president Hansjörg Wirz. The European small states traditionally sent a combined team to the European Team Championships, but following that competition’s change to a biennial format a gap in the sporting calendar emerged. Competing nations used the competition to help their athletes push for qualifying standards to the European Athletics Championships and Summer Olympics.

The event, organized by the San Marino Athletics Federation, in 2020 was scheduled to take place for the first time in San Marino hosting competitions of all the specialties of athletics. The series depicts athletes during the jump with the rod, in the 100 meters flat race, in the obstacles run and in the long jump. Inside the small space of a stamp, the power of the athletic gesture is emphasized. The athlete and his body are at the center of these subjects, represented in their maximum expression of elegance and power.