On December 11, 2022, the Polish national team under 21 will start the Junior World Curling Championship. However, before that happens, he has to collect 20,000 zlotys to cover the costs of participation in the competition in Finland.

On November 7-9 this year, the Polish Junior Championships took place in the curling hall in Łódź, which was also a qualifying tournament for the Polish national team in this age category. Gold medals and the right to represent the country at the most important competitions for players of this age were awarded to the team of the Polish Sports Organization in Łódź, led by Maksym Grzelka (skip, i.e. captain).

Application for the dissolution of the Polish Curling Association

It soon turned out that the players were en titled to represent Poland provided that they paid for the entire trip. The Polish Curling Association does not have any funds for the team's trip to the competition, its accounts are seized by bailiffs, and for several years it has been cut off from the Ministry of Sport and Tourism subsidies. In October 2022, the Minister of Sport applied to the National Court Register to dissolve this relationship due to the impossibility of solving this problem.

Championship? Yes, as long as you pay yourself

Due to the lack of funding for the national team by the Polish Curling Association, the search for sponsors has started. The cost of the trip is estimated at about PLN 20,000. It is mainly due to the very high prices of accommodation and food in the vicinity of the resort where all the other teams will be accommodated (Lohja). Unfortunately, there are no vacancies in the resort in Lohja - the Polish Curling Association did not take care of it early enough.

Competitors try to find a private accommodation in the area, but even if it succeeds - young people will have to travel to the hall every day. This will generate fatigue, additional stress and difficult logistics.

Players - let us remind you - under the age of 21, if they want to fulfill their dream of playing at the World Cup, they have to cover the cost of accommodation, meals, pre-championship training, sports equipment, team uniforms, and much more.

The World Curling Federation reimburses the cost of buying air tickets, but you still have to survive in Finland …

Youth is punished

At the Polish Championships inNo representative of the Polish Curling Association appeared in Łódź. That is why the Polish Federation of Curling Clubs and the Polish Sports Organization Łódź are trying to support the participation of the junior team in this exceptional event for young athletes. Unfortunately, due to the incorrect settlement of subsidies by PZC, we cannot apply for budget funds - young curlers are punished for PZC's activities.

Only 3 weeks now …

Only three weeks to start. The Polish national team was selected for the Junior World Championships: Maksym Grzelka (skip), Jan Karolewski (vice-skip), Dawid Kowalczyk, Dawid Mucha, Jakub Kowalczyk and the coach - Jeremi Telak. It is a young, talented and ambitious team for which it is not the first success. These players have been successful, not only junior ones, for several seasons. They were, among others medalists of the National Youth Olympics, and together with their senior teams, took high places at the Polish Men's Championships - in this year's April team with Maksym in the line-up took fourth place, and Janek's team - sixth place.

They have been playing curling for over 8 years, and regular training and the tournament experience gathered over the past seasons have finally tangibly paid off and allowed them to reach, for the first time, the gold of the Polish Junior Championships. On a daily basis, they are students of the following universities of technology: Łódź - Maksym, Janek and Dawid M., and of Silesia - Dawid K. and Kuba.

Some of them, apart from their own training, also conduct classes for other groups of even younger players, regularly help in the organization of national tournaments, they are very eager to learn various additional specializations related to curling (preparing ice for the game, handling matches, refereeing, etc. ). They are full of energy, enthusiasm and especially well-driven for sports! We can be proud of them.

If anyone can - the curlers are asking for support for the drop for the Junior World Championships https://zrzutka.pl/cayb7j. It is a really good investment in talented, cool young people who will proudly represent the Polish eagle on their breasts for the first time. Let's help them!

Category:

Winter sports