The finals, held at the arena on the border between the cities of Gdańsk and Sopot, were the closing stage of the programme’s first edition. The tournament, including the local stage, attracted over 2,200 teams and over 14,000 kids from all over Poland, competing in two age categories: U-11 and U-12. The finals at ERGO Arena gathered 256 players from 32 top ‘mixed’ teams selected in the sixteen province-level tournaments. 

The winner in the U-11 category was the team from Winnica (Mazowieckie province) who won 2-0 over SP Lipusz (Pomorskie province) in penalties, after a 14-14 draw. In the older category, U-12, the winner was SP 7 Brodnica (Kujawsko-Pomorskie province) who defeated Ustroń U-12 (Śląskie province) 19:18. All matches of the final stage were played by the 16 teams simultaneously on four pitches within ERGO Arena. 

The finals’ closing ceremony 

The medal ceremony aimed to emphasize the status of the finals. Medals and cups were presented to the winning teams by Sławomir Szmal, President of the Polish Handball Federation, Piotr Należyty, President of the Board of Superliga, and Rafał Wosik, President of Orły Sportu [Eagles of Sport] foundation. The ceremony was also attended by former and current members of the Polish national handball team: playmaker Damian Wleklak, winger Mikołaj Czapliński and playmaker Jakub Będzikowski. They supported the young players from the stands during the matches.

The programme shows that for kids at this age, handball is really attractive. The young players are not sitting at their computers or with their phones but are competing as well as communicating, which is truly important in today’s world. I think that such initiatives and my sport serve this purpose well. It’s wonderful that we have teams here from all over Poland. They often come from small towns and if they want to play handball, it just works there. I am the best example of a person from such a town, who still has achieved success

- said Sławomir Szmal, a famous goalkeeper of the national team. 

The programme develops, integrates and inspires people

Handball at Orlik Pitches is a national-level programme carried out as part of the Active School initiative run by the Eagles of Sport foundation. The programme is financed from the state budget’s component managed by the Minister of Sport and Tourism. Its aim is to promote physical activity, integrate school communities, ensure equal access to sport and strengthen the principle of fair play.

In the coming years, such sports training and projects will be crucial for increasing the position of our sport. This can be achieved through a large number of events and tournaments promoting the sport, and training organised by clubs and the Polish Handball Federation. I hope that the kids who have played at this great venue, ERGO Arena, will become players of ORLEN Superliga and ORLEN Women’s Superliga

- said Piotr Należyty.

The project partners are the Polish Handball Federation and ORLEN Superliga. The strategic partner of the tournament is ORLEN, a company that for years has been supporting sports initiatives for children and young people and promoting an active lifestyle . 

More information about the Handball at Orlik Pitches programme is available at: https://recznanaorliku.pl/.