In the last season we took advantage of an extraordinary opportunity – for the first time AZS SGH (University Sports Association of SGH) was one of the organisers of university championship of Poland, twice: it organised semifinal and final of men’s football tournament.
As the dust settled after both tournaments, we can proudly say that we performed the task very well.
The semifinal, in which nine teams took part, including five from Warsaw, one from Łódź, and one from Olsztyn, was the simplest to organise, and was perceived as a “trial” tournament. There were no official medal ceremonies, visits of university authorities or AZS Board, and the main goal of each team was to advance to the final. We, as organisers, wanted to gain organisational experience and to integrate as a team. We managed to attain both these objectives.
We had been planning the final tournament, our main organizational goal of the season, since September 2022. Apart from crucial matters such as renting the venue, arranging accommodation, and selecting the appropriate refereeing staff, we took care of every detail, from beautiful trophies to cheerleader formations and healthy snacks for participants. We were the first to organize a ceremonial opening of the tournament, during which the academic anthem, “Gaudeamus Igitur,” was performed and the Rector of SGH Piotr Wachowiak presented the trophies on a magnificent podium.
A row of cheerleaders from the aerobics section awaited the finalists
One of the participants in both tournaments was the captain of the team from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn – Mahamadou Bah. His team, the “dark horse” of the competition, achieved a historic second place in the entire tournament. Here is how the captain commented on the competition: “. . . as far as organisation is concerned, everything was top-notch – from the beginning to the last match and the final ceremony. This final will certainly stay in our memory for a long time.”
Dr. Marcin Stachowicz, the coach responsible for both tournaments, remarked in a similar tone: “I think everything was at a top level; we quickly dealt with problems that occurred. For me, the most important thing is the opinion of the participants, and we received praises from all sides. As a team, we performed excellently. It was definitely a successful organizational debut for our club, and the bar has been set very high for the coming years.”
The players also deserve praise. SGH players were the only ones to win both matches in the group stage on the first day of the competition and were the first to advance to the knockout stage. Ultimately, our team took the eighth place, winning the classification of social and natural science universities, repeating the achievement from the previous year. We congratulate the footballers and wish them further success. As an organizing team, we have accomplished our task with flying colours.
The tournament partners were the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, PZU, Decathlon, and Republika Smakoszy.
MAGDALENA BRYK, AZS SGH Board Member
Fot. Marcin Selerski (Marcin.biz)
