Eight teams took part in the final tournament. The competition was played in two groups, with four teams in each. The Lower Silesian team, which included senior firefighter Damian Śliwiński (pictured in the header image: back row, first from the right) from the Bolesławiec County Headquarters of the State Fire Service, was drawn against teams from Podlaskie Voivodeship (last year’s national runner-up and the tournament host), Lublin Voivodeship and Łódź Voivodeship.
Representatives of our voivodeship finished second in their group and advanced to the semi-final, where they faced the team from Opolskie Voivodeship. After a very exciting match, Lower Silesia prevailed and reached Thursday’s final.
Their opponent was once again the team from Podlaskie, cheered on by a large crowd of local supporters. The match was extremely exciting. The first two sets ended in extended play, 30–28, in favour of the hosts. However, this did not demotivate the Lower Silesian firefighters—in fact, quite the opposite. They won the next three sets and the entire match 3–2.
The last time the Lower Silesians achieved such success was seven years ago! Our team’s coach is junior brigade commander Arkadiusz Stadnik.
Section officer Piotr Induła from the Bolesławiec County Headquarters of the State Fire Service (also a player for “Elektryczni”) played with the Lower Silesian team in the semi-final in Kraków. He did not take part in the final tournament for family reasons.
It is also worth noting that the Bolesławiec County Headquarters of the State Fire Service is co-organising the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Firefighters’ Beach Volleyball Championship on 23–24 May, where spectators will be able to see the Polish champions in action.
KW PSP Wrocław/Damian Śliwiński/KP PSP Bolesławiec/ii