Basketball, thanks to the NBA, has become very fashionable in recent years. Praise is due to the organizers and creators of the annual basketball tournaments held in Bolesławiec for promoting this beautiful sport while embracing this trend.
The First New Year’s Eve Basketball Tournament for Unaffiliated Teams was held in 1987. Each of the five subsequent events—for there were five in total—took place in an atmosphere celebrating joyful basketball.
Hundreds of boys and girls playing basketball passed through the courts of Bolesławiec schools and sports halls. The greatest advantages of the tournaments—apart from their sporting value—were their educational and social benefits.
The organizer and creator of these gatherings is JANUSZ BARANOWSKI—a basketball enthusiast, player, referee and walking encyclopedia of basketball knowledge. The culmination of his many years of often selfless work was the First Basketball Tournament for Referees of the Wrocław District, organized by MOSiR in Bolesławiec and the Referees’ College of the Wrocław Regional Basketball Association, of which Janusz Baranowski was the originator.
The tournament’s main objective—the integration of young referees from Lower Silesia—was achieved one hundred percent. What is more, participant in the sporting competition Wiesław Zych, Poland’s finest referee, captivated by the atmosphere of the event, promised to promote the tournament’s idea among basketball referees from other parts of the country.
It is worth emphasizing that, at this excellently organized event, all participants were provided with inexpensive accommodation and plenty of accompanying activities. Afternoons and evenings were spent talking, having fun and relaxing—including at the swimming pool and playing billiards—but the tournament’s greatest non-sporting event was a ninety-minute meeting between young referees and basketball enthusiasts and Wiesław Zych, who shared many colorful stories from his career with the audience.
The tournament was organized on a grand scale. Twelve teams from five provinces took part, including teams from Wrocław, Wałbrzych, Jelenia Góra, Zgorzelec, Zielona Góra, Leszno and Bolesławiec.
Among the event’s sponsors and co-organizers, ANDRZEJ RUDZIŃSKI—director of the Zespół Szkół Górniczych in Bolesławiec—deserves mention for providing the gymnasium, together with changing rooms, sound equipment, washrooms and more, free of charge. Among those who funded the prizes, HENRYK GUZIK, owner of the “Hemax” company, must not be forgotten. Thanks are also due to the management of the “Zapis” club.
In the final, the “Wrocław” team defeated the “Winners” Wrocław team 36–33. The best players received appealing prizes, while all participants were given commemorative badges and certificates.
All participants expressed their willingness to take part in the next edition of the tournament.
The Basketball Tournament for Referees of the Wrocław District was the first event of its kind in Poland!
Interest in the event, especially among schoolchildren, was very high. Let us hope that events of this kind will become a permanent part of Bolesławiec’s sporting calendar. Wishing perseverance to both the tournament organizers and expressing our thanks to its originator, Janusz Baranowski, we hope that events like this will help produce—if not a second Michael Jordan, then at least a successor to Wiesław Zych.