It was a successful year for the athletes of the 23rd Artillery Regiment, who took third place in the general classification of the General Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces, Group One, in mass sports. The artillerymen from Bolesławiec won 7 medals in team competition covering 14 sporting disciplines.
In sports competitions organized at the level of the General Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces—1st Armoured Cavalry Division, 71 soldiers of the 23rd Artillery Regiment took part, winning 26 medals, including 8 gold and 7 silver.
In sports competitions at the Polish Army level, 20 soldiers of the regiment represented the “Black Division” and the General Command, winning 22 medals, including 8 gold and 7 silver.
The head of the Physical Education and Sports Section of the 23rd Artillery Regiment, Maj. Jakub Wołyński, presented the results achieved in individual disciplines and the profiles of the soldiers who represented the regiment in last year’s championships, and made no secret of his satisfaction:
Compared with 2017, when the regiment’s team won 2 medals, we recorded significant progress last year. Winning 7 medals and taking third place on the podium is the result of our soldiers’ hard work and determination, particularly in the face of such strong competition from soldiers of units that are larger and much more numerous than ours.
Maj. Wołyński added that physical education is one of the elements of a soldier’s training and that physical fitness should receive as much emphasis as the other elements of training.
Among last year’s achievements by the artillerymen, he highlighted second place in rifle shooting with the kbk AK/Beryl, second place in the women’s military pentathlon, second place in cross-country running, second place in basketball, third place in military pistol shooting, third place in swimming and third place in the half marathon.
Summing up the artillerymen’s sporting successes, the commander of the 23rd Artillery Regiment, Colonel Grzegorz Potrzuski, thanked the athletes for their effort and commitment, as well as for proudly representing the regiment both at the level of the 11th “Lubuska” Armoured Cavalry Division and the General Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces, and at the Polish Army championships:
I am aware of the tremendous effort each of you puts into preparing for competitions and sports championships. In sport, just as in military service, there are no shortcuts. Only through tremendous effort, many hours of training and personal commitment could you achieve such high results, so I thank you for your hard work, effort and commitment.
In accordance with the saying “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” Col. Potrzuski emphasized the importance of a high level of physical fitness in daily service, which, by presenting soldiers with successive challenges, requires resilience in the face of its hardships and good psychophysical condition.
At the end, the best athletes were honored and the sports competition at the 23rd Artillery Regiment level was summarized. For taking the top places in the 2018 sports competition, trophies and letters of congratulations from Colonel Potrzuski were received by:
- for taking first place—Lt. Tomasz Derewiński, commander of the 2nd rocket artillery battery of the 3rd Rocket Artillery Squadron
- for taking second place—Capt. Konrad Kurlej, commander of the 1st rocket artillery battery of the 3rd Rocket Artillery Squadron
- for taking third place—Lt. Wojciech Niedźwiedź, commander of the command battery of the 3rd Rocket Artillery Squadron.
In the individual classification, the title of the best athlete of the 23rd Artillery Regiment went to Senior Private Mateusz Świerzewski of the 3rd Rocket Artillery Squadron. The artilleryman, who performs duties as part of a WR-40 Langusta launcher crew on a daily basis, took first place last year in the Polish Army Volleyball Championships; first place in the 1st Armoured Cavalry Division General Command Championships in the 50-meter breaststroke in the under-35 category; first place in the 1st Armoured Cavalry Division General Command Championships in the 4 x 50-meter mixed freestyle relay; second place in the 1st Armoured Cavalry Division General Command Basketball Championships; and the title of best blocker in the 1st Armoured Cavalry Division General Command Volleyball Championships. Congratulations.
At the end of the sports gala, Colonel Potrzuski thanked the staff of the 23rd Artillery Regiment’s Physical Education and Sports Section, Major Jakub Wołyński and Staff Warrant Officer Andrzej Tkaczyk, for their major contribution to activities supporting physical culture and sport.