Dariusz Pachnik, coach of UKS Orientpark.pl Iwiny (Warta Bolesławiecka municipality):
This year, most areas of life, including sport, were turned upside down. Sporting events were cancelled, entering forests was prohibited, as was organizing training sessions or even leaving home.
From the second half of May, the restrictions were gradually lifted, but the sports events calendar was severely curtailed. We feared that nothing might happen this year after all.
Fortunately, orienteering is a sport in which it is relatively easy to adapt to the sanitary requirements related to COVID-19. D. Pachnik:
Our beloved discipline is probably one of the safer forms of competition. Staggered starts and running alone—especially during training—significantly reduce the risk of infection. The Polish Orienteering Association developed rules for organizing events during the pandemic and... the event calendar got under way as early as June.
The first central-level event took place in early July. Once it became clear that the Youth Cup (Polish Championships for children under 14) would be held on a revised date, namely 14–16 July, we began intensive preparations. Nearly 30 technical training sessions in 40 days—that is a really substantial workload!!!
The final week brought a start, immediately before the championships, in Poland’s most important international competition—the Wawel Cup. The terrain of the Kraków–Częstochowa Upland was very demanding, and the weather—a downpour lasting all Saturday—made the difficulties even greater. The three-day competition may not have produced spectacular results, but there were several valuable performances. Above all, coach and competitor Małgorzata Pachnik reached the podium in the women’s elite category, finishing third.
Among the youngest boys (M10 category), Antoni Pachnik also finished third.
The coach:
The Wawel Cup ended on Sunday, while the Youth Cup began on Tuesday, so we decided not to return home but to travel straight to the competition venue in Ulanów (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).
UKS Orientpark.pl Iwiny was represented by nine competitors aged between 10 and 14. The first event was a sprint held at the Tanew recreation and leisure centre. For some, it was their debut at a championship event; for others, it was already their fifth and final appearance before moving into the younger-junior category. Everyone wanted to perform as well as possible and achieve a high finish.
Eastern Poland is a lucky place for us. In 2009, our competitors won the club’s first Polish Championship medal in Zamość. It was a historic event for us, followed by a flood of medals at championship events and nominations to the Junior National Team.
And he emphasizes:
We hope that what happened in Ulanów will also become a new impetus for us, but let’s get to the point. On the first day, we won three medals. Jędrzej Pachnik won gold in the M14 category, while his younger brother Antek won silver in M10. Debutant Martyna Nikołajuk completed the medal haul by finishing second in K11.
Gracjan Dwojak (M14) came very close to a medal, missing the bronze by just ten seconds and fourth place by one second; he ultimately finished fifth. Oliwia Hetnar finished seventh (K11), Kornelia Kulka eighth (K10), Julia Halewicz eleventh, Sonia Szeliga thirteenth, and Maja Nikołajuk twenty-third (all in K13).
Such high finishes meant that after the first day of competition we were fourth in the club standings!!!
The coach continues:
For Wednesday, the organizers scheduled a classic-distance race. The venue was a forest near Ulanów. The pressure increased because our high team ranking created expectations.
Emotions are not a good adviser, as several favourites in their categories discovered. Our favourite, however, did not disappoint. Jędrek Pachnik narrowly lost to a competitor from Wataha Warszawa and won silver. Antek Pachnik repeated his sprint result and finished second. Martyna Nikołajuk finished sixth; Julia Halewicz and Oliwia Hetnar seventh; Gracjan Dwojak eighth; Sonia Szeliga ninth; Kornelia Kulka twelfth; and Maja Nikołajuk sixteenth.
Once again, almost everyone scored points by finishing in the top twelve, which allowed us to maintain a very high position, although we dropped to fifth place.
The final day of competition was the relay. We had entered two relay teams in the oldest boys’ and girls’ categories. Unfortunately, we had only two youth boys. However, the rules allowed a girl to compete on a male team, so we used that provision. Julia Halewicz joined Jędrek and Gracjan. The girls’ “under-14” relay was represented by Sonia, Maja and eleven-year-old Martyna.
Julia ran the first leg of the men’s relay, while Martyna ran the first leg of the women’s relay. Both performed very well. Martyna came in fifth, and Julia sixth, among 24 starting teams.
We assumed that Julka might lose some time competing against boys, but a loss of 5–6 minutes would keep us in the medal fight. A 6.5-minute deficit to the leading Wataha Warszawa team and only three minutes to the third-placed Azymut Pabianice team gave us hope of continuing the pursuit.
Gracjan took the second leg and, after initial difficulties on the course, began to make up ground on the podium places. When he reached the finish, he was fourth, about eight minutes behind the leaders but only one minute behind the third-placed Harpagan Gdańsk team.
Unfortunately, Gracjan made a procedural error: he handed over the leg first and then confirmed his presence at the finish. This ultimately resulted in the team’s disqualification, but Jędrek had already set off on the course. He made up the deficit rapidly, convinced that he was fighting for a medal. Ultimately, a huge upset occurred at the so-called viewing point!!! Jędrek took the lead!!! He made up eight minutes!!! Then he added a one-minute advantage!!! When he reached the finish, he had no idea what was happening.
He left his rivals far behind, finishing decisively first, only to be told that his effort had been pointless for procedural reasons! The consolation was knowing that, athletically, we had been the best, but the gold medal went to the team from Pabianice, silver to Gdynia and bronze to Gdańsk.
Meanwhile, the girls’ competition was unfolding. Sonia Szeliga came in sixth on the second leg, and Maja produced her best run of the competition, but the deficit was already too large for her to improve the team’s position.
Sixth place should nevertheless be considered a significant success for this team, especially since eleven-year-old Martyna ran the first leg! The girls will remain in the youth category for another year and will certainly be among the contenders for a medal next year.
Despite the men’s relay disqualification, we retained a team place in the TOP 6 of Poland’s best clubs, even though our squad consisted of just nine people. All the teams ranked higher had considerably larger rosters.
Dariusz Pachnik adds: “To sum up the entire Youth Cup, it must be said that—despite the relay incident—this was our competitors’ best performance at this event in the club’s history, reflected in winning five medals and finishing sixth in the club standings.”