Dariusz Pachnik, coach of UKS Orientpark.pl Iwiny:
The classic distance in orienteering is known as the “royal” distance. The first competition over this distance took place in Bergen, Norway, in 1890. Poland does not have such great traditions, but more than 60 years of orienteering in this country is a fact. Lower Silesia is the cradle of orienteering in Poland. This year, the Polish Championships in the classic distance and relay races were held in our region (Trzcińsko, 29–30 May 2021). The Rudawy Janowickie mountains, with Bolczów Castle and the surrounding rocky towers, witnessed the struggles of the best “orienteers”.
Coach D. Pachnik:
We were counting heavily on “our” competitors, because the character of the terrain, which was very demanding physically and technically, suits us very well. The competition proved exceptionally difficult. The considerable elevation changes, troublesome rocky ground, marshy sections, numerous stones and rocks, and already highly developed vegetation in places made it impossible to reach high speeds. Physical strength, strength of character, endurance and navigational skills were decisive.
He adds:
The weather did not make things easier. Alternating cold, warmth, rain, sunshine and hail—such changeable weather was an added feature of the difficult courses.
The result is what matters most, however. The coach: – Our competitors performed brilliantly! The Polish Champion title in M18 was defended by Stanisław Pachnik, who has not returned from any of the most important competitions this year without a medal. This year he has already won one championship title in the so-called middle distance and a bronze medal in the night race. This time he added gold in the “classic” and a second gold in the relay race. In total, these are medals number 13 and 14 in his junior career!!! His younger brother, Jędrek, three years his junior, won his first gold medal and Polish Championship title. It had been coming for some time, but he has a worthy rival in his category (M16), with whom he constantly contests close and evenly matched races. He was 30 seconds short of gold in the middle distance, but in the classic race Jędrek prevailed by more than three minutes. Credit also goes to Bartłomiej Maciejewski (“Wataha” Warszawa) for the fight.
The coach continues:
In the shadow of the medals, Małgorzata Pachnik achieved a career-best result, taking fifth place in the women’s elite category. According to some, Gosia caused quite a surprise, but we knew she was capable of a good performance and that this was not her last word! The group of our competitors in the Polish Championship was completed by Wojciech Pachnik, who finished 13th but stood on the podium to receive the gold medal as Jędrek’s coach.
Sunday – relay race
Dariusz Pachnik:
The relay race took place on Sunday. We had two relay teams. The first, a younger junior team, finished eighth (Wiktoria Kulka, Maja Nikołajuk and Jędrzej Pachnik), while the men’s elite relay team (consisting of Marek Wojnowicz, Małgorzata Pachnik and Wojciech Pachnik) ran very well and secured a high seventh place.
Stasiu Pachnik representing UKS “Orientuś” Łódź won gold with teammates Ignacy Słomczyński and Michał Nowak, defending last year’s championship title.