We wrote about the matter in September this year – Stanisław Merdas began creating sports structures in Bolesławiec immediately after passing his secondary-school final exams – Jerzy Sobczak, a retired physical education teacher, told us at the time. Together with Jan Kulczycki, Stanisław Szypulski, Piotr Konefał and Jan Filipek, he launched the initiative to name the municipal stadium after Stanisław Merdas, an outstanding teacher and athletics coach, and co-founder of Bolesłavia.
– Stasiu Merdas was actively involved in sport for 60 years and, until the final days of his life, participated in organising sporting events. What is more, he was able to gather young physical education teachers around him and infect them with his passion. And he trained many Polish athletics champions – Sobczak listed.
During the September session of the City Council, Mirosław Sakowski, head of the Civic Platform councillors’ club, submitted an interpellation on the matter:
On behalf of a group of people including former physical education teachers—Jerzy Sobczak, Jan Kulczycki, Piotr Konefał and Stanisław Szypulski—I ask that steps be taken to name the municipal stadium after Stanisław Merdas. The initiative group submitted the relevant letter to the Mayor on 25 May this year; on 8 July, the Chairman received a similar letter [Józef Pokładek – przyp „ii”].
At my request, the Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Construction Committee supported the initiative by a majority vote at its meeting in July this year—five votes in favour and one abstention. Thus, the procedure has already begun. I therefore ask that the relevant resolution be prepared without delay and put to a vote of the High Council.
The head of the City Council, Józef Pokładek, replied: – I asked the chairman of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, Alojzy Skóra, about it. He told me that the Committee would prepare the relevant resolution for the next session and the matter would be settled.
Councillors will decide whether the municipal stadium will bear the name of the outstanding sports activist during the November meeting of the Bolesławiec City Council. The justification for the draft resolution reads:
At the request of a group of councillors and representatives of the Bolesławiec sports community, it was decided to honour the memory of Stanisław Merdas by naming the Municipal Stadium in Bolesławiec after him.
Mr Stanisław Merdas was a distinguished teacher and athletics coach in Bolesławiec. From 1950, that is, from the time he began working at Primary School No. 1 in Bolesławiec, he became a great promoter of athletics and sport among schoolchildren. He organised school and inter-school competitions, trips to district and provincial events, and, after MKS Bolesłavia was established, also to national and international competitions. He trained many medal winners of the Polish Championships in various age categories.
We will return to this topic.
(information: ii)