At the base of the Tatras Mountains, lies the picturesque town of Zakopane, known as the winter capital of Poland. In late September, it hosted the first BAUKRANE Para badminton Polish Open.
The event was organised by the Polish club UKS Orły Zakopane and Polish player Jakub Sikorski, taking place 28 and 29 September. Twenty-five players competed at the tournament, from Poland and the Czech Republic. As it was a charity tournament, the players did not pay an entry fee, but they could donate to an organisation that takes care of disabled individuals, the Foundation HANDICAP Zakopane.
Alongside the tournament, there was an umpiring course with 19 participants. Sebastian Lasecki, a Polish umpire led the course. As part of the practice, participants refereed the non-disabled children's tournament first and then matches of the Polish Para badminton Championship after that. This was the first of its kind in Poland.
Kasia Ziębik, a member of the board at the Polish badminton association, proudly says.
- We hope that at the next edition of the tournament, players from other countries will also arrive. It was a really great success for Polish Para badminton. Thanks to this tournament we have some new players.
Results
Singles:
WH1/WH2 junior (women) - 1. Anna Wolny 2. Natalia Grzyb 3. Magdalena Kozera
WH1/WH2 (women) - 1. Lucyna Mietrkiewicz
WH1/WH2 (men) - 1. Jakub Sikorski 2. Zbynek Sykora 3. Paweł Mietrkiewicz
SS6 (women) - 1. Oliwia Szmigiel
SS6 (men) - 1. Grzegorz Jednaki
SS6 junior (women) - 1. Daria Bujnicka 2. Wiktoria Jednaki
SL4 (women) - 1. Kamilla Malak
SL4 (men) - 1. Denis Grzesiuk 2. Dariusz Supel 3. Bartosz Wróbel
SL4 junior (women) - 1. Zuzanna Jerzyk
SL4 junior (men) - 1. Kamil Taranda
SU5 junior (women) - 1. Dominika Tomańska
SU5 (men) - 1. Paweł Tertelis
SL3 (men) - 1. Tomasz Szwedo
Doubles:
WH1/WH2 (women) - 1. Julia Bolibrzuch/ Natalia Grzyb 2. Magdalena Kozera/ Lucyna Mietrkiewicz 3. Joanna Sadlik/ Anna Wolny
Mixed doubles:
WH1/WH2 - 1. Anna Wolny/ Zbynek Sykora 2. Julia Bolibrzuch/ Jakub Sikorski 3. Lucyna Mietrkiewicz/ Paweł Mietrkiewicz