International Junior Water Polo Tournament „PLAY 4 EU“
The Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Serbia and Water Polo Club Partizan in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and Serbian European Integration Office organize an International Junior Water Polo Tournament “PLAY 4 EU” which will be held from 25 to 26 June at “Banjica” sports hall in Belgrade.
During the 2 matchdays, eight junior teams will compete in the swimming pools of Banjica Sports Hall – two female and two male teams from Serbia, and teams from Hungary and Croatia in both categories.
In women’s competition, Hungary will be represented by its Junior National Team, Croatia’s representative is Primorje from Rijeka, while Serbia is represented by Partizan Raiffeisen and Senta YORDO.
In men’s competition, there will be Mladost from Zagreb, Croatia, Sentes from Hungary and two local teams, Partizan Raiffeisen and Crvena Zvezda VET.
THE GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT
The organizers saw a good opportunity to bring the European values closer to the young people by way of a sports tournament. This is why they highlighted the goal of the tournament in its title “Play 4 EU”.
Besides achieving the best possible results for which the participants will get the well-deserved medals, this three-day event offers even more opportunities and reasons to be remembered.
It also offers positive messages:
Sport competitions are a good path towards improving cooperation in the region, and this tournament will give an opportunity to young water polo players from Hungary, Croatia and Serbia to get to know and learn more about each others, and make new friends.
Gender equality, another European value, is realised in this tournament in a most obvious way – female and meal teams are equally represented.
Being a top sportspersons requires a healthy lifestyle, and the young people will be made aware of this fact.
Finally, there is another important message: top results both in sports and life are achieved only through hard work, continuous learning and improvement.
Beside the participants, awards will be given to the best students among the young Serbian water polo players, and also to the audience.
In accordance with a long Hungarian tradition of awarding special prizes at tournaments to the young athletes who also excel in school activities, a top 45 out of 290 girls and boys from 15 junior teams of Partizan, Banjica, Crvena zvezda and Senta will be selected to receive a “Good student and a good sportsperson” award.
Excelling in school activities is also a prerequisite for the award which will be given to the audience. Successful primary and secondary school students from Belgrade will make up fan teams which will support each of the teams at the tournament.
PROMOTERS
All the values comprising the goal of the tournament are underlined by its organisers and promoters in their professional careers.
Marta Papai has been a member of the diplomatic staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Belgrade since 2007. Before starting a diplomatic career she had an extremely successful sports career. As a member of the Hungarian water polo team she won a silver medal at the European Championship in Vienna in 1995, in 1996 she won a bronze medal at the European Junior Water Polo Championship, and in the following year she won the fourth place at the World Junior Championship. With Sentes, she was among the best 4 teams in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001, and in 2003 she played in the Israeli championship. Since 2010 she has been a goalkeeper in the Water Polo Club Partizan and participated in Belgrade Trophy tournament. The awards she received by her 18th birthday, “Good student and a good sportsperson”, “An excellent young sportsperson” and the medal for excelling both in sports and school activities, have definitely contributed to having such a biography.
Aleksandar Šoštar is well-known not only to water polo fans in Serbia, who remember the Olympic gold medal in Seoul 1988 and the bronze in Sydney 2000. He won these and many more medals at European and World Championships as the goalkeeper of the Yugoslav national water polo team. Recently, he added another trophy to his collection – the title of European Water Polo Club Champion, won by Šoštar’s Water Polo Club Partizan at this year’s Final Four in Rome.
THE SPONSOR OF THE “GOOD STUDENT AND A GOOD SPORTSPERSON” AWARD
The organisers of the tournament, Hungarian Embassy and Water Polo Club Partizan, were joined by a renowned Hungarian company “Richter Gedeon”. Their representative office in Serbia will sponsor the “Good student and a good sportsperson” prize.
For a good reason, only three years after this leading regional multinational pharmaceutical company opened its representative office in Serbia, it was awarded a prestigious title of “Regional Business Partner 2010”. The business philosophy of the company has greatly contributed to this achievement, as “Richter Gedeon” has a long tradition of implementing joint research programmes with more than 30 leading universities, faculties and academic research institutes in Hungary, and supporting talented young people not only within the company itself, but also in these universities and academic research institutes.
Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Serbia and Water Polo Club Partizan Raiffeisen
International Junior Water Polo Tournament
“PLAY 4 EU”
25 – 26 June 2011
Banjica Sports Hall, Belgrade, Crnotravska 4
PROGRAMME
SATURDAY, 25 JUNE:
Matchday 1:
- 08,30h: Senteš – Mladost (boys)
- 09,30h: Partizan Raiffeisen – Crvena Zvezda VET (boys)
- PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY “GOOD STUDENT, GOOD SPORTSPERSON”
- 10,30h: Primorje – Hungarian Junior National Team (girls)
- 11,30h: Partizan Raiffeisen – Senta YORDO (girls)
Matchday 2:
- 18,00h: Mladost – Crvena Zvezda VET (boys)
- 19,30h: Senteš – Partizan Raiffeisen (boys)
- 20,00h: OPENING CEREMONY OF THE TOURNAMENT
- 20,30h: Hungarian Junior National Team – Senta YORDO (girls)
- 21,30h: Primorje – Partizan Raiffeisen (girls)
SUNDAY, 26 JUNE:
Matchday 3:
- 08,30h: Partizan Raiffeisen – Mladost (boys)
- 09,30h: Crvena Zvezda VET – Senteš (boys)
- PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY “GOOD STUDENT, GOOD SPORTSPERSON”
- 10,45h: Partizan Raiffeisen – Hungarian Junior National Team (girls)
- 11,45h: Senta YORDO – Primorje (girls)
- 13,00h: CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE TOURNAMENT, TROPHY AWARDS
