Bytów – Człuchów – Toruń Inter-City Angling Tournament
Miejskie Duże Lake, Człuchów, 14 May 2022
On Saturday 14 May 2022, a fishing competition with a rather unusual format took place at the Duże Municipal Lake in Człuchów. Ten anglers each from the PZW clubs in Bytów, Człuchów and Toruń took part in the competition. A total of 30 anglers competed in both the team and individual classifications, with the entire event constituting an inter-town fishing tournament. The event was hosted by the Człuchów branch of the Polish Angling Association (PZW).
Competitors competed in two sectors, A and B, over two rounds, each lasting 2 hours. Sector-based scoring was applied, in accordance with PZW sporting regulations. Fish were scored according to their size and closed seasons. Each gram of fish caught was worth 1 small point. Five competitors from each team were drawn at random to each sector. The team captains were: Piotr Kluk from the PZW Branch in Bytów – Branch Chairman; Karol Dziemiańczyk from the PZW Branch in Człuchów – Branch Chairman; and Zdzisław Zarembski from the PZW Branch in Toruń – Vice-Chairman of the PZW Branch in Toruń.
The competitors started at 9.15. Right from the start, a very strong crosswind made life difficult for the anglers. Despite these challenges, the competitors continued to land fish in their nets. These were mainly bleak and roach. After two hours of competition, the half-time results were tallied. Mateusz Malecki from Człuchów won Sector A, whilst Andrzej Świtoń, also from Człuchów, won Sector B. After the first round, a new draw for fishing spots was held, and the anglers who had initially been fishing at spots 1 to 15 moved to spots 16 to 30, and vice versa. The second round was similar to the first, except that the wind had died down slightly. Blue-eyes continued to dominate the anglers’ nets, whilst roach, the odd small bream, silver bream, perch and rudd were caught less frequently. As in the first round, the same anglers emerged as sector winners: Mateusz Malecki in sector B and Andrzej Świtoń in sector A. The top two places in the individual classification were therefore a foregone conclusion. The most beautiful and interesting fish of the competition was caught by Krzysztof Barabasz from Bytów. The roach he caught in the second round measured a whopping 31 cm!
After the competition, all the participants enjoyed a well-deserved, hearty meal. This was followed by a formal wrap-up of the event, with the presentation of commemorative trophies, certificates, medals and prizes. Our colleagues from Toruń treated all the competitors, as is customary in Toruń, to sweet gifts in the form of gingerbread and more. Representing the Mayor of Człuchów, Mr Henryk Krusiński – Chair of the Culture, Education and Sport Committee of the Człuchów Town Council – attended the ceremony.
The results in the team classification were as follows:
1st place: PZW Branch in Człuchów – 103 sector points;
2nd place: PZW Branch in Bytów – 175.5 sector points;
3rd place: PZW PKP Toruń Branch – 201.5 sector points.
All teams received commemorative trophies and certificates.
The results in the individual classification were as follows:
1st place: Andrzej Świtoń, PZW Człuchów, 2 sector points, 8,710 grams;
2nd place: Mateusz Malecki, PZW Człuchów, 2 sector points, 8,640 grams;
3rd place: Krzysztof Duniec, PZW Człuchów, 4 sector points;
4th place: Tomasz Kowcun, PZW Człuchów, 7 sector points, 6,940 grams;
5th place: Bartosz Borek, PZW Bytów, 7 sector points, 5,390 grams;
6th place: Zdzisław Lewandowski, PZW Toruń, 8 sector points.
As you can see, the hosts “weren’t exactly hospitable”. The top six competitors received medals (1st–3rd), certificates and prizes, funded by all the participating clubs.
The top three competitors from Bytów:
1: Bartosz Borek 2: Paweł Grobelny 3: Dorian Bieske
The top three competitors from Toruń:
1: Zdzisław Lewandowski 2: Sławomir Kalinowski 3: Bogumił Pośpiech
The top three competitors from Człuchów are the same as the top three in the entire competition.
The top three competitors from each club received commemorative certificates and gifts sponsored by Człuchów Town Council.
It is worth noting that the Bytów team also included one female competitor. Patrycja Jasnoch put up a brave fight and ultimately finished 14th with 14 sector points.
The competition must be considered an outstanding success. Beyond the sporting aspect, it is also about exchanging experiences and fostering camaraderie. The clubs taking part in the competition spoke very highly of the hosts’ organisation of the event. Undoubtedly, competitions of this kind also serve to promote our town and region.
The PZW club in Człuchów was represented by: Karol Dziemiańczyk, Krzysztof Duniec, Mateusz Malecki, Andrzej Świtoń, Tomasz Królak, Tomasz Kowcun, Paweł Jeżewski, Piotr Szczygielski, Łukasz Szymański and Tadeusz Kuczyński. This was exactly the same line-up as at last year’s inter-town tournament.
The competition ran very smoothly, thanks in part to a good team of officials. The chief judge was Mirosław Pryba and the weigh-in judge was Przemysław Szerszeń.
Next year, the Inter-Town Tournament will take place in Bytów, as the format of this event is such that each participating club takes it in turns to host the competition. We do not rule out the possibility of including further clubs in the competition in the future. As it happens, all the towns taking part in the inter-town angling tournament were granted town charters by the Teutonic Knights. Perhaps we will follow this lead further.
