On 11-13 May, the first stage of the 7th Championship of the Local Border Traffic Area of Boys and Girls took place. This time the host city was Malbork.

This year, which is so special for football fans, 24 teams took part in the tournament, 13 Polish (Warmian-Masurian and Pomeranian Voivodships) and 11 Russian (Kaliningrad Oblast). 240 children from Poland and Russia, aged 9-12, played matches in the "every team with every team" system. Additionally, during the opening of the event, friendship matches were played by mixed Polish-Russian teams.

"Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Football competition arouses great emotions – globally and locally – as we can see both on the occasion of the Champions League and the local games. The idea of the championship was created precisely in order to use these positive emotions to bring together young athletes from Poland and Russia. I am glad that the tournament is permanently inscribed in the calendar of cross-border sports events. It's not only about competition but also about promoting fair-play and healthy lifestyle principles," said Ernest Wyciszkiewicz, Director of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding Centre.

Here you can find the video report prepared by TVREGIONALNA24.PL:

All teams participating in the Malbork championships met again in Kaliningrad during the Tournament for the Border Cup, at the beginning of September.

We would like to thank our partners for the cooperation: Malbork Town Hall, Malbork Sports and Recreation Center, Active Recreation Center and the "Centre for Russian-Polish Dialogue and Understanding" Foundation.

Results:

Girls U-10

1. Delta Nowy Staw
2. Olimpico Malbork
3. LUKS Sport z Kulturą Wydminy
4. Sports School No. 5 Kaliningrad

Girls U-12

1. Perły Olsztynek
2. Sports School No. 5 Kaliningrad
3. Olimpico Malbork
4. Shkola Budushchego (The School of the Future)  Kaliningrad

Boys U-10

1. DFK Olimpik Kaliningrad
2. Arka Gdynia
3. Baltika 2008 Kaliningrad
4. Baltika 2009 Kaliningrad
5.   Akademia Piłkarska Malbork (Malbork Football Academy)
6. NAKI School Olsztyn
7. Legia-Bart Bartoszyce
8. Sports School No. 5 Kaliningrad

Boys U-12

1. Legia-Bart Bartoszyce
2. Baltika Kaliningrad
3. Arka Gdynia
4. Sports School No. 5 2006 Kaliningrad
5. Pomezania Malbork
6. Sports School Svetly
7. NAKI School Olsztyn
8. Sports School No. 5 2007 Kaliningrad

Individual awards:

Boys U-10

• The king of the shooters: Roman Isachenko – 9 goals (Olimpik Kaliningrad)
• The best male player: Adam Giedrys (Arka Gdynia)
• The best male goalkeeper: Arseniy Onishchenko  (Baltika Kaliningrad 2009)

Girls U-10

• The queen of the shooters: Oliwia Zietarska – 12 goals (Nowy Staw Delta)
• The best female player: Aleksandra Krzyżanowska (Olimpico Malbork)
• The best male goalkeeper: Patrycja Siwak (LUKS Sport z Kulturą Wydminy)

Boys U-12

• The king of the shooters: Artiom Afanasyev (Svetly)
• The best male player: Jakub Iwanicki (Legia-Bart Bartoszyce)
• The best male goalkeeper: Yakov Kushenov-Markevich  (Baltika Kaliningrad)

Girls U-12

• The queen of the shooters: Daria Gutkowska (Perły Olsztynek)
• The best female contestant: Alina Rimkus (Sports School No. 5 Kaliningrad)
• The best female goalkeeper: Nadia Jędrzejewska (Olimpico Malbork)
• The fair play award was given to the U-12 Legia-Bart Bartoszyce boys team.

 Photos from the championships: