What does a football player do after a match? What kind of writer is Piotr Reiss? How does futsal differ from football, and who are Dyzio and Ptyś in Polish basketball? These and many other interesting facts were revealed by the guests of the 3rd National Conference “Logistics in Sport”, organized by the University Supporters Club of the College of Logistics.
Among the speakers were personalities such as: Piotr Reiss and Tomasz Magdziarz, players from K.S. Warta Poznań, Katarzyna Dydek from INEA AZS Poznań, as well as kayaker Ewa Bresińska and canoeist Tomasz Kaczor from K.S. Warta Poznań. Thanks to them, the conference participants were able to look at sport not only from the perspective of a fan, but also as an athlete, organizer, coach, or sponsor. In short, they got to know sport “behind the scenes”.
The conference began with a minute of silence in honor of the late Maciej Zawieja, a Poznań City Council member who had supported the event organizationally since its first edition. The proceedings were inaugurated by the Chancellor of the College of Logistics.
– In recent years, we hear mainly about the bad things happening in Polish sport. That is why I am even more pleased that our students want to show sport from a completely different side – emphasized Assoc. Prof. Ireneusz Fechner.
The first speaker was Szymon Świekatowski, a WSL student and president of the UKK, who showed the participants the progress of Polish cities’ preparations for Euro 2012 in a vivid and amusing way. He discussed the stages of building stadiums, roads, and railway stations. As a curiosity, he presented examples of Euro 2012 mascots, among which was even Czesio, a character from a comedy animated series.
After the WSL student showed what needs to be done before the Championships to match the level of previous editions, Michał Pajdak from the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing asked the question: – And what will we do with these huge facilities after Euro 2012? and, of course, did not leave it unanswered. Mr. Michał suggested a number of solutions that could help clubs maintain high attendance at stadiums.
– You are a fan for your whole life, and a loyal fan is the club’s capital. Therefore, clubs should focus on making fans even more attached to them. Electronic technology will help them with this – suggested Michał Pajdak. – Clubs should have a decent website, conduct interesting contests with prizes, forums, or ticket sales on them. They can offer their fans email accounts, their own mobile telephony, television, and radio. Clubs should also maintain a database of fans, loyalty programs, and e-shops with gadgets. Thanks to this, fans will gain a greater sense of functioning in a specific community and will begin to identify even more with the club. The club, on the other hand, can better understand and then meet the needs of its fans – he advised.
Mr. Michał also pointed out the mistakes that clubs make. – They do not even have basic information about fans, they do not take into account demographic diversity. After all, a “Lech Poznań” fan does not necessarily have to live in Poznań for the rest of their life. Furthermore, they do not take into account changes in ways of reaching the customer, they do not personalize services, they copy ideas, and they do not develop long-term strategies – he listed. – I conducted research on 16 Polish football clubs. They all have websites, yes, but only 50 percent have e-shops, 69 percent offer contests, 81 percent support their budget with advertisements placed on the site, and 56 percent have club television – adds Michał Pajdak.
The star of the Conference was undoubtedly Piotr Reiss, a player for Lech Poznań a year ago, and this year playing in the colors of K.S. Warta Poznań. The athlete spoke openly about the events that shook the media a few months ago.
– A year ago, I was still planning. Today, I enjoy what I have. It only hurts me that the Polish judiciary is so sluggish. I was detained, I had charges brought against me, I was already convicted by the media long ago, and in fact, no court hearing has taken place yet. The matter has quieted down. The prosecutor has no evidence to send the case to court. Unfortunately, I cannot defend myself because I am bound by the secrecy of the investigation – explained Piotr Reiss. – I wrote an autobiography, but it doesn’t contain everything I would like to say either. I know that the book may not be written in beautiful, literary language, but that was not the most important thing for me. I already have material for the second part, but I have to wait until the investigation is over. I am very happy that although I have already been convicted by the media, the fans still believe in me. I feel support at every step. I am becoming convinced that one day cannot cross out my entire life – he added.
Along with Piotr Reiss, Tomasz Magdziarz from K.S. Warta Poznań came to the Conference.
– A pillar and support of Warta – as announced by Wojciech Zalewski, press spokesman for the College of Logistics, who hosted the meeting. The footballer revealed, among other things, what athletes do after a match:
– We play a match – admitted Tomasz Magdziarz. – I’m not joking. Often after a match, we still have training. It helps us work out the muscle soreness, and thanks to this, we have the next day off – he explained.
Asked how the “Warta” players accepted the former “Lechita”, he said – This “Lechita” is primarily a Poznań native, and in “Warta”, all Poznań natives are welcome. Besides, Reiss was an idol for everyone – he added.
What does Piotr Reiss say to that? – I will always have Lech in my heart, but football is my profession, so if I ever have to stand in front of Lech’s goal, I will not hesitate and I will shoot. I will do everything to make the team I play for now win – he promised.
From football to the world of futsal, the next guest, Jakub Lewandowski, took the listeners. The manager of the Akademia Słowa Futsal Club Pniewy not only showed the differences between indoor football and football but also brought closer the problems that a person responsible for logistics and training organization in a club faces on a daily basis.
– Futsal is undoubtedly a more spectacular sport than football. Please imagine that over the last six years, our team has scored over six hundred goals. And the basic difference between football and indoor football is primarily a smaller ball. Besides, the rules that the ball is introduced into play from a throw-in with the foot, there is no offside. – lists Jakub Lewandowski.
Students of the College of Logistics: Ewa Bresińska and Tomasz Kaczor from K.S. Warta in Poznań talked about the specifics and principles of planning training in kayaking. The topic of sports brand protection was then raised by Konrad Klecha from KKS Lech Poznań. As a lawyer by education, he presented solutions thanks to which the “Lech” brand is safe, and also introduced the participants to the Act on Combating Unfair Competition. Next, Arkadiusz Żmudziński, author of the marketing strategy for Górnik Zabrze, talked about the logistical problems that an organizer of a large sports event has to struggle with.
At the end of the Conference, Katarzyna Dydek, coach of the basketball players from INEA AZS Poznań, spoke about the logistical problems in this sport discipline using the example of her own and her sister Małgorzata’s experiences.
– Teammates called them Dyzio and Ptyś. Ptyś was Małgorzata, Dyzio – Katarzyna. Together that’s 410 centimeters – revealed the Conference host.
– I am only 197 centimeters tall, the rest is Małgosia – added Kasia Dydek. – And seriously, I don’t know the definition of logistics, but I know what logistics is in everyday life. After all, since I was fourteen, I have been living in a bag, on a bag, and with bags. I am constantly traveling. It would seem that when practicing professional sports, event organizers would be prepared enough to provide the players with all the necessary conditions. Unfortunately, this is not always the case – she admitted.
The AZS INEA coach did not hide that one of the biggest problems was finding suitable training outfits and shoes. – The tracksuits we received from sponsors barely reached our knees. Fortunately, our mom is a seamstress, so after some time I would get two pairs of tracksuits, and Małgosia three, and mom would sew on extra legs and sleeves for us – she recalled with a smile. – Another problem was airplanes. From the moment we realized that there is more legroom at the emergency exit, we do everything to be the first at check-in and we literally fight for seats on the wings – she added with a smile.
Over four hundred participants took part in the student venture. The listeners arrived at the WSL headquarters from, among others, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Wałcz, Leszno, Wolsztyn, Wschowa, Zielona Góra, and Szczecin.
The organizer of the Conference was the University Supporters Club of the College of Logistics, while media patronage was accepted by the magazine “Logistyka”, the portal logistyka.net.pl, the magazine “Kolejorz”, Radio Planeta.fm, and Studentnews.pl.