Interview with Tadeusz Kaplita, president of the Subcarpathian Regional Association of Sports Acrobatics in Rzeszów.

At the beginning of March 2022, you provided the Ukrainian national acrobatics team refuge from the war. Under what circumstances did this group come to you?

For more than a dozen years, Polish athletes have taken part in the important international tournament ‘Stars on the Bug’ in Vinnytsia. So we have had very good contact with Ukrainian players and coaches for a long time, and it was one coach from Lviv who asked me for help when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. At the time, the entire Ukrainian national team was at a training camp in Vinnytsia, where they were preparing for the World Championships in Baku – the capital of Azerbaijan – which were scheduled for early March. The Ukrainian national team was in top form. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the war destroyed the dreams of winning medals. There was no possibility of leaving Vinnytsia, let alone going to Baku For several days, the athletes had to hide in makeshift shelters – basements. When I was asked for help, I decided to do what I could to give these players a place to stay. I managed to find a guesthouse run by open-hearted people. On 6 March, the first group of Ukrainian acrobats with coaches arrived in Poland, 12 people in total, and that's how it started.

How did the local community get involved in these activities?

Many people joined in to help. It was up to me to deal with administrative matters at the municipality office, the Social Insurance Institution office and other institutions. The athletes had to be assigned PESEL (Personal Identification Number) numbers and have bank accounts set up. These athletes were between 11 and 17 years old, and their parents stayed in Ukraine, so it was necessary to arrange a power of attorney for guardianship in court. It wasn't easy, but it all worked out. They settled in Głuchów, in a guesthouse run by Agata and Ireneusz Szczepański, who selflessly made their facility available and joined in organising the aid. Mr and Mrs Szczepański were supported by Ms Jolanta Cieślachowska, chairwoman of the Association of Country Women in Wysoka near Łańcut. The Łańcut starost Adam Krzysztoń also showed us great kindness. We could count on Subcarpathian acrobats from the Stal Rzeszów Acrobatics Club and UKS Akrobata Łańcut and their parents. The most necessary products, such as food and clothing, were collected.

Could Ukrainian acrobats continue training?

From the very beginning, I really wanted our guests from Ukraine to have the opportunity to continue training and develop. It helped take their minds off the war and everything they had left behind. Nobody was prepared for this. The acrobats came to us straight from a training camp before the championships and only had the most necessary things with them, which they had packed just for this camp and for the championships in Baku. We had to provide clothes, outfits, and cosmetics for them. The beginning was difficult, especially for the young gymnasts – the boys were a bit older, 16-17 years old, so they reacted a bit differently. Even during the break during the show, I could see the kids sitting in the corner with hoods on their heads and nervously looking at their phones. It must have been extremely stressful for them, even traumatic. When people asked them who they were and what their parents were doing, tears came to their eyes. I experienced these emotions with them. Imagine a teenager saying that his mum is needed as a doctor in Ukraine and his dad is fighting at the front... They haven't seen each other for many weeks, hundreds of kilometres apart. That's why I think the best thing we could give them was support and a warm family atmosphere. These kids and their families were very grateful for all this. Some of the acrobats returned to Ukraine, but most did not choose to do so. The war is not over yet.

Is the presence of athletes from the Ukrainian national team an extra boost for the Subcarpathian acrobats?

Yes, of course! The countries of the former USSR have always performed at a very high level in gymnastics sports, and Ukraine is among the world leaders in this area. Our coaches were keen to see how they trained there. One of the coaches staying with us is a world champion – the opportunity to partner and learn from top-class athletes is a valuable experience. Polish and Ukrainian athletes train together, and we also implement an acrobatic Polish-Ukrainian integration programme with UNICEF. I put one of the Ukrainian coaches in touch with a school of athletic excellence in Jarosław, and she has been training with groups of acrobats there for several months.