On the greens and the courts – with umbrellas

The Eurobuild Golf Tournament, which has now reached adulthood – even according to the reckonings of those from across the ocean – took place at The First Warsaw Golf & Country Club in Rajszew, just north of the city. Those taking part and their supporters began filing in before 9am and – from the very outset – they all had their fingers crossed, mainly in for the sake of the weather. Luckily, the weather defied the forecasts and was actually quite amenable to the day’s events. Małgorzata Więcko, the asset management director of Accolade, who won the ladies’ longest drive competition, was asked if the atmospheric conditions had been a problem, but answered with a laugh: “I don’t understand the question. There hasn’t been a downpour or a storm.” No one else was complaining about the weather, either. They were too wrapped up in the friendly rivalry of the tournament and where it was being held. For many, this was not the first time. “This is my sixth or seventh tournament,” revealed Maksymilian Marcinkowski, the chairman of the board of Senatorska Investment and also the winner of the stroke-play net contest. “I really wanted to win, above all because I’m someone from this sector and in previous tournaments not so many real estate people have been among the winners,” he pointed out. “There aren’t that many golf tournaments in Poland – and this one has now taken place for the 21st time, so it’s built up some prestige,” he added, before going on to say: “As well as winning here in Rajszew, I’ve managed to beat my personal best, so I’ve achieved my goal. Now I’m setting myself another one – to defend my title next year.” Małgorzata Więcko also made the point that golf in Poland can be rather a male-dominated sport, “But female golf players actively want to promote this sport and I hope even more women will try their hand at it,” she said.

The sponsors of the Golf tournament were: Panattoni (main sponsor), Golf Channel Polska (main media sponsor), Sylveco, House of Tudor, Loredo Real Estate Solutions, Tailors Club and Masters Golf. “Promoting sport in Poland has become an integral part of Panattoni’s philosophy – and we believe that golf thoroughly deserves such support and promotion,” emphasised Anita Pietrykowska, the Europe head of marketing and communications at Panattoni. “Even though its popularity continues to grow and now whole families can spend their time playing golf, in Poland we still have to contend with the attitude that this is a sport for the elite classes. But whenever someone tries their hand at it, they can immediately see, with each stroke and putt, that the fun just grows, while at the same time our skill and understanding of the game also improves. It’s great that such tournaments as this are now held, as they show how wonderful it can be to build up relationships through the healthy rivalry of a game of golf. I definitely plan to be seeing you all here again next year!” she enthused.

While all the action on the golf course was underway, at the very same time the 17th Eurobuild Annual Tennis Tournament was also being played out, at the Warszawianka tennis club in Warsaw. This was divided into three competitions: the men’s singles, the women’s singles and the doubles. Due to the very real prospect of rain, the tournament was held indoors. After the tournament, Anna Jastrzębska of the Polish Tennis Association and the main umpire of the tournament, declared: “Despite the poor weather, we are able to play on, even though the matches had to be slightly truncated. But we and the players are pleased that despite all this, the event still took place, since many tournaments in such conditions have had to be rescheduled or called off.” A record number of people signed up for this year’s tournament. “This year 49 men entered – up until now the maximum was usually 39 – and there were six women, so we broke the record!” she told us. “Even so, we are able to organise everything properly. This year we had an additional line umpire to help with the start of the match. As for the favourites, we always cross our fingers for everyone,” she added.

Among the champions was Monika Żywiecka, board member of Oakbridge Capital Advisors, who won the women’s singles. “It’s a lot more fun to play and support other players on the outdoor courts, but a tennis tournament has to be planned well in advance, so it’s hard to guarantee the right weather. For this I have to express even more respect and thanks to the umpire Anna Jastrzębska and the organisers, thanks to whom all the matches were played while still giving us time for the after party,” she commented. “I hope that next year the weather will be better and as a result even more people will take part, especially women,” she added.

The sponsors for the tennis tournament were APP-Projekt (main sponsor), No.44 Luxury Rentals at Złota 44, MKDach System, Ander Clean, Sylveco, HiKoki and Dussmann. The media patron was the Narzedzioholicy.pl internet portal. Norbert Sawicki of MKDach System, which was sponsoring the event for the first time, commented during the competition: “The idea to get involved in this tennis tournament emerged by itself. A few years ago, it was my pleasure to take part in this tournament myself as a competitor. Back then, I really liked the organisation, the atmosphere and the entire event. I realised that this was a great opportunity to present our company, meet new people and – of course – at the same time take part in it myself. The organisers met all the challenges, which is why it’s possible that next year we will again want to contribute to the success of this project.” According to Michał Korwin-Małaszyński, board member of APP-Projekt, which was again the main sponsor: “This year’s competition, as always, was an emotion-packed event, even though this time by the weather played its part. However, the important thing in sport is taking part, so at the end of the day, the rain and even the final results aren’t really that important. We’re glad that every year the standard of the play improves, more people enter, and so the competition for the trophies becomes more intense. The event has already earned a high reputation and we are proud that it is held in such esteem across the real estate sector and beyond.”

After the tournament the players, the sponsors and the organisers swapped their sports gear for spangly, sequined jackets and LED specs and headed off to the Boathouse restaurant on the banks of the river Vistula in Warsaw, where they were finally able to relax and chat about the day’s play. Once everyone had assembled there, the winners were presented with their trophies and other prizes. With the official ceremony over, many were then able to show off their best dance moves to the live music provided by the band, which included a saxophonist. It was something you just had to see!

What else is there to add? Well, we’d like to give a big thank you to everyone who took part and hope to see you next time, when the 22nd golf tournament comes around and the tennis tournament turns 18.

Golf tournament results

Stroke-play Net results:

Best Net

Maksymilian Marcinkowski, 76 net strokes

Handicap Group winners:

1st HCP group - handicaps from 0 to 18 Stroke-play Netto:

1st place

Paweł Trepczyński, 70 strokes

2nd place

Maciej Wawrzkiewicz, 70 strokes

3rd place

Dariusz Adekoya, 70 strokes

2nd HCP group - handicaps from 18.1 to 36, Stableford Net:

1st place

Paweł Gołuchowski, 50 Stableford points

2nd place

Monika Matusiak, 43 Stableford points

3rd place

Jan Mojmir Kriska, 41 Stableford points

Additional contests

Men’s Longest Drive

hole 9, Konstantin Felgenhauer

Ladies’ Longest Drive

hole 17, Małgorzata Więcko

Closest to the Pin

hole 5, Jonathan Steer, 1.66m from the flag

Golf Academy mini tournaments:

Best putt

Ewa Kułaczkowska

Nearest to the pin

Ewelina Lewczuk

Tennis tournament results

Doubles

3rd place:

Katarzyna Redecka, CDBP

Tomasz Czyżewski, Dom Development

Łukasz Wiśniewski, TOA Electronics Europe (Polish branch)

Michał Królik, Prologis

2nd place:

Krzysztof Stempień

Filip Bojdo, Cornerstone Investment Management

1st place:

Anton Bashtavy, Centerscape Deutschland

Tomasz Hys, Bartosz Hys

Women’s singles

3rd place:

Agata Stelmach, Strabag Real Estate

Joanna Lewandowska, Axi Immo

2nd place:

Katarzyna Redecka, CDBP

1st place:

Monika Żywiecka

Men’s singles

3rd place:

Tomasz Czyżewski, Dom Development

Łukasz Meisner, Panattoni

2nd place:

Bartosz Hys

1st place:

Anton Bashtavy, Centerscape Deutschland

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A photo report of the event can be found in the Eurobuild photo gallery.