Sport in Bratislava

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Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava, with many sport teams and individuals competing in the best Slovak and international leagues and competitions. Many significant sports events, such as World and European Championships, have been held in Bratislava. The 2011 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships will be held in Bratislava, along with Košice. A new arena will be built to host this event.[1]

Contents

[edit] Football (soccer)

Football (soccer) is currently represented by three clubs playing the top Slovak football league Corgoň Liga:

Tehelné pole
Tehelné pole
ŠK (Športový Klub - Sports Club) Slovan was founded on May 3, 1919 as 1. ČsŠK Bratislava (1. Československý športový klub). Its home ground is the Tehelné pole (Brickfield) stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000. ŠK Slovan is the most successful football club in Slovak history and the only winner of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup from former Czechoslovakia. It won the cup in the 1968-69 season.[2] ŠK Slovan also won the top Slovak and Czechoslovak football leagues and Slovak Cup and Czechoslovak Cup several times. ŠK Slovan has had the most players in the Slovak national football team in history. Many famous Slovak footballers played in ŠK Slovan, for example Peter Dubovský, Jozef Adamec, Karol Jokl, Jozef Vengloš or Róbert Vittek. The club had 7 players in the Czechoslovak team that won the 1976 European Football Championship.[3]
FK (Futbalový Klub - Football Club) Inter was founded in 1945 as a part of ŠK Apollo. The name changed to Internacionál in 1965, to AŠK Inter Slovnaft in 1992 and finally to Inter Bratislava in 2004. Inter's home ground is Štadión Pasienky (Pasienky stadium) with a capacity of 13,401.[4] Inter has won the top Slovak league 2 times, the Czechoslovak league once and the Slovak Cup 6 times. Notable players include Vratislav Greško, Szilárd Németh, Ladislav Jurkemik and Jozef Barmoš.[5]
FC Artmedia Bratislava is the oldest Bratislava's football club, founded on June 7, 1898, as a part of PTE (Pozsonyi Torna Egyesulet) sports club. Its home ground is currently in Petržalka with a capacity of 7,100 (5,600 seats). FC Artmedia's biggest success is the 2004-2005 Corgoň Liga title and the following UEFA Champions League 2005-06 participation. FC Artmedia beat Celtic F.C. and FK Partizan in the qualifying rounds and advanced to the group stage. The club ended third in group H with 1 win (over FC Porto), 3 draws and 2 loses.[6]

[edit] Ice hockey

V. Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium in Ružinov
V. Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium in Ružinov

Three winter sports arenas are situated in Bratislava: Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, V.Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium and Dúbravka Winter Sports Stadium. The ice hockey team HC Slovan Bratislava represents Bratislava in Slovak's top ice hockey league Slovak Extraliga. Samsung Arena, part of Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, is home to HC Slovan. The club, founded in 1939, is a six-times Slovak Extraliga and one-time Czechoslovak Extraliga winner. HC Slovan also won the 2003-04 Continental Cup. Notable former HC Slovan players include Vladimír Dzurilla, Václav Nedomanský, Peter Šťastný, and Miroslav Šatan.[7] Since 1993, Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium hosts Ondrej Nepela Memorial, an annual senior-level international figure skating competition.

[edit] Basketball, Handball, Volleyball, and Water Polo

Inter Arena Pasienky (originally Inter Hala Pasienky) is home to two professional clubs— women's basketball club Slovan Bratislava and men's basketball club Inter Bratislava—and training and playing-ground for other teams. Slovan Bratislava competes in the top Slovak league Women's Extraliga, and Inter Bratislava in Men's Extraliga. ŠKP (Športový Klub Polície - Police Sports Club) Bratislava is a handball club. Its women's handball team, founded in 1993, plays in the Women's Handball International League, which is a joint Czech and Slovak top handball league.[8] And its men's handball a-team competes in Handball International League, a joint Czech and Slovak handball league. A volleyball team VKP Bratislava (Volejbalový Klub Polície - Police Volleyball Club) plays in men's Extraliga. Slávia UK Bratislava is a sports club of Comenius University (UK - Univerzita Komenského - Comenius University). Its volleyball team plays in women's Extraliga and its water polo team competes in men's Extraliga.

[edit] Tennis

National Tennis Centre, which includes Sibamac Arena, hosts various cultural, sports and social events. Several Davis Cup matches were played there, including the 2005 Davis Cup final between Slovakia and Croatia. Tatra banka Open, an ATP Challenger Series tournament, is hosted anually in NTC.[9] Slovak professional tennis players Dominik Hrbatý[10] and Karol Kučera[11] were born in Bratislava.

[edit] Other

Water Sports Centre Čunovo is a slalom and rafting area. The centre is open for public and professionals, including Slovak representatives. The Centre hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually. Devín - Bratislava National run (Národný beh Devín - Bratislava) is the oldest athletic event in Slovakia. The first race was organized in 1921 and the 60th race was celebrated in 2007. The international race is 11,625 metres long and attracts about 1,500 attendants annually.[12][13] The Bratislava City Marathon is organized annually since 2006. It offers several races, including marathon, half-marathon and skating race. A race track is located in Petržalka. Horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held there regularly.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Slovakia to host ice hockey World Championships in 2011", The Slovak Spectator, 2006-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-04-27. 
  2. ^ UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - History. UEFA (July 13, 2005). Retrieved on April 26, 2007.
  3. ^ Klub>>Základné informácie (Club >>Basic information); Klub>>Múzeum slovana>>História (Club>>Slovan Museum>>History). ŠK Slovan Bratislava Futbal (2006). Retrieved on April 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Štadión Futbalového klubu Inter Bratislava a.s. na Pasienkoch (Pasienky). Grzegorz Kaliciak, stadiony.net (2007). Retrieved on April 26, 2007.
  5. ^ História klubu (Club History). Inter Bratislava (August 19, 2006). Retrieved on April 26, 2007.
  6. ^ Club - basic information. FC Artmedia Bratislava (no date). Retrieved on April 26, 2007.
  7. ^ Tradícia(Tradition). HC Slovan Bratislava (2005). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  8. ^ ŠKP Štart Bratislava. Český svaz házené (Czech Handball Federation) (no date). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  9. ^ National Tennis Centre. National Tennis Centre (no date). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  10. ^ Player Profile: Dominik Hrbaty (SVK). ATP Tour (2007). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  11. ^ Player Profile: Karol Kucera (SVK). ATP Tour (2007). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  12. ^ Twin City Journal - The Oldest Athletic Event in Slovakia (page 7). City of Bratislava (04/2006). Retrieved on April 28, 2007.
  13. ^ Národný beh Devín - Bratislava (Devín - Bratislava National run). STaRZ (February 6, 2007). Retrieved on April 27, 2007.