Juvenia Kraków
| Full name | Rzemieślniczy Klub Sportowy Juvenia Kraków | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Smoki (Dragons) | ||
| Founded |
8 december 1906 1973 (rugby team) | ||
| Location | Kraków, Poland | ||
| Ground(s) | Juvenia Stadium (Capacity: 800) | ||
| Chairman |
 Leszek Samel | ||
| Coach(es) |
Janusz Wilk | ||
| League(s) | Rugby Ekstraliga | ||
| 2009–10 | 5th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www.juvenia.info | |||
Juvenia Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjuvɛɲa ˈkrakuf]) is a Polish rugby union club based in Kraków, Poland. It was founded in 1906 (like Wisła Kraków and Cracovia) as a football club. Since 1973 it has been playing rugby union. Now Juvenia Kraków is playing in Rugby Ekstraliga.
History of the rugby section
The rugby section arose in 1973. The first rugby match was played the next year with Posnania, which fell from the first league. Juvenia lost 60:0. But that defeat didn't depress them, what is more, it pulled them together to harder work. For the next 3 years Juvenia did not win a single match. In 1976 they started winning and in the same year they achieved their first success, which was a promotion to the semifinal of Polish Cup. They lost to Czarni Bytom 12:15.
Juvenia was close to promotion to the first league two times. The first time was in 1982, when they drew with Budowlani Olsztyn (7:7), where their opposition got promoted. The second chance occurred two years later, in 1984, where they also missed out on promotion.
In 1986 the rugby section was moved to Korona Carcow, what caused the suspension of the section only to return in 1993. In 2000 it was promoted to the first league, where it played three seasons. In 2003 the club fell back into the second league but fortunately it returned to the first division in 2005. In 2006 Salwator became its main sponsor and the first team changed its name to Salwator Juvenia Kraków. Since 2009, Salwator is no longer a team sponsor and the name has changed back to Juvenia Kraków.
The board
- President – Leszek Samel
- Vice president – Jarosław Guzda
- Board member – Maciej Mączka
- Board member – Jarosław Branczewski