The British Embassy Sarajevo participated in today’s assembly where the first Women’s University Rugby Club in Bosnia and Herzegovina “Lastavice” was formed.
Ed Miles, head of the Political Department of the British Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that sport is an important diplomatic tool that builds ties between countries and between people, and that he is proud that this originally British sport is gaining more and more fans in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– The British Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina strives to support the development of rugby throughout the country, and we are especially happy to see that the interest in this sport is increasing among children and women. We are happy that we managed to secure a large donation from the British SOS Kit Aid in the form of equipment for rugby players throughout BiH, and part of that equipment will be used by the girls from “Lastavica”. I hope that this donation will contribute to the development of women’s rugby at universities in six cities and that this wonderful story will spread to other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sport is an activity that brings people together and knows no discrimination. That is why it is very important that we see as many inclusive initiatives as possible across the country that change the social perception of sports as an exclusively male activity – said Ed Miles.
The women’s university rugby club “Lastavice” includes young athletes from six cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Zenica, Mostar, Tuzla, East Sarajevo, Foča and Sarajevo. The signing of the agreement with the universities is being finalised. In each of these six cities, teams will be formed at the university level, and the best of these girls will play together in a common team.
– The project of forming a women’s university rugby club is an idea that arose within the framework of the International Conference of the Presidents of the European Rugby Union as an expression of spite and a kind of encouragement to the Bosnian society to dare to dream big things – explains Edis Šačirović, President of the Rugby Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Namely, at the official conference, when asked by the president of the European umbrella organization for rugby, Rugby Europe, what their specific sporting goal is, the BiH Rugby Union proposed the participation of the women’s rugby national team at the Olympic Games in Brisbane in 2032. At that moment, there was no active female rugby player in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– Eighteen months later, we are proud to present the first women’s university rugby club, which is also the university national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is made up of female students from several universities. The women’s university rugby club “Lastavice” got its name from the bird swallow, which is a symbol of hope and survival even in the most difficult conditions for all peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Swallows also have one trait that the Women’s University Rugby Club wants to convey to society, and that is that no matter how far they go from home, they always return with certainty and know exactly where their home is. That’s why Lastavice, even though they play and train at different universities, have coordinated logo colors with the colors of each university, as well as their names – Mostar Lastavice, Fočan Lastavice, etc. When they meet together, they form a flock. These are Lastavice from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In times of dominant discourse of division, rugby becomes a sport of unification and draws attention to the necessity of a much stronger inclusion of women in social flows. The positive energy and spirit that these young girls bring from all educations, matches and gatherings, and most of them will become professors in schools and universities in the near future, should be the new driving force of this society. What we are particularly proud of is that it is the first women’s sports club in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has a completely female management structure – said Edis Šačirović, president of the Rugby Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At today’s founding assembly, members of the club’s management and other management structures, as well as rugby ambassadors from each city, were elected. Kanita Pojskić was elected president of the club’s management.
– It is a very big thing to be a part of this team because this is a new step in Bosnia and Herzegovina. rugby. When we talk about the development of women’s rugby, it will contribute to the strengthening of women’s sports. Community and sportsmanship itself. The club was founded with the aim of supporting the development of women’s rugby and offering all these girls the space to grow through this sport both personally and professionally. I look forward to contributing to the promotion of this sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina with my experience and the opportunity that has been given to me. Today, the Women’s University Rugby Club “Lastavice” was officially founded, but for the past few months, the girls have been actively working and training. They played an excellent friendly match with the Women’s Rugby Club “Partizan” from Belgrade and showed on the field that they really live the sport with their game with quite experienced players on the other side of the field. This is certainly a wind at our backs to work on the greater popularization of rugby in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am grateful for this opportunity to help the functional organization of the Club based on my previous experience and to prove that a sports club in Bosnia and Herzegovina can function positively when a quality team of people with a mission, vision and goal is gathered – said Kanita Pojskić, president of the Management Board of the Women’s University Rugby Club “Lastavice”.
Rugby originated in England at the beginning of the 19th century, more precisely in 1823 in the city of Rugby, when a school student allegedly broke the rules of football and started running with the ball in his hands. Today, this is a popular sport all over the world. Rugby is often associated with values such as team spirit, discipline, respect and physical strength. Rugby in BiH is not massively popular, but it has enthusiasts and local support, especially in Zenica. It began to be played in 1972, in Zenica, with the founding of the Čelik Rugby Club, which is considered the cradle of Bosnian rugby, the British Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
SOS Kit Aid is a British charity that collects rugby sports equipment from schools and clubs in the United Kingdom and donates it to young people around the world, promoting sport, inclusion and environmental protection; so far they have helped over 250,000 young people in more than 60 countries.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
