Immediately after World War II, in the newly liberated Yugoslavia, sports organizations began to be formed throughout Vojvodina. In early April 1945, the Initiative Committee for the Renewal of Physical Culture and Sport in Vojvodina dissolved all former sports clubs in order to overcome the old system and create better conditions for the development of sport in the new state.
Among the first sports to be reorganized in 1945 was swimming. Around central sports associations, the first swimming groups were formed in Zrenjanin, Sombor, Subotica, Novi Sad, Kikinda, Novi Bečej and Pančevo. Not all sections were equally active; only a few organized swimming meets, mostly as individual events in which pre-war swimmers took the leading roles.
The Success of Olga Marticka
The fact that Novi Bečej was an important swimming center in this part of Banat is confirmed by the participation of its swimmers in competitions immediately after liberation. Novi Bečej swimmers took part in the first major post-war competition in Vojvodina, held on August 5, 1945, in Petrovgrad (today’s Zrenjanin) – the North Banat Championship. In competition with swimmers from Zrenjanin, Kikinda, and Novi Bečej, the club Obilić from Petrovgrad won first place, Kikinda came second, and Novi Bečej finished third.
About ten days later, in August 1945, the Vojvodina Swimming Championship was also held in Zrenjanin, with swimmers from Zrenjanin, Kikinda, Pančevo, and Novi Bečej taking part. The most notable result for Novi Bečej was achieved by Olga Marticka, who placed second in the 100-meter breaststroke. First place went to Štefković of Petrovgrad with a time of 1:40.3, while Marticka finished in 1:55.0.
Thanks to this result, Olga Marticka was selected for the Vojvodina team, which competed from September 7 to 9, 1945, at the first national swimming and water polo championship in Ljubljana. The Vojvodina swimming team finished fifth, behind Croatia, the Yugoslav Army, Slovenia, and Serbia, and ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia. In water polo, the Vojvodina team placed fourth.
Stevan Kiurski Shines
After the 1945 championships, there are no records of Novi Bečej swimmers’ public appearances until July 1946. On July 28, 1946, a city match was held in Senta between the home club PK Jedinstvo and swimmers from Novi Bečej, who competed under the banner of the Vranjevo Sports Club Zvezda. All events were scored, and the meet ended in a 52–52 draw.
In the 200-meter freestyle, first place was won by Stevan Kiurski, then the best swimmer from Novi Bečej, with a time of 2:40.1. In the junior 100-meter breaststroke, Janković won with 1:30.8, while in younger categories Dragosavljević won the 50-meter freestyle (32.2) and Radomir Ivanić won the 100-meter backstroke.
Stevan Kiurski (born 1922) was one of the top swimmers in Vojvodina. In 1946 he ranked first on the Vojvodina best-times list in the 200-meter freestyle, with the same result achieved in Senta. He later joined the Proleter club in Zrenjanin, continuing his successful career in the 200, 400, and 1,500-meter freestyle events. After retiring from competition, he remained in the sport and in 1949 completed a course to become a certified swimming instructor.
A Pause and a New Beginning
Since no club archive has been preserved and no documentary evidence of activities after 1946 was found in the Archives of Vojvodina, it is assumed that a several-year pause followed for various reasons. Documents from 1950 list 18 registered swimming sections in Vojvodina, but none from Novi Bečej. It is possible that individual swimmers still competed, but without written records.
The report from the Senta meet in July 1946 marks the end of the period we have called The First Strokes of Novi Bečej swimming and water polo. According to available documents from the Archives of Vojvodina and contemporary newspapers, Novi Bečej swimmers and water polo players returned to the sports scene in the summer of 1951, beginning the period that would later be remembered as the club’s Golden Age.
Comments