Falubaz Zielona Góra is a Polish

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

team based in Zielona Góra who currently races in PGE Ekstraliga. It is one of the most successful teams in Poland, winning seven Team Speedway Polish Championships (latest in 2013). It is commonly known as ''Falubaz'' due to one of its former names.

Stadium

The Zielona Góra Speedway Stadium, informally named as ''W69'', is located on 69 Wrocławska Street. It contains 15,000 seats. The track is 337.50 metres long and has a granite surface. It has had an inflatable airfence since May 4, 2006. The stadium was later renovated with floodlights erected and the track widened on the bends. The club's new headquarters were also built and moved from 31 Dworcowa Street.

History

1946 to 1979

The club was founded in 1946 with the establishing of a motorcycle department of Militia Sports Club (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

''Milicyjny Klub Sportowy''). The first speedway race in the city took place on a 450 meters long track on October 20, 1946. The winner was Zygmunt Dolata as he holds best time of the meeting. In 1947, Mieczysław Chlebisz, a re-emigrant from the United Kingdom, arrived back in the city, bringing the first professional speedway motorcycle which had been used in Britain. In 1948, a ''Poznan District League'' was set up, containing nine teams, including Unia Zielona Góra. The club's riders were (in alphabetical order): Jerzy Błoch, Mieczysław Chlebicz, Kazimierz Juzala, Alfons Kostusiak, Ksawery Sawicki, Józef Śmigielski, Stanisław Świstak and Marian Zadoń. Second division honours were won in 1963/1964,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. In between they won the bronze medal in the Team Speedway Polish Championship in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

and in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

they won their second bronze medal.

1980 to 1999

The 1980s saw a period of significant success for the club; they won their first team gold medal in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and followed this up by defending their crown in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. In addition,

Andrzej Huszcza Andrzej Huszcza (born 10 March 1957 in Krępa, Poland) is a Polish former international motorcycle speedway rider who was a reserve (did not ride) in the 1988 World Final in Vojens, Denmark. Huszcza rode for Falubaz Zielona Góra for thirty ...

won the 1982

Polish Individual Speedway Championship The Individual Speedway Polish Championship (Polish: ''Indywidualne Mistrzostwa Polski, IMP'') is an annual speedway event held each year organized by the Polish Motor Union (PZM) since 1932. The current Polish Champion is Bartosz Zmarzlik ( S ...

. Other riders at the time included

Henryk Olszak Henryk may refer to: * Henryk (given name) * Henryk, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, a village in south-central Poland * Henryk Glacier, an Antarctic glacier See also * Henryk Batuta hoax, an internet hoax * Henrykian articles The Henrician Art ...

Maciej Jaworek Maciej Jaworek (born 24 February 1961) is a former international speedway rider from Poland. Speedway career Jaworek was the champion of Poland, winning the Polish Individual Speedway Championship The Individual Speedway Polish Championship ...

and

Jan Krzystyniak Jan Krzystyniak (born 14 March 1958 in Zielona Góra, Poland) is a retired Polish motorcycle speedway rider, and a speedway team manager. He was Polish Speedway Champion nine times, including pair and team championships. Sport career Jan Krzyst ...

. Just three years later in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

they secured a third gold medal and

was Polish champion in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. The good form continued as they picked up a silver medal in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

before winning a fourth Championship gold medal in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. The period of success was followed by nine seasons of mediocrity.

2000 to 2007

When the Ekstraliga was introduced in 2000, Zielona Gora were in 1. Liga but were able to win the division and return to the top league for 2001. However they bounced back and forth from the divisions winning the 1.Liga in both

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Rafał Okoniewski won the Golden Helmet in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2008 to present

It was not until

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

that they won a top league honour, winning the bronze medal, before being crowned champions of Poland in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

for the fifth time in their history. The team then embarked on another superb run, winning the Polish Pairs Speedway Championship in 2009 ( Rafał Dobrucki and Grzegorz Walasek), team silver in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, gold in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. Some of the star riders at the time were former world champion Greg Hancock, Swede,

Andreas Jonsson Andreas Karl Rune Jonsson (born 3 September 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden) is an international motorcycle speedway rider. He was a member of the Sweden speedway team that won the World Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2015. Career summary Jonsson won Under ...

and

Piotr Protasiewicz Piotr Protasiewicz (born 25 January 1975 in Zielona Góra, Poland) is a Polish international speedway rider. Career He has ridden for the Polish national team in the Speedway World Cup in 1996 and 2005. He was also World U-21 Champion in 1996 ...

. During celebrations of the team's 2011 victory, a fan was accidentally run over and by an unmarked police vehicle and died, which led to overnight riots.

Patryk Dudek Patryk Dudek (; born 20 June 1992) is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who is a member of the Polish national speedway team. Career Dudek's father, Sławomir, was a professional rider and Patryk gained his speedway licence in 2008. Dudek wo ...

completed the Polish Championship and Golden Helmet double during the

2016 Polish speedway season The 2016 Polish Speedway season was the 2016 season of motorcycle speedway in Poland. Individual Polish Individual Speedway Championship The 2016 Individual Speedway Polish Championship final was held on 1 July at Leszno. Patryk Dudek won the ...

and the team picked up a bronze medal. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

the team were relegated from the Ekstraliga after a 14-year stay. In their first season in the 1. Liga Falubaz failed to gain promotion back to the top league after losing the promotion play-off final to Wilki Krosno. In the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, Falubaz went on to win the league title and get promoted to Ekstraliga after winning all of their 20 matches, becoming only the second club to achieve this feat on the second level after Unia Leszno in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Teams

2024 Team

Przemysław Pawlicki Przemysław Pawlicki (born 5 September 1991)''Świat Żużla'', No 1 (77) 2009, pages 14-15 is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who is a member of Poland U-21 and U-19 national teams. Pawlicki is a current Team U-21 World Champion and Tea ...

Jarosław Hampel Jarosław "Jarek" Hampel (; born 17 April 1982 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish Speedway rider. He was a participant of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix in 2007 and 2010. He received his speedway license in 1998 with the Polish team Polonia Piła, alth ...

* Rasmus Jensen *

Jan Kvěch Jan Kvěch (born 18 October 2001) is an international speedway rider from the Czech Republic. Speedway career Kvěch won the bronze medal at the Czech Republic Championship in 2019. He qualified for the 2021 Speedway Grand Prix The 2021 Speed ...

* Piotr Pawlicki *

Michał Curzytek Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Heller ( ...

Krzysztof Sadurski Krzysztof () is a Polish given name, equivalent to English ''Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may choose to ...

* Oskar Hurysz * Kacper Rychliński * Mateusz Łopuski

Previous teams

2022 team *

Max Fricke Max Fricke (born 29 March 1996) is an Australian speedway rider. He is a World team champion, twice Australian champion and four times Australian Under-21 Champion. Career Juniors Fricke competed in junior levels of motocross and speedway in ...

Rohan Tungate Rohan Tungate (born 27 January 1990) is an Australian speedway rider who has competed in the United Kingdom and Poland. He won the Australian Solo Championship in 2018. Career Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Tungate made his British speed ...

Mateusz Tonder Mateusz is a Polish given name, equivalent to Hebrew names Matityahu and Matthew, meaning "gift of Yahweh". List Notable people with the name include: B–H * Mateusz Bąk (born 1983), Polish football goalkeeper * Mateusz Banasiuk (born 1985), P ...

Krzysztof Buczkowski Krzysztof Buczkowski (born 30 April 1986 in Grudziądz, Poland) is a Polish speedway rider and has ridden for the Polish national junior team. He started speedway in 2002 with Piła, riding for GKM Grudziądz. In 2005 he joined Polonia Bydgoszc ...

Antoni Mencel Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fe ...

* Maksym Borowiak *

Fabian Ragus Fabian may refer to: People * Fabian (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Pope Fabian (died 250), Catholic saint * Fabian Forte (born 1943), 1950s American teen idol, singer and actor, known by the mononym Fabian * ...

2023 team *

* Rasmus Jensen *

Luke Becker Luke Becker (born 11 February 1999) is a speedway rider from the United States. Career Becker began his British career riding for Wolverhampton Wolves in 2019. Unable to ride during 2020 because of Covid-19 cancelled season, he continued to rid ...

* Dawid Rempała * Filip Frącewicz * Kacper Rychliński

Notable riders

Honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zkz Zielona Gora Speedway teams in Poland Sport in Zielona Góra 1946 establishments in Poland Sports clubs and teams established in 1946