Skra Bełchatów

Skra Bełchatów, competing for sponsorship reasons as PGE Skra Bełchatów and officially called KPS Skra Bełchatów SA, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Bełchatów in central Poland, founded in 1957. They compete in the Polish PlusLiga. The most successful PlusLiga club based on the total number of league titles (9).

Honours

Domestic

* Polish Championship
:Winners (9): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2017–18

* Polish Cup
:Winners (7): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2015–16

* Polish SuperCup
:Winners (4): 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19

International

* CEV Champions League
:Silver (1): 2011–12
:Semifinalists (1): 2018–19
:Final Four (3): 2007–08, 2009–10, 2014–15

* FIVB Club World Championship
:Silver (2): 2009, 2010

European record

Club history

(Workers Sports Club) ''Skra'' was founded in 1930 in Bełchatów. Initially, it was a football club. In 1957, a volleyball section was created although it celebrated its biggest successes during the 21st century. In 1977, the football section was separated from the club and transformed into GKS Bełchatów. In 1991 Bełchatów Power Station became the main sponsor of Skra and the club changed its name to (Energetic Sports Club) ''Skra''. In 1994, the club advanced to the 2nd Polish Volleyball League and in 1997 to the 1st League "B" series. In 1999, they were promoted to "A" series, but after a year they fell back down to "B" series again.

In 2001, the club led by Wiesław Czaja was promoted to the highest level of the Polish Volleyball League. In their first season there – 2001/2002 – the team achieved a bronze medal of the Polish Championship, defeating Jastrzębski Węgiel after three matches. During the 2002/2003 season ''Skra'' took 6th place in the league, and lost in the second round of the CEV Cup in a match against Russian club Lokomotiv Yekaterinburg.

In 2003 Ireneusz Mazur became a new head coach of the team. During the 2003/2004 season the club was close to achieving its next medal. ''Skra'' lost to AZS Częstochowa after five matches. The team was also defeated in the final match of the Polish Cup by Płomień Sosnowiec. It was during the 2004/2005 season that the winning streak for ''Skra'' began. The club won its first title of the Polish Champion after three matches with AZS Olsztyn, and also achieved its first Polish Cup after the final match with the same club (3–1). The team repeated that success in the next season, when they won their second title of the Polish Champion in four final matches with Jastrzębski Węgiel, and also the Polish Cup for the second year in a row (winning final match with AZS Częstochowa (3–0)). They lost two matches against the Greek team Iraklis Thessaloniki in the Playoff 6 of the 2005–06 CEV Champions League.

In 2006, Daniel Castellani became the new head coach. Significantly, he is the first coach of the club from outside Poland. He spent three seasons in Bełchatów. During his work ''PGE Skra'' won next three titles of the Polish Champion (2007, 2008, 2009) and two Polish Cups (2007, 2009). In 2008 ''PGE Skra'' played as a host in the 2007–08 CEV Champions League Final Four held at Hala MOSiR in Łódź. On 29 March 2008 the team lost the semifinal against the Russian club Dynamo Tattransgaz Kazan (2–3). On the next day, ''PGE Skra'' players won a bronze medal in a match with the Italian team Sisley Treviso (3–2).

In 2009, Jacek Nawrocki became the new head coach. The first success under his guidance was the silver medal at the 2009 FIVB Club World Championship. At this tournament, after being promoted from Pool B, ''PGE Skra'' won their semifinal against Zenit Kazan (3–1), but on 8 November 2009 the Polish club lost the final against Trentino Volley (0–3). Two out of seven individual awards were received by ''PGE Skra'' players: Bartosz Kurek was named the ''Best Scorer'', Marcin Możdżonek, the ''Best Blocker''. In 2010, the Polish team was once again chosen as a host of the CEV Champions League Final Four. ''Skra'' lost the semifinal against Dynamo Moscow, and won a bronze medal in a match against ACH Volley Bled. Mariusz Wlazły was named the ''Best Scorer'' of the Final Four tournament. In the 2009–10 PlusLiga season, the club won its sixth title of the Polish Championship.

''PGE Skra'' won the silver medal at the 2010 FIVB Club World Championship on 21 December. The team once again lost to Trentino Volley (1–3) in the final. During the 2010/2011 season, the Polish club won its seventh title of the Polish Championship and fifth Polish Cup. In the 2010–11 CEV Champions League, the team made it to the Playoff 6 stage where Skra lost to the Russian club Zenit Kazan (2–3, 3–1) in the golden set (11–15).

The first trophy won by Skra in 2012, was the sixth Polish Cup in the history of the club. On 18 March 2012 ''PGE Skra'' achieved a silver medal of the 2011–12 CEV Champions League. They won a match against Arkas İzmir in the semifinal, but lost in the final to the Zenit Kazan from Russia in the Final Four held at Atlas Arena