Report from the third meeting of the Fire Sports Commission in Bulgaria

Minutes from the 3rd meeting of the CTIF Fire Sports Commission

Photo Credit: From a public ladder climbing competition during the 2022 CTIF Firefighting Olympics in Celje, Slovenia. Photo by Bjorn Ulfsson, CTIF 

Venue: Varna, Bulgaria
Program: Monday, September 30, 2024, arrival, accommodation
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, the opening ceremony of the ODESSOS cup
Wednesday, October 2, 2024, committee meeting
Thursday, October 3, 2024, departure
 

Participants: 

Representatives of 11 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Moldova, Germany,
Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. 

CTIF Vice-President Nedeljko Vukanovič

Course of the meeting:

1. The chairman of the commission, Zdeněk Nytra, welcomed everyone present, thanked his
Bulgarian colleagues for the arrangement the meeting and introduced the participants to
the program. Subsequently, the Director General for CO and Emergency Management of
the Republic of Bulgaria spoke and greeted the participants meeting and briefly informed
about the situation in his area of ​​competence.

2. CTIF Vice President Nedeljko Vukalović
• informed that the Chairman of the Recovery and New Technologies Commission of the
CTIF, Mikko Saastamoinen, had died in a traffic accident, and the participants observed a
minute of silence in his memory
• reported on the Assembly of CTIF delegates in June in Oslo, where CTIF president Milan
Dubravac was re-elected, new vice-president Zisoula Ntasia and new treasurer Tom Van
Esbroeck. The next Assembly of Delegates will take place on June 19 and 20, 2025 in
Sofia, Bulgaria. At the same time, he requested documents on the committee's activities for
publication on the CTIF website.

3. Information on activities and plans in the area of ​​competence of the Commission in
individual countries:
• Zdeněk Nytra evaluated the activities for the Czech Republic. Teams from Bulgaria,
Germany, Poland and Slovakia also participated in the international championship of the
Czech Republic in fire sports. Czech Republic participated in the Erasmus+ project
together with Romania. They went to Croatia for competitions men's and women's teams
sent.
• The Croatian representative informed about the competitions held in 2024. There are
currently 4 coaches in Varna as part of the Erasmus+ program, while they are planning the
participation of coaches from Romania for 2025. In 2025, they plan to organize
competitions for women and youth.

• The Estonian representative said that the Championship took place in his country with the
participation of a team from Latvia.

• In Latvia, the situation is not good, they do not have the support of the management, they
have financial problems, the team has closed its activities, so participation in the World
Cup is unlikely.

• The representative of Germany informed that 25 competitions were held, including the
German Championship. He emphasized that in 2025 (July 29-August 3) there will be a
championship to which foreign teams will be invited. And in the term 19. - 26.7. 2026 are
organized by the CTIF International Competitions (the so-called Firefighter Olympics).
 

• The representative of Ukraine thanked for all kinds of support from many countries. He
said that there were women'ss competitions in the country, but not men's because of the war.
Junior and male competitions are planned for the future.
 

• Youth and men's competitions are held in Moldova. They have a problem with preparing
for international competitions, they don't have a machine available.
 

• Slovakia can only send men to international events.
 

• In Poland, support and activity in fire sports is weakening. Teams from Moldova, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia took part in the international championship. In 2025, it is
planned for mid-June. Women's and youth cooperatives are not established. The
representative of Poland offered the possibility of organizing training for referees in the
spring of 2025.
 

• The Bulgarian representative said that in 2024 they cooperated mainly with Moldova, the
Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. In 2025, they also plan to cooperate with
Germany. They organized the Burgas Cup with 9 teams and now the Odessos Cup with 30
teams from 13 countries. In the summer, their country was affected by forest fires, and the
Czech Republic provided them with assistance (helicopters for aerial firefighting) as part
of the "Mechanism of cooperation in the field of EU civil protection".
 

4. Rules of fire sports
representatives of individual states were invited to unify national rules of fire sports on the
basis of international rules. The course of international competitions and the preparation of
referees will then be much easier. For this, it is necessary to have verified language
mutations in English, German and Russian - the chairman of the commission will ensure
this.
 

5. An indicative survey of the situation in individual countries was carried out:
Men Cz, Cro, Est, Ger, Ukr, Bul, Rum, Mol, Svk, Pol – 10 teams
Women Cz, Cro, Est, Ger, Ukr, Bul (?), Pol (2026) – 5 to 7 teams
Juniors CZ, Cro, Est, Ger, Ukr, Bul, Lat – 7 teams
Junior girls CZ, Cro, Est, Ger, Lat – 5 teams
 

6. The following activities are being prepared in 2025:
• Odessos Cup, Bulgaria, only for club teams.
• Pikaču Cup, Croatia, for 8 teams, 3 lanes for 100m, 4 for tower, one for relay.
• European Championship in fire sports, 24.-30.8. 2025, Dolna Banja, Bulgaria.
 

7. In 2026, the CTIF International Competition is being prepared, Berlin 19-26 July. 2026,
(the so-called Firefighting Olympics).

8. Presentation of the European Championship in fire sports, Dolna Banja, Bulgaria

• accommodation will be in the Borovetc mountain resort, in Rila, 19 km (30 minutes) from
Dolna Banji.
• the meeting of the committee will take place on 8/25/2025
• teams will consist of 10 competitors + 3 (leader, trainer, masseur/doctor)
• the expected participation fee will be 50-60 EUR/person/day
• the costs of the main judge/deputy and 4 judges of the disciplines are covered by the
organizers
• contact: bfpps1991@abv.bg
 

9. At the end of the meeting, the following tasks were set:
 

9.1. Send to organizers (bfpps1991@abv.bg), in copy zdenek.nytra@icloud.com
presumption of participation in the European Championships of adults (men/women) in
Dolna Banja, Bulgaria.
Date: 31/10/2024
 

9.2. Send a list of referees for inclusion in the list of international referees to
zdenek.nytra@icloud.com.
Date: 31/10/2024
 

9.3. Radovan Zadravec (Croatia) will confirm the organization of the 2025 European Youth
Championship in Croatia to zdenek.nytra@icloud.com.
Date: 31/10/2024

In Ostrava, October 20, 2024
Zdeněk Nytra
chairman
CTIF Fire Sports Commission