The Euroleague has booked a historic date to play in Belgrade, but the ambitions of underwater rugby have yet to be accepted by the Serbian Underwater Association (SOPAS).
Serbian Underwater Association
After over two decades in the military, as a naval commando and intelligence officer, Stojan Bogosavljgev began a civilian career as a physical education and sports teacher. He teaches at the local community college and is recognizable as a guy on the children-need-sports mission. Besides teaching scuba and freediving, he has organized finswimming and hockey. Rugby, though, now has his priority. He is a driving force behind the popularization of the sub aquatic ball sport in Serbia. Via his club, Orka Ronilackiklub, he has managed to create a youth team in the small town of Kikinda, population 38,000. The Orka’s forward movement has been followed internationally on social media over the past three years.
Like Ege in Izmir, Turkey, Orka understands that building relations is critical in sports. Without international exposure players cannot develop properly. However, despite the apparent progress, Bogosavljgev has been unable to gain the support of SOPAS, the Serbian Underwater Association. He claimed that the federation had even refused to accredit his club.
“This makes our club ineligible for local government funding worth about €2,000 annually,” he explained. So far, Orka’s members have been forced to finance their activities through member fees. Bogosavljgev said that he has had to cover he own personal expenses out of pocket. The costs have included the trips abroad to expose his juniors to the international game.
Over the past three years Bogosavligev has gotten Kikinda’s juniors to participate in 6 training camps. There are photos of his junior and foreign rugby friends from the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and Germany. The key to generating so much activity is, according to him, encouraging others to take positions of leadership, rather than putting oneself in the spotlight. A tireless organizer, Bogosavligev had hoped that Serbia would begin competing in international CMAS sanctioned events.
“We even had enough Serbian nationals at home and abroad to form a senior men’s team for this year’s World Championships in Graz, but SOPAS was not receptive,” he said. “Now we even seem unlikely to gain support for the Izmir 2020 U21 Open European Championships; it is a blow to the kids.”
By his own account he and Božana Ostojic, the President of SOPAS, have had little personal contact. Clearly, though, their formal relationship is estranged. The issues of money, policy and personality are intertwined.
The president’s point of view
When asked about the lack of rugby in her country Ostojic did not criticize Bogosavligev by name. Nor did she mention his club either. She did state that Serbian rugby was not yet mature enough for international exposure or national league play in her judgment.Božana Ostojic won bronze at the 2003 San Marino Underwater Hockey European Championships. Photo: Wikipedia
“The sport is recognized, of course, but it is not at a very high level,” she noted.
Without her support rugby cannot procure CMAS athlete licenses, which can only be purchased through an athlete’s home federation. Like all national federation heads, as SOPOS President she is the gatekeeper to CMAS events. She offered no timeline for rugby to participate internationally.
“We pay for underwater hockey and it is a different situation. They are very active, participating in competitions around [the world],” she remarked, adding, “I can’t say we really have a national team [in rugby].”
She did not foresee any possible change in the status of rugby.
“Our budget is very low and unfortunately we hardly support sports which are more successful. You know that to send a team sport [to a competition] you need a lot of money and people are not ready to pay themselves.”Orka travels to Izmir to a training camp with Tarkan Laleli and Ege Underwater Rugby Club. Photo: Facebook
Commission intercession
At times the CMAS Underwater Rugby Commission, a group of experts who advise the Board of Directors on how to manage the sport, engages in unofficial missions of diplomacy to repair relations between federations and athletes.
Commission Director Levent Cavas, who hopes that many nations will take part in next year’s event in Izmir attempted to act as a bridge between Orka and SOPAS, but was unable to reconcile the two. What had prevented his good offices from having an effect?
“International sport are organized with rules,” said Cavas. “Underwater rugby is not a recreational activity. They (Serbia) have their own rules.”
The CMAS Underwater Rugby Commission head observed that his office was powerless to intercede:
“It is an internal problem of Serbia. Stojan and Bozana know what I did.”Stojan Bogosavljgev is qualified diving instructor under several agencies, including ARI – National Association of Diving CEDIP, CMAS 3*, CMAS Disabled Diver Instructor, CMAS Children Diving Training Instructor, DIWA – Diving Instructor World. Photo: Facebook
Establishment versus upstart
Before becoming a CMAS Board Member, Ostojic distinguished herself as a diver and underwater athlete. Her first major step to prominence was a position as a logistics expert on the team of the legendary undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau. She participated in a number of notable expeditions, including dives in a 92 km long cave system in Mexico. On one occasion she descended 127.8 meters to rescue a fellow diver.
As an organizers she has proven extremely capable. She founded the Calypso Diving Club, which offers instruction in scuba, hockey and even swimming.
One of her biggest achievements was heading the 2018 Belgrade Finnswimming World Championships. She even managed to put together a Serbian team, although the country is not known for the sport. In short, Ostojic, who has also served on the CMAS Technical Committee for several terms, is a known and trusted federation leader. Not surprisingly, Bogosavligev complaints about her leadership of Serbian underwater sports have gained zero credibility.
The failure of any CMAS member federation to promote any particular sport has no consequences, for CMAS has many sports and each national federation has the right to determine its own priorities. Serbia is hardly alone in rejecting domestic attempts to form national teams. The French federation denied its rugby clubs efforts to do so for Graz.
Problems between federations, athletes and coaches… it’s a never ending story,”
The Euroleague schedule for the coming 2019-20 season has not yet been officially released. However, it is likely that a round will take place in Serbia.
“I am 99 percent certain we will host a round of the Euroleague in Belgrade on 15-16 February, 2020,” said League Manager Anton Churzin.
It will be the first time that the league has been hosted by a club outside of the home countries of the past or current participants (the Nordic countries, Germany, Turkey and Austria).
Churzin explained that the Euroleague aimed to hold competitions in new locations.
“We want to help popularize the sport in Serbia because they are developing so well right now,” he added.
When Bogosavljgev learned that CMAS officials declined to press SOPOS on behalf of the country’s juniors in time for Izmir he said that he was not surprized.
“When Churzin comes to Belgrade I will ask him if he will start the Euroleague for youth in Belgrade next year, maybe U15 and U18. We cannot wait for the CMAS system.”
