Totalizator Sportowy has been involved in Polish culture and sport for over 66 years. Every year, the Physical Culture Development Fund and the Culture Promotion Fund receive record sums that improve our small homelands. In total, since 1994, the company has transferred a total of over PLN 17.7 billion to the two special purpose funds, and counting. In addition, the company allocates its own funds to sport and culture.

Olgierd Cieślik: Totalizator Sportowy has been fulfilling its mission of supporting Polish sport and culture for decades

One of the recent projects supporting both areas of social life was the “We Winning Starts With YOU” campaign, consisting of a competition organized by the LOTTO Foundation. Halina Konopacka and the lotteries promoted by the campaign. Its main objective was to support the renovation or expansion of Polish sports and cultural infrastructure. The campaign ambassador was Robert Lewandowski, captain of the Polish national team and FIFA Footballer of the Year 2020 and 2021.

Olgierd Cieślik, chairman of the board of directors of Totalizator Sportowy, admitted that the most important thing for the company is that the customers win, and therefore the whole company, because Totalizator Sportowy fulfills its mission of supporting sport. and Polish culture for decades.

President of the LOTTO Foundation: The total budget for this program is 3,200,000 PLN.

The “We Winning Starts With YOU” campaign had its finale on December 2, 2022, with checks awarded to 27 winners. The competition had two stages, the first of which was to submit applications for co-financing – in total there were 540 from 16 voivodships. During the second stage, during which 80 projects were selected, a vote took place in which nearly 4 million people participated.

– The competition was organized in such a way that we received applications from individual voivodeships, and the competition jury and experts evaluated them in terms of formal and substantive aspects. Each application, regardless of the number of points it received, was placed on the ranking list. Five applications with the highest score in each voivodeship went to the second stage of the competition, that is, voting, which was accompanied by a lottery for players – said “Wprost”, the president of LOTTO im. Halina Konopacka Anna Kukla. Those who voted had the chance to win lottery prizes, including: T-shirts and balloons signed by Robert Lewandowski, the campaign ambassador.

We evaluated these projects for almost a month, and the formal evaluation was done by a team of actually five people, while the substantive evaluation was done by another team. Each application was evaluated by two people, and there were eighteen people in this team – added the President of the LOTTO Foundation.

27 winners were selected during the vote, and the winners during the official ceremony received checks with the amount of funding they will devote to the construction or modernization of cultural or sports facilities. – We did not expect such interest and so many votes in the competition and it exceeded our expectations. The mere fact that we have already received 540 applications is already a lot – admitted Anna Kukla.

The total budget for this program is 3,200,000 PLN. The starting assumption was that we would select candidates from each province for a total pool of 200,000 candidates. zloty. In fact, it happened that not all applications with the highest number of votes in a given voivodship had the maximum amount, which allowed the remaining amount to be allocated to subsequent projects with the highest number of points. It was from there that 27 winners came – revealed in an interview with “Wprost” the chairman of the LOTTO Foundation. Halina Konopacka.

Robert Lewandowski took part in the “We win starts with YOU” campaign.

For her part, a member of the management board of Totalizator Sportowy, Magdalena Kopka-Wojciechowska, admitted during the symbolic ceremony of the checks that many civic budgets would envy such an involvement. – The leader of this ranking, that is, the municipality of Ogrodzieniec, got almost 140 thousand. votes – revealed the representative of Totalizator Sportowy.

But none of this would have happened without the hard work and commitment of Robert Lewandowski and his team – she added.

Unfortunately, our striker could not be present at this event for obvious reasons – he was preparing with the national team for the game of the 1/8 finals of the World Cup, in which Poland faced France . Despite everything, the captain of the White and Red recorded a short video in which he thanked for this great initiative, which was a competition for the financing of sports and cultural equipment in Poland.

At the beginning of my football career, I trained in different, sometimes very difficult conditions. I know how important it is for the infrastructure to be at the highest level, which is why I am happy that thanks to you and the LOTTO players more sports and cultural facilities are being supported. You have created a development opportunity for future athletes and culture lovers. Never stop dreaming and remember that we win together, because “We win starts with YOU” – said Robert Lewandowski.

List of LOTTO Foundation winning projects named after Halina Konopacka “Sport, Culture, Local”:

• Boguszów-Gorce Sports and Recreation Center – construction of a public bowling alley at ul. Olimpijska in Boguszów-Gorce;
• MKS “Orzeł” Prusice – purchase of on-field sports changing rooms for MKS Orzeł Prusice;
• Roman Catholic parish NMP Auxiliary of the Faithful of Aleksandrów Kujawski – modernization of the sports ground of the Roman Catholic parish of Aleksandrów Kujawski;
• Chełmża Sports and Tourist Center – modernization of the ventilation system of the sports and entertainment hall;
• City of Zamość – extension and modernization of changing rooms and sanitary facilities of OSiR Zamość training grounds;
• municipality of Żary – modernization of a sports locker room in Sieniawa Żarska;
• House of Culture Sulechowski them. Fryderyk Chopin – modernization of the SDK music studio in Sulechów;
• Foundation of the City of Culture in Łódź – creation of the Culture Hub, modernization of the Charlie Cinema building;
• Sądecka Public Library in Nowy Sącz – modernization of the library building, replacement of windows and entrance doors;
• LKS Orzeł Myślenice – expansion of the stadium in Orzeł Myślenice;
• Maison de la culture in Wolbrom – revitalization of a football pitch, purchase of a net, goals, protective nets and replacement of the surface;
• Siedlce town hall – construction of the PUMPTRACK cycle path on the Lagoon in Siedlce;
• Municipal Cultural Center of Lubrza – equipment for the GOK Lubrza stage, purchase of lighting and sound systems;
• University Sports Association University Club of Opole University of Technology – equip the gymnasium of Opole University of Technology with professional equipment;
• Rzeszów University of Technology Ignacy Łukasiewicza – construction of a 3×3 basketball court with a surface and ball catchers at the Rzeszów University of Technology;
• Municipality of the city of Leżajsk – modernization of the sports ground at ul. November 11, 8 in Leżajsk;
• Cresovia Białystok – renovation and thermal modernization of the sports club building;
• Municipality of Łapy – construction of a tennis court with surface, lighting and fence at the municipal stadium of Łapy;
• KP Jantarek Football Club in Władysławowo – purchase and installation of an irrigation system for the pitch and stands at ul. Pirates in Władysławowo;
• Municipal Culture and Promotion Center in Kobylnica – modernization of the theater hall with lighting;
• Municipality of Pszczółki – reconstruction of a multifunctional sports ground in Żelisławki, as well as the construction of small architectural objects;
• Municipality of Ogrodzieniec – creation of a cultural zone, e.g. an open-air cinema with tent room and lighting in Podzamcze;
• Public Primary School No. 3 im. Bolesława Chrobry in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – construction of an athletics track at State Primary School No. 3 in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski;
• Foundation “Naki – we make football dreams come true” in Olsztyn – construction of a changing room with sanitary facilities and a sports warehouse in Olsztyn at ul. Tuwim;
• Grąblewo volunteer fire brigade – modernization of a multifunctional sports ground, replacement of the surface of the premises of the Grąblewo voluntary fire brigade;
• Municipality of Dobra – modernization of the sports field, replacement of the surface of the sports facility “Mierzynianka”;
• Public library of the city and municipality of Polanów – renovation of 3 branches of the library with the replacement of equipment and the creation of modern places of work with readers.

Dawid Tomala: We must encourage children to play sports

After the presentation of the prizes to the winners present at the conference, the ambassadors of Totalizator Sportowy took the floor and shared their experiences related to sports infrastructure in their careers. Patrycja Maliszewska, a speed skater who has, among other things, gold, silver and four bronze medals at the European Championships, revealed that she started her career on a roofless ice rink, with strips of drink. – Only over time, with the appearance of money, did the walls and roof appear. The rink where we train was also financed by funds from Totalizator Sportowy – she said.

The second speaker was Dawid Tomala, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medalist in the 50km walk. At first, the athlete joked that in his case, the sports infrastructure looks very good, since he trains on the street, and we have a lot of it. – Seriously: I started playing football, I wanted to be Robert Lewandowski, but then my idols were Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane. I started on the threshing floor, now there is eg. orlik and basketball courts – he continued.

Children need to be pushed into sports, especially after the pandemic. It is important to give opportunities, and Totalizator Sportowy gives them. He is also my partner and I couldn’t imagine a better one because he supports sport and infrastructure. I’m glad there are more – he stressed.

The third ambassador present at the event was Łukasz Różański, Polish professional heavyweight champion and holder of the WBC International bridgerweight belt (up to 101.6 kg). “My beginnings, like everyone else, were difficult. I came to a club that didn’t have a ring. I had two gloves, 12 and 16, so I erased those numbers so there was no embarrassment. I’m glad that my success today motivates the boys – he concluded.