SPEEDWAY/NEWS/M2E: How to Become a Speedway Rider for ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz? Recruitment for the Black Griffin Academy is Ongoing

ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz invites young people aged 12 and above to join the Black Griffin Academy. The sessions are led by the very experienced coach from Bydgoszcz, Jacek Woźniak, who explained how the journey from signing up for training to a speedway career looks.

• The Black Griffin Academy is now in its second season. The first recruitment started in spring 2024.
• Training is conducted by Jacek Woźniak, who has trained, among others, the 2017 Individual Polish Champion Szymon Woźniak and the 2024 Individual World Junior Champion Wiktor Przyjemski.
• – You need angelic patience with children. Training younger ones is different from training older ones. You need to know how to adjust and understand how to reach each one of them – says Woźniak.
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Jacek Woźniak is a former speedway rider and a graduate of ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz. In the past, he also represented clubs from Gdańsk, Krosno, and Łódź, and after ending his career, he fulfills himself as a speedway sports coach. Currently, he remains involved with the club in Bydgoszcz, where he oversees the Black Griffin Academy. – The academy was established in the spring of last year. About thirty-five eager boys turned up then. After initial tests and selection, ten remained. Now only four of that ten are left, and six new ones have joined. I receive calls from parents about four times a week, so there’s certainly awareness, and there’s no shortage of eager participants – says Woźniak.

The age bracket at the Academy is not large, as in Bydgoszcz there is also the BTŻ Polonia mini-speedway school. – The youngest participant is 12 years old, and the oldest is 16. We also don’t want to accept boys who are too young, as we have an agreement with BTŻ Polonia that our activities do not overlap – explains the coach.

So, how do enrollments at the Academy look, and what must happen for a participant to already ride a motorcycle? – It starts with direct contact with me. Then we meet with the parent and the participant and discuss how everything will look. Later, the participant is sent for sports tests, and with all the ready documents, they come to the club. Then trial rides on pit-bikes take place. If the participant passes these trial rides, we can already move to the large track for specialized sessions – explains Jacek Woźniak.

To be accepted to the school, a participant must already have some experience. – Everything comes out in the interview. If a participant has no familiarity with a motorcycle, my rule is not to accept them, because a speedway motorcycle is very demanding, and a “raw” person might not manage or could get hurt. These must be people who have had previous contact with a motorcycle, cross motorcycle, scooter, or pit-bike – he adds.

Trainer Jacek Woźniak has trained many speedway riders, and among his greatest achievements are Szymon Woźniak and Wiktor Przyjemski. Currently under his guidance are Maksymilian Pawełczak, Emil Maroszek, Mieszko Mudło, and Jan Rompkowski, who in the future might represent the strength of ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz. – A lot of these boys have come from under my hand. Some achieved success not only in Poland but also internationally, while others became solid league players. For me, every medal, be it from the Polish, European, or world championships, is a success. We are doing this to achieve some result, not just to ride, which I also tell the participants – says the coach.

– You need angelic patience with children. We start training in BTŻ from the age of eight. Training them is different than training older ones. You need to adjust and know how to reach each one of them. Patience, commitment, and consistency are key, because anyone who expects quick successes will unfortunately be disappointed. They don’t come overnight. It’s not like the school is full of talents. Me, Jan Ząbik, or other trainers have to work through, train, and sift through many boys through the sports sieve so that only the best grains remain. You must also know how much to demand from each person. If someone is constantly making small forward steps, then more should be expected – concluded Jacek Woźniak.

Marcin Rusewicz