Stanisław Chomski praises U24 Ekstraliga games: training not only in our own bubble, we need patience

U24 Ekstraliga is a format of competitions created by Speedway Ekstraliga, which debuted in 2022. The first winner was ARGED MALESA Ostrów Wlkp., ENEA STAL won the gold medals, and this year the victory went to BECKHOFF SPARTA, whose triumph was even broadcasted by Canal+. How does U24 Ekstraliga affect young speedway riders, what benefits do these competitions bring, and is it worth investing in it? Answers Stanisław Chomski – former coach of, for example, EBUT.PL STALI Gorzów or the Polish national team.

We are in the third year of U24 Ekstraliga, and as a result – the third winner. Does this bode well for the idea? – To evaluate U24 Ekstraliga, it takes some time. The first season in 2022 was somewhat experimental, because some clubs approached it with the sole thought of just getting it done. If you invest in something, and training costs money, then whether someone takes first or last place, it matters. Ekstraliga provided a considerable prize pool, as much as 500 thousand for the finalists, so it is some compensation – says Stanisław Chomski for ekstraliga.pl.

– In Gorzów, we also treated it as a ‘review of the squad’ and compared our juniors with foreign players. Names like Pollestad, Bednar, Nagel or Salonen would not have appeared in the consciousness of fans if not for U24 Ekstraliga. Some even got a contract after the first year of competition, like the aforementioned Timi Salonen, who went to Rzeszów. Admittedly, he fell out of notice, but not because he was a poor rider, but more due to personal nature and succumbing to certain weaknesses – says Stanisław Chomski – Look at other players. Nazar Parnicki, Mikkel Andersen, or Antti Vuolas appeared. There are many examples like this, but everything requires patience. We would want U24 Ekstraliga to produce riders for PGE Ekstraliga for us immediately, but it takes time, because these are above all young riders – claims the experienced coach.

As Chomski points out, it is worth making the appropriate efforts to perform as well as possible in U24 Ekstraliga- If this league is only intended to be completed, then it may indeed not make sense, but if you think about giving a chance to talented players, who currently do not have the opportunity to show themselves on Polish tracks in Polish clubs, this is a window that allows testing young speedway riders, who in time may or even should become potential league team strengths – considers the former coach.

– Certainly, the level is still different from the expectations of fans, managers, or club authorities, but over time, with certain consistency and perseverance, surely someone from these players will make it to the starting lineup of one of the clubs – responds Chomski to accusations about the inefficiency of U24 Ekstraliga.

Is investment in such competitions profitable? – It is still quite a costly undertaking, but let’s look: where are these players supposed to ride? In our country, riders have very good technical and personal care, and in confrontation with foreign speedway riders, who are often self-taught, and sometimes this clash is unfavorable for ours. I think the possibility of competition in U24 Ekstraliga is also a good school for Polish players, because those weaker juniors ride only in DMPJ competitions, the better ones in U24 Ekstraliga, and the best even in the league – said the 67-year-old.

– You can stay in your own bubble and be happy that we are the strongest and win medals, but when it comes to seniors, we are no longer such dominators and it is more challenging to win medals, especially as a team. A system of competition needs to be created that will select these young guys for the further stages of their career on higher competition levels – concluded Stanisław Chomski.

Marcin Rusewicz