Spisz Region

In the heart of the Pieniny Mountains, right next to the famous Kotuńka Rock, the most decorated kayak club in Poland has been operating for nearly a century: the Pieniny Sports Club of Szczawnica.

The Birth of Polish Whitewater Kayaking

The club’s history began on December 7, 1930, when Dr. Artur Karol Werner and Czesław Winiarski founded a ski section within the Pieniny branch of the Polish Tatra Society. In its early years, members focused mainly on ski jumping, training on the hill at Jarmuta. The turning point came in 1934 with the creation of the Pieniny Kayak Section.

It was here in Szczawnica that Polish whitewater kayaking was born, making use of the natural conditions of the rushing Dunajec River. The first kayakers to train around Kotuńka Rock were Wojciech Piecyk, Stanisław Piecyk, Adam Malinowski, Stanisław Malinowski, Wojciech Zachwieja, and Jan Zachwieja. Their pioneering sessions among the river’s natural thresholds and rapids laid the solid foundations for the future successes of Polish kayaking.

Club Achievements

A major breakthrough in the club’s history came in 1949, when Wojciech Piecyk with Stanisław Stec in the doubles combination (slalom and kayak descent) and Stanisław Polaczyk in slalom won the first championship titles in whitewater kayaking during the 7th Polish Mountain Championships. From that moment on, athletes from Szczawnica regularly achieved success at the World, European, and Polish Championships.

Stefan Kapłaniak – bronze medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rome (1960) and world champion in 1958 – earned the first major international success for Polish kayaking, paving the way for future generations of athletes. He was also famous for his extraordinary challenges. In 1973, he was the first to paddle 118 kilometers from Nowy Sącz to Nowy Targ against the current of the Dunajec, completing the journey in five days.

The Olympic tradition was continued by the Polaczyk brothers: Grzegorz, who represented Poland at the 2004 Athens Olympics (7th place), and Mateusz, who eight years later in London came within a hair’s breadth of the podium, finishing 4th.

Natural training conditions at Kotunka

The club’s location in the immediate vicinity of Kotuńka is no coincidence. The natural course of the Dunajec in this area creates ideal conditions for whitewater kayaking training. The whirlpools around the rock and the river’s fast current form a natural training course that has been used by athletes for decades.

The Polaczyk family, the pride of the club, continues to run kayaking training in the region. The Port Pienin center, managed by the seven siblings, offers kayaking lessons with two Olympians as instructors. This provides a unique opportunity to learn from some of the best athletes in Poland.