Klub Sportowy Czuwaj is a sports club from the Polish city of Przemyśl, founded by the scouting movement. Originally a multi-sports club with many sections, only the football and handball sections have survived to date.
History Origins The club was founded on 30 March 1918 as a sports club of the scouting movement. The name "Czuwaj" means "Be Vigilant", a scout greeting and motto of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association. Originally it was a multi-sports club with many sections however few of them have survived very long. In 1922 the club held its first AGM, and the boxing section of the club was founded. In 1931, the handball section was founded, the longest continuously functioning section of the club.
Communist era The handball section played 11-a-side handball until 1961, until the teams were re-organised and they switched to 7-a-side. In 1947, with the arrival of communism in Poland, the club was under the patronage of the Polish State Railways. This is when the club enjoyed its golden years, reaching an all-time high of 7th place in 1950 in the second division. In 1957 the boxing club was dissolved.
Success and decline By the end of the 1990s, the club ran into serious financial difficulties, despite the handball team reaching their highest ever division, the Ekstraklasa between 1997 and 1999, and the football team reaching the second division for the second time in its history in the 1997–98 season. Both the handball and the football sections were liquidated in 1999 during a general meeting where a vote of 25–21 in favour of liquidating the club was held. A different association reactivated the football team almost immediately under the name "Klub Sportowy Czuwaj". The handball club had to wait until 2007, when it was revived with the help of the city. In 2012, the handball club was given to "A. Fredry Club of the University College of Teachers in Przemysl" ("Klub Uczelnianego Kolegium Nauczycielskiego im. A. Fredry w Przemyślu"), ceasing to be formally part of the club. In 2014, the club formally revived its handball section.
Naming Timeline 1918 – Harcerski Klub Sportowy Czuwaj 1947 – Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Kolejarz 1955 – Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Czuwaj 1999 – Klub Sportowy Czuwaj Przemyśl
Sections of the club
Acrobatics (defunct) Archery (defunct) Association football (1918–1999, 1999–present) Athletics (defunct) Basketball (defunct) Boxing (1922–1957) Canoeing (defunct) Chess (defunct) Contract bridge (defunct) Cycling (defunct) Fencing (defunct) Field hockey (defunct) Gymnastics (defunct) Handball Men's (1931–1999, 2007–2012, 2014–) Women's 7-a-side (defunct) Ice hockey (defunct) Motorcycle club (defunct) Sailing (defunct) Shooting sports (defunct) Skiing (defunct) Sports tourism (defunct) Swimming (defunct) Table Tennis (defunct) Tennis (defunct) Volleyball Men's (defunct) Women's (defunct) Water sports (defunct)
Honours Scout Champions – 1924
Rivalries The club has a fierce rivalry with neighbours Polonia Przemyśl and Zaglebie Sosnowiec.
Notable players Internationally capped players Andrejs Prohorenkovs
External links 90minut.pl profile Official club site History of Czuwaj Przemyśl