30th anniversary of the Polish Armed Forces joining CISM in the presence of General Piccirillo, CISM President

WARSAW (POL) - It is now 30 years since the Polish Armed Forces joined the CISM Family in 1991 at the General Assembly held in Arusha, Tanzania.

On the occasion of this important celebration, the Polish CISM Delegation, chaired by Colonel Tomasz Bartkowiak, Chief of the Polish Delegation to CISM, invited General Hervé Piccirillo, CISM President, to attend the great celebration entitled "30th Anniversary of the accession of the Polish Armed Forces to the International Military Sports Council (CISM)".

The CISM President took advantage of his visit to Poland to attend several working meetings. After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) in Warsaw's Pilsudski Square as a tribute to the sacrifice of Polish soldiers in World War I for Polish independence, General Piccirillo met with General Jarosław Mika, General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces. During the meeting, the two Generals discussed the role of the Polish Armed Forces in CISM activities and the prospects for strengthening this cooperation in the future. Poland is already one of the very active nations within the CISM family with the organization and participation of Polish delegates and athletes in more than 300 CISM sports and statutory events since 1991!

General Hervé Piccirillo then met with the President of the Polish Olympic Committee Mr. Andrzej Kraśnicki on the occasion of the visit of the Sport Museum. During their meeting, the two Presidents discussed many topics including the importance of the support of the Armed Forces to the Olympic movement and high-level athletes as well as the need to strengthen the collaboration between the Sports Federations and the Polish Armed Forces.

In the evening, the CISM President participated in the Gala of the 30th Anniversary of accession of the Polish Armed Forces to CISM during which he took the floor to thank Poland for its support and contribution to international military sport.

“Since the CISM creation in 1948, Poland has played a major role in the development and the influence of our institution worldwide. The Poland Armed Forces has always been active with the organization of almost 10 World Military Championships and the participation of Poland teams in more than 300 CISM events. As you know, in many countries of the world, the Armed Forces are the main sponsor of the top-level athletes and of the Olympic movement. In Poland, the military athletes won more than half of the medals of the Polish Olympic delegation.”, declared the CISM President.

“Through this celebration, Poland will create awareness amongst military leaders around the world on the contribution of sport as a vector for operational readiness, peacekeeping operations and better understanding between the armed forces of the world. To conclude, I would like to thank warmly the Polish Armed Forces and the Polish Olympic Movement for this celebration”, added General Piccirillo.

During the ceremony, General Piccirillo also presented the medal of Officer of the CISM Order of Merit to General Jarosław Mika, General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces. Colonel Tomasz Bartkowiak, Chief of Delegation of Poland to CISM also presented the Polish military sport, its history, its organization, and its prospects during this gala evening!

Thank you to the Polish Armed Forces and its Chief of Delegation Colonel Tomasz Bartkowiak for the organization of this magnificent event which will remain in the memories of the CISM History.

(Source: CISM Media and Communication Department)