The Open Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina in kayaking and canoeing on wild waters, along with the European Week of Sport, brought an attractive sporting event to Banja Luka today, on one of the most beautiful rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants from Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina arrived here to showcase their skills on the water and to become part of the global #BeActive campaign.

The European Week of Sport was launched in 2015 with the aim of combating physical inactivity and raising awareness of the importance of regular movement for the health of individuals and communities. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of the “EU4Youth – European Week of Sport Beyond Borders in the Western Balkans” project, which is funded by the European Commission through the IPA program, the event is implemented by the Olympic Committee of BiH and the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports of Republika Srpska, with coordination from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH.

“We are very satisfied and happy. We have a good competition with guests from Croatia and Serbia, and as part of the open championship, we are also marking the European Week of Sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, in a special way, we are promoting the importance of engaging in sports, so besides the competition, this event has a different character, and I am glad that we had the opportunity to organize a manifestation here in Banja Luka on the tenth anniversary of the #BeActive campaign, sending a message about the values of sports on wild waters,” said Nikola Stanković, director of the Kayak and Canoe Club “Vrbas,” which organized this event in collaboration with the Kayaking Federation of BiH, with support from the Olympic Committee of BiH.

The Open Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina in kayaking and canoeing on wild waters is an all-day competition where participants compete in individual and team races in the disciplines of slalom and sprint, across all age categories. In the sprint discipline, senior members of the Kayak and Canoe Club “Vrbas” dominated: Emir Abdihodžić took the gold medal, Anes Šudić won the silver, and the third-place finisher, Petar Preradović, is also from the club “Vrbas” Banja Luka. In the junior category, the first-place winner was Ilija Kleut from Čačak, and Aljoša Travar from “Vrbas” Banja Luka took second place, with third-place going to Miloš Novaković, also from Čačak. The complete results list will be available after the competition concludes in all categories and disciplines.

The next event marking the European Week of Sport is scheduled for September 20, when the BiH Championship in sprint triathlon will be held in Tuzla, while the central event of the #BeActive campaign in BiH will take place on September 23 in Visoko.