On 22 September, Independence Day, SKO Trapezitsa-1954 organised two races in one day – a team mobile orienteering event and the first edition of the Krastyu Nikov Sprint Trophy. Nearly 100 athletes from more than 10 clubs from all over the country came to Tarnovo to be part of the first edition of this event.
Krastyu Nikov and the beginnings of orienteering in Tarnovo
The trophy bears the name of the teacher Krastyu Nikov. In the spring of 1954, together with his pupils from Nikola Vaptsarov Primary School, he held the first orienteering competition in Tarnovo, where they competed in patrols of five. This marked the beginning both of orienteering in Bulgaria and of our club – founded that same year.
In the years that followed, alongside Aleksandar Tsenovich, Nikolay Paskalev, Dobri Karageorgiev and Totyu Dyulgerov, they spread the sport and helped orienteering become established as a popular outdoor sport.
Progress was rapid – in August 1955 the first regional competitions were held near Buzludzha hut, and on 25 September 1955, near Koprivshtitsa, the first national tourist orienteering competitions took place. The Veliko Tarnovo regional team, made up of athletes from Gabrovo and led by coach Krastyu Nikov, won first place in the overall standings. The men's patrol, led by Kosta Berbatov, also came first, while the mixed patrols took third place.
The idea for this trophy came from his son, Todor Nikov, who got in touch with the club himself. He also provided the prize money for the top three teams in the mobile orienteering and for the winners of three of the sprint classes. Our heartfelt thanks to him for the initiative!
Mobile orienteering
Mobile orienteering is a relay for teams of two in which the runner has no map. The map is in the hands of their teammate, who stands in a call booth near the finish and navigates them around the course. After the last control the two swap roles, and the one who ran guides their teammate around a new course.
The race was held in Sveta Gora Park, where the steep slopes, stairs, paths and dense woods made navigation even harder. 31 teams in three classes lined up at the start, while the youngest in M10 and W10 traditionally ran a marked route.
The most exciting was the long course, where the leaders were separated by just 80 seconds:
Open Long
🥇Trapezitsa 2 – Dimitar Kantardzhiev and Mihail Kovachev: 1:41:32
🥈Trapezitsa ‘The Sisters’ – Vihra and Marta Ruseva: +0:13
🥉Trapezitsa ‘The Brothers’ – Anton and Rosen Hristov: +1:17
Open Middle
🥇Bacho Kiro 2 – Mariyan Noev and Monika Noeva: 1:28:28
🥈Lovech ‘The Fires’ – Petya Nikolova and Hristo Marinov: +9:59
🥉Trapezitsa 6 – Danaila Mitsova and Maria Dikova: +19:07
Open Short
🥇Lovech ‘The Business’ – Preslav Petrov and Nikola Petrova: 1:26:58
🥈Tuida 3 – Vladimira Georgieva and Boryana Georgieva: +3:37
🥉Trapezitsa 3 – Martin Yordanov and Nikolay Danchev: +20:30
Krastyu Nikov Trophy
In the afternoon it was time for the sprint in the Konnitsite area. The courses ran along the Yantra and through a labyrinth, and every class had a map flip. 62 athletes from 11 clubs lined up at the start.
Open Difficult
🥇Anton Hristov (Trapezitsa-1954)
🥈Marta Ruseva (Trapezitsa-1954)
🥉Kristiyan Marinov (Trapezitsa-1954)
Open Long
🥇Dimitar Kantardzhiev (Trapezitsa-1954)
🥈Stanislava Syarova (Sini Kamani Sliven)
🥉Blagovest Mihaylov (Bacho Kiro-94 Dryanovo)
This made Dimitar Kantardzhiev the winner of both races of the day.
Open Middle
🥇Radostin Kazakov (Bacho Kiro-94 Dryanovo)
🥈Kristiyan Petkov (Trapezitsa-1954)
🥉Vladimira Georgieva (Tuida Sliven)
Open Short
🥇Lili Ivanova (Brown Team V. Tarnovo)
🥈Orlin Balulov (Tuida Sliven)
🥉Martina Koynova (Tuida Sliven)
Open Easy
🥇Niya Stoyanova (Bacho Kiro-94 Dryanovo)
🥈Aleksandra Hristova (Tuida Sliven)
🥉Zahari Tsonev (Bacho Kiro-94 Dryanovo)
Thank you to all participants, parents and volunteers, as well as the officials. We look forward to seeing you at the next edition!
Results: Mobile orienteering | Krastyu Nikov Trophy