Gyuszi Dopovecz – President of C.S. Babarunca: “I would like Orienteering to be as well-known, practiced, and loved as football… even a little bit more…”
The History of the Club
CS Babarunca was established in 2013, being the successor of the Babarunca Tourist Association, founded as an association in January 1990, but whose activity began in the 1970s-80s. CS Babarunca is currently one of the most important clubs in Romania, with over 70 members participating in orienteering competitions across the country, in all age categories. Performance orienteering in Săcele began with the arrival at the Theoretical High School in the city (the current Theoretical High School “G. Moroianu”) of the drawing teacher Agi Ferencz, who, with the help of teachers Eniko Cseh and Margea Magdolna, managed to create a group of children in a short time, including Pajor Zoltan, Iuliu Dopovecz, Kovacs Guido, Mirel Biriș, Emil Pușcaș, among others. In 1974, in Săcele, in Poiana Angelescu, the first national stage of the “Jobarat” Cup (the equivalent in Hungarian of the pioneer magazine “Cutezătorii”) was organized.
In Săcele, the tradition of Orienteering was continued by former students of teacher Agi Ferencz. Thus, in the 1980s, Gyusi Dopovecz, together with Emil Pușcaș and other friends, laid the foundation for a tourist-sports association Babarunca, in which the orienteering relay was passed on.
Until the year 2000, ATS Babarunca functioned both as a sports club and as a sports association, having titles of national champions in the junior category through Mircea Dopovecz, Alex Jantea, Diana Dopovecz, Laura Szocs. After the new sports law in 2000, the athletes from Săcele were transferred to CSU, the last generation of athletes from Săcele with medals at national championships being that of Tudor Pușcaș, Denisa Igescu, and Cristina Popa. In 2013, the members of the association decided to open their own sports club, thus CS Babarunca was founded. Initially, the club mainly participated in national championships in the Master category. In 2016-2017, the club started with a first group of children, including Petru Tulban, and after 6-7 months, Ioan Iacob joined, the two becoming the most “established” juniors of the club.
2023
National Championship for Middle Distance, Long Distance, and Sprint – 21 junior medals and 11 Master medals.
National Night Championship and National Mixed Relay Championship – 19 medals.
The Southeast European Orienteering Championship/SEEOC, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 7 medals / District champions.
New Era
Since 2019-2020, Pepe and Anca Stupu are recruited into the club, taking over the performance section, with a new group of children who, in two to three years, become among the most medaled juniors at national championships.
The (already) senior juniors Ioan Iacob and Iulia Stupu are the first to join the national team, being medalists at the last three editions of the Southeast European Championships and participating in the European junior championships. In 2023, Vlad Percec and Radu Ilin join them, bringing the number of juniors in the national team to 4.
In addition to performance, the club is also heavily involved in organizing sports competitions and Orienteering promotion events. Thus, CS Babarunca organizes annually over 10 Orienteering and Rogaining competitions.
Monthly in Brasov county, the Roza Vanturilor takes place, with 11 stages/year, with competition categories ranging from beginners to accredited athletes, with varying degrees of difficulty, as well as some MTB-O stages. In December each year, following the Roza model, the Santa Cup takes place, dedicated exclusively to children, and throughout the winter, the club organizes the Babarunca Cup in Ski Orienteering. In July, around the celebration of the Săcele moccasin tradition, Sântilia, the Săcele O Meeting takes place, and starting from 2023, in October, the club comes with a new competition that aims to become international: Brașov O-Meeting.
In addition to these, every year, in partnership with CS Transylvania Rogaining, at least one Rogaining competition of at least 4 hours is usually organized in Brasov. In 2022, the Ten Cup was organized, a 10-hour Rogaining competition, in Săcele.
Mission: promoting and developing Orienteering in Romania.
Another extremely important activity of the club is the promotion of Orienteering. Since 2016, following the partnership with the Mountain Sports Association, Orienteering has been included in the Săcele Mountain Sports Festival, and then in the Sports Festival organized in Iași and Bucharest. Starting from 2023, the club has also been involved in organizing Orienteering workshops dedicated to students during the School Days or Green School weeks. Thus, only this spring, over 1000 children from Brasov county learned for the first time how to use an Orienteering map. Last but not least, CS Babarunca is the only club in Romania that has participated in all editions of World Orienteering Day, organized annually by the IOF.
Join us!
Give meaning to your value and become a volunteer for our club, CS Babarunca! Together, we can promote Orienteering in Romania and support talented children to excel in this captivating sport. Be part of our team and contribute to the success and growth of our sports club. Come and support us and help us continue this beautiful journey in Orienteering!
Partners
With the support of:
Would you like to join the club?
Babarunca Sports Club offers you the opportunity to develop yourself and connect with other orienteering enthusiasts. Be part of a club that celebrates sport and personal growth. Through our activities and upcoming events, we invite you to improve your health, develop your skills, explore nature, and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving personal goals.