By winning first place in the national championship, the Jedinstvo women’s bowling team from Novi Bečej secured the right to participate in the World Cup, which was held in the Polish city of Leszno in early October 2007.
Without Ivana Eremić, who had retired from active competition, and Andrea Kiš, who was unable to travel with the team for family reasons, Jedinstvo faced a very strong international field and finished in tenth place with a total of 3,159 pins.
First in Everything
The Jedinstvo women’s bowling team from Novi Bečej can proudly point to a remarkable record of being first in many important aspects of Serbian bowling history.
They were the first and only team from the country to win the European Cup, achieving this historic success in Skopje in 2000.
When the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was established in 1993, Jedinstvo became the first women's bowling champions of the newly formed state.
Finally, the history of Serbian bowling will record that in 2007, the Jedinstvo women’s team from Novi Bečej became the first champions of the Republic of Serbia.
The Jedinstvo players recorded the following individual results at the World Cup in Leszno:
- Đenđi Kirti – 544 pins
- Erika Kolarević – 539
- Erika Santo – 529
- Marta Ernješi – 524
- Livia Santo – 515
- Monika Kiš – 508
Their combined score of 3,159 pins was enough for tenth place in the competition.
“You Cannot Go to Such an Important Competition Without Serious Preparation”
The reason why Jedinstvo was unable to achieve a better result is perhaps best explained by a statement made by team captain Đenđi Kirti upon returning from Poland. She spoke to Bečejski mozaik about the team's experience at the World Cup.
“You cannot go to such a major and important competition without serious preparation, and we did not have the necessary preparation. We also had a weakened team. Because our bowling alley was being renovated, we were forced to train in Bačko Gradište, while we played our matches in Vrbas. All of this affected our performance and resulted in such a modest finish.
We travelled for a full 23 hours and arrived at the technical committee meeting just a few minutes before the opening of the competition. Under those circumstances, it is clear that simply taking part in such a high-quality competition was an achievement in itself.”
Despite the difficult circumstances, the 23-hour journey and the absence of several key players, Jedinstvo's appearance in Leszno represented another important international experience for the team and yet another chapter in the remarkable history of women's bowling in Novi Bečej.
The Jedinstvo Team
Back row: Đenđi Kiš, Hermina Rajber, Laslo Makra (coach), Erika Kolarević, Ildiko Ilia
Front row: Tijana Svilengaćin, Ivana Eremić, Andrea Vaš, Ildiko Kormanjoš, Mirjana Dudevljev
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