Under the influence of leading Vojvodina swimming clubs such as Proleter Zrenjanin, Spartak Subotica, Radnički Kikinda and others, new competition rules were introduced within the Zrenjanin Swimming Subassociation. In addition to swimming and water polo events, compulsory diving was added, performed from a 4-meter platform and a 2–3 meter springboard.
Season Opening Competition in Kikinda
At the beginning of the season, a competition was held in Kikinda, featuring teams from Radnički Kikinda, Partizan Novi Kneževac, and Jedinstvo Novi Bečej. The club’s new president, Miloš Rauški, also traveled with the team.
The Kikinda athletes were clearly superior in both swimming and water polo. Jedinstvo Novi Bečej featured several notable competitors: Nadica Vukčević, Miroljub Matić, and Živorad Berbakov.
Nadica Vukčević won first place in the 100 m freestyle, while Matić and Berbakov faced strong competition from Mirko Heldrih Hari of Kikinda, who dominated the 400 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly—disciplines in which he was unbeatable across Vojvodina at the time.
In shorter and middle-distance freestyle events (100 m and 200 m), Kikinda swimmers Telečki also performed exceptionally well. As a result, Novobečej competitors mostly finished in second place, while Novi Kneževac swimmers were significantly weaker.
The Unusual Victory of the Novobečej Relay
The most remarkable event was the men's 4×200 m freestyle relay.
The Jedinstvo Novi Bečej relay consisted of:
- Miroljub Matić
- M. Berbakov
- Ž. Berbakov
- Vladimir Davidović
Kikinda entered two relay teams, while Novi Kneževac entered one.
The race took place in a 25×12.5 m pool, with times recorded using manual stopwatches by four judges.
After two relay legs, the Novobečej team was nearly one and a half pool lengths behind the leading Kikinda team and almost tied with Kikinda’s second team. In the third leg, Ž. Berbakov overtook the second Kikinda team and closed the gap to the leading team to about 15 meters.
Confusion developed in the pool, as Novi Kneževac swimmers were more than 75 meters behind, leading to situations where swimmers in lanes occasionally swam in opposite directions after turns.
In the final leg, Vladimir Davidović (whose specialty was backstroke rather than freestyle) started the anchor leg. Although he was more than 20 meters behind at the 50 m mark and around 35 meters behind at 125 m, he noticed that the officials were not closely following the race. He accelerated in the final 25 meters and sprinted into the finish, theatrically striking the wall to stop the clock.
Shortly after, the first Kikinda relay team also finished, unable to understand how they had been defeated despite leading throughout the race.
Thus, Jedinstvo Novi Bečej officially won first place, having swum only 750 meters instead of the full 800 meters covered by the other teams.
Diving Competition – An Unpleasant Surprise
After the swimming events, each team had to select two divers for jumps from a wooden platform and a springboard.
A sense of panic spread among the Novobečej swimmers, as most had never dived from any height greater than a starting block or from a dock “feet first.”
Eventually, Živorad Berbakov and Miroljub Matić were selected. Both performed “cannonball” jumps from the platform, while their attempts at a “swallow dive” from the springboard resulted in awkward entries into the water.
The judging panel from Zrenjanin awarded very low scores but acknowledged their courage and participation.
Meanwhile, their teammates on the shore were reportedly laughing uncontrollably.
Water Polo Match and Final Outcome
After the diving segment, a water polo match was played between Radnički Kikinda and a combined selection of Kikinda and Zrenjanin district players, which included athletes from Jedinstvo Novi Bečej, Partizan Novi Kneževac, and others.
Kikinda won convincingly with a score of 12:3.
Youth Water Polo Championship of Serbia (Senta, 1958)
In the same year, the Youth Water Polo Championship of Serbia was held in Senta (July 25–26). Jedinstvo Novi Bečej competed in a very strong group with Partizan Belgrade, Polet Sombor, and Bečej, and lost all of its matches.
In the final, Proleter Zrenjanin defeated the favorite Partizan Belgrade, which included Mirko Sandić, and won the junior championship of Serbia.
Jedinstvo Novi Bečej Squad (1958)
- Z. Marić
- M. Berbakov (captain)
- Ž. Berbakov
- Miroljub Matić
- Vladimir Davidović
- Perović
- Šerka
- Kiselički
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