Sports initiatives of Darkov Mine transport workers cement the team and also help them at work

DARKOV – If there is a good party in the work area, it always means a win. Therefore, the Darkov Mine transport workers cement their team not only at work, but also behind the working hours. There is a group of enthusiasts who offer their co-workers sports and free time activities.

“It started six years ago. We were planning celebrations of our colleague’s jubilee, and someone proposed that we should also prepare a relevant program to have some fun,” Tomáš Prášek, a mining transport mechanic and a member of the transport party core, casts his mind back. At that time, the guys went to the Karviná shooting range to exercise a good shot. They liked the event, and as such, similar events were organized. In particular, badminton, small football and bicycle tours to the adjacent areas or the near Beskids and Jeseníky mountains have become popular.

“As for badminton, we play it mainly in winter, and we play small football regularly once a month. As for cycling, we make three to four bicycle tours per year. In our Region, there are also beautiful cycling paths, which are worth going on, and which are also suitable for families with kids. We do not pursue performance. If someone is too slow, we wait for him or her. All of us want to gain nice experiences. Nice shared experiences and fun bring us closer together. We can then have a topic to remember and be talked about. There is no time for that at work because we have to concentrate on our assignments,” says Prášek.

The Football Tournament for Mining Transport Challenge Cup is the latest initiative of the mining transport party from the Darkov Mine. For the first time, it took place in Petrovice last year, and for the second time, it was held in Albrechtice this year. The vertical and horizontal transport teams pitted their strength against each other. Each of the teams consisted of eleven football players and backup players, and there were also football referees and spectators. The Football Tournament was also supported by the trade union.

“And we bought the Cup ourselves!” laughs Prášek. And what about the match result? “It is not substantial! We celebrated the matches together and all of us are winners. It was a small miracle that we kept playing all the 90 minutes! I would rather highlight the fact that we managed to organize such an event. We work in shifts, and each of us has a family, and therefore, it is not easy to put thirty guys together. In addition, someone must take the organization. This year, Milan Kobza, the locomotive driver foreman, and his brother František, who works in the mining section, organized the event.  They deserve the biggest thank-you,” said Prášek.

People have become aware of the events organized by the Darkov mining transport party, and guys from other operations also participate in them. “They participate in our bicycle tours, and it’s fine. Moreover, the time we spend together pays dividends at work. A colleague from the trip will not refuse to help you, and when you need something, he will accommodate you,” Prášek explains his observations and adds one specific example.

Within the Continuous Improvement Project, he and Josef Synek, the fitter foreman in the horizontal mining transport section, submitted a new technical solution for automatic gate control at the entrance of trains with large-sized VSV rail cars into the area with loading bins at the 9^th level. The idea was successful so that the Horník Magazine also wrote about it.

“My colleague from the mining section, whom I know from our common trips, was also involved in the preparation of this solution. This is the best proof that our activities are good for the mine,” said Prášek.

(Bohuslav Krzyžanek)