Athletes, coaches and families of Selçuklu Belediyespor Club, one of the largest amateur sports clubs in Turkey, came together at the "Selçuklu Champions Award Ceremony" program held at the Selçuklu Congress Center. The athletes and coaches of Selçuklu Belediyespor Club, who once again made our city and country proud by participating in the National and International championships in 2023, were rewarded by Selçuklu Municipality. A total of 58 athletes competing in the branches of Wrestling, Weightlifting, Judo, Karate, Kick Boxing, Table Tennis, Chess, Taekwondo, Cycling and Wushu Kung-Fu succeeded in winning a total of 46 medals, including 29 gold, 33 silver and 108 bronze medals.
Wushu Kung-Fu branch, which is among the most successful branches of Selçuklu Belediyespor Club, left its mark on the European Championship by winning a total of 8 medals in the Wushu Kung-Fu European Championship held in our country last year. Selçuklu Belediyespor Club National Athletes achieved a historical success by winning the gold medal, Almina Sarı, Raziye Nur Emekli, Furkan Osman Sayıner, Hayrunnisa Kalay, Efnem Gökalp and Nisa Nur Irmak the silver medal, and Nisa Sarı the bronze medal.
“I CONGRATULATE OUR SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES, COACHES AND FAMILIES”
Starting his speech by congratulating the athletes, coaches and their families who won the World and European championships in national and international competitions and the Balkan and Turkish championships in 2023, Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyaşmacı said, “This success is due to our sports club, our club president, our friends in the management and our valuable employees working in our sports directorate. and our valuable coaches have made great efforts. I would like to thank each and every one of them. Perhaps our families deserve the biggest applause here. I think the biggest factor in our children's success is that our families supported their children day and night and made great sacrifices for them to participate in these competitions. In this sense, I would also like to thank all our families, thank you. Said.
“WE WILL TRAIN ATHLETES FOR THE OLYMPICS”
Stating that, as Selçuklu Municipality, they have given the greatest value to sports so far, Mayor Pekyaşmacı said, “We have made Selçuklu the center of sports. When we look at it today, 5 thousand 15 students in 94 different branches have benefited from our summer and winter sports schools in the last 834 years. Again, with our "Third Graders Learning to Swim" project, we have provided swimming skills to 5 thousand 7 students in the last 72 years. In our athlete selection program that we started recently, we have carried out the measurement tests of 4 thousand 600 athletes so far. Together with our Selçuklu Artificial Turf Field, which we renewed to UEFA standards, we have brought 5 artificial grass fields to Selçuklu in the last 71 years. We have built indoor sports halls in 4 of our schools, and we are nearing completion of the construction of the indoor sports halls and artificial turf fields that we will build in 2 schools. Our biggest project, which will actually set an example for Turkey, is our Seljuk Athlete Selection and Training Center. We held the groundbreaking ceremony of this center with the participation of our Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Osman Aşkın Bak. When our center is completed, 500 of our athletes will have the opportunity to do sports in 18 different sports branches at the same time per day. Hopefully, many national athletes will train from this facility. We have now set a new goal for ourselves and hopefully we will train athletes for the Olympics from this facility.” he said.
“WE HAVE 213 THOUSAND 15 LICENSED ATHLETES, OF WHICH 488 ARE NATIONAL ATHLETES”
Pointing out that Selçuklu Belediyespor Club is among the largest and most important amateur sports clubs in Turkey today with the number of 213 thousand 15 licensed athletes, 488 of which are national athletes, President Pekyaşmacı said, “Our club has won 5 gold and 135 silver medals in the last 85 years. He achieved great success by bringing our Seljuks a total of 93 medals, 313 of which were bronze. Hopefully, we will achieve many great successes together from now on. He concluded his speech by saying, "I congratulate our athletes and coaches who have made our Seljuks and our country proud with their success, and I wish them great success from now on."
“THE CENTER OF SPORTS WILL AGAIN BE SELÇUKLU AS ALWAYS”
Stating that they are proud to present the awards to the athletes of Selçuklu Belediyespor Club, one of Turkey's largest amateur sports clubs, who achieved success in national and international competitions in 2023, Selçuklu Belediyespor Club President Mustafa Yavuz Tezcan said: “Our club is one of the biggest sports clubs in Turkey and It meets all the criteria this requires. On this subject, I would first like to talk about our sports schools. In 2023, we trained more than 30 thousand athletes in summer and winter. Of course, we read the number quickly and pass by, but 30.000 is a really big number. It is a larger number than the population of many districts in Konya and even in Turkey. Some of these athletes were picked up from their homes by shuttle and returned to their homes by shuttle after training. We subject our athletes studying in our sports schools to detailed measurement tests at certain periods. Within the scope of these tests, we measure the motor performance values of our athletes at 15 different stations and, according to the results, we try to determine the branches in which they are most talented. We create a very serious infrastructure pool by directing our athletes who are successful in sports schools to our teams in different branches. Our 15.488 licensed athletes, trained in these infrastructures, work hard for the success of Selçuklu Belediyespor Club in 20 different branches. In addition, 213 of our athletes in these sports represented our country in national teams. These figures show us that Selçuklu Belediyespor deserves to be called one of the largest amateur sports clubs in Turkey, both in terms of the number of facilities and the number of athletes. Today, we will present awards to 10 athletes in 58 different branches and the coaches who train them. Of course, these successes are not easily achieved. Behind all of them is great effort, ambition and determination to win. I congratulate again all our athletes who will receive awards today and the coaches who train them. First of all, I would like to thank our athlete families who contributed to these achievements. Their support is really important for our student-athletes. I would also like to thank our board members, with whom we serve on the board of directors, our Selçuklu Municipality Sports Manager and his team, and our club staff who work at all levels of our club. Of course, I would like to express our gratitude to our Mayor, Mr. Ahmet Pekyatmacı, who constantly encourages us with his investments in sports and gives us unlimited support in every aspect. I believe that in 2024, these successes will continue to increase and we will be one step closer to the goal of training athletes for the Olympics.” he said.
“THERE IS INTENSE EFFORT IN THESE ACHIEVEMENTS”
Emphasizing that the success of successful athletes in national and international competitions is based on intense effort, Konya Amateur Sports Clubs Federation President Remzi Ay said, “Of course, how did we get here? How did these children become champions? At this point, our Selçuklu Belediyespor Club took these children to the halls and fields at a young age. They trained day and night under the supervision of coaches and became Turkish, Balkan, European and World champions. These successes are not achieved easily and require great dedication and hard work. I would like to thank all our coaches, our friends working in the halls, our manager friends, the board of directors, as well as our families and parents. They really work hard. My dear athlete brothers, there will come a day when you, too, will be administrators here like us. The only thing you will never forget in the future will be Selçuklu Belediyespor club. Your friendship, unity and solidarity here will never be forgotten. I invite all our families and children to be involved in sports and benefit from Selçuklu's facilities. From here, I would like to thank our Selçuklu Mayor, board of directors and council members for providing these facilities and these services. “I offer my respects to all of you.” he said.
“THE CONTRIBUTION OF 35 FACILITIES AND 60 GYM CENTERS IS GREAT”
Konya Youth and Sports Provincial Director Abdurrahman Şahin stated that exemplary athletes are trained in the field of sports in Konya; “Our Selçuklu Belediyespor Club has become one of the largest amateur sports clubs in Turkey with around 16 thousand licensed and 213 national athletes in the sporting achievements of Konya sports since its establishment. I would like to express that the contribution of the 35 facilities and 60 gyms that our Selçuklu Municipality has brought to the district is a major factor in the success of our Selçuklu Belediyespor Club. More recently, our Selçuklu Municipality has implemented an important project that will contribute to the development of Turkish sports as well as Konya and will enable the discovery of new talents that will increase the interest of young people in sports. The groundbreaking ceremony of the Athlete Selection and Training Center, which will provide the opportunity to do sports in a total of 22 different sports branches with a building area of 858 thousand 15 square meters and an open field area of 630 thousand 18 square meters in our Sancak District, was held with the participation of our Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Osman Aşkın Bak. Together, we witnessed with great excitement and pride the brand value that this project will add to our Selçuklu district. I wholeheartedly believe that this facility will be one of the leading sports facilities in Turkey and will train athletes for the Olympics. On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude to our esteemed Minister of Youth and Sports, who is always with Konya sports and athletes, the valuable managers and athletes of our amateur sports clubs, and the valuable athletes' parents. "On the occasion of this program, I wholeheartedly congratulate the athletes of our Selçuklu Belediyespor club who were successful in 2023, our other club athletes, our technical teams, athlete parents and everyone who contributed and wish them continued success," he said.
The program held at Selçuklu Congress Center included Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyatırcı, AK Party Konya Provincial Deputy Chairman İhsan Yıldırım, AK Party Selçuklu District Chairman Asım Ceyhan, Selçuklu Belediyespor Club President Mustafa Yavuz Tezcan, Turkish Judo Federation President Sezer Huysuz, Turkish Table Tennis Federation President. Oktay Çimen, Konya Provincial Director of Youth and Sports Abdurrahman Şahin, Konya Amateur Sports Clubs President Remzi Ay, Konyaspor Club President Ömer Korkmaz, previous Selçuklu Belediyespor Club Presidents Mehmet Günbaş, Selçuk Aksoy and Fatih Yılmaz, municipal council members, vice presidents, athletes and their families attended.
After the speeches, the awards of the successful athletes were presented by the protocol members. The program ended with a family photo taken with the athletes.
