A Day-By-Day Recap Of This Year's National Zlot

By Joe Marduesz and Chris Puskar,
Co-National Physical Education Directors

What a year! What a week! It is hard to imagine that all the long and hard planning for the 34th Polish Falcons of America National Zlot during the past year culminated in 120 very fast hours on the campus of Michigan’s Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (OLSM). For those in attendance, Instructors, participants, chaperones, and office and supply staff, we hope you thought that all your and our work was worth the effort.

Although the check-in began on the afternoon of July 24, the on-campus work began July 21 with the delivery of room keys and a list of available rooms. On July 22, the first delivery of supplies began in the afternoon when Dennis, Willy, and Paul met on the campus with two van loads of snacks, snack equipment and office supplies. Thanks to Joan, who obtained the snack equipment for us. Later that evening, Chris and Barb arrived with the Zlot equipment from Pittsburgh, Pa., and additional office supplies. Monday was needed to complete the room assignments, inspect the rooms, and set up the office, snack supply room and the registration table. Dennis and Willy also returned with more of the needed equipment for the rest of the week.

After a relaxing dinner at Paul’s house, Dennis and Willy made the trip downriver to pickup the gymnastic equipment. With the additional help of Dan and Ben, the equipment was unloaded and set up in the old gym. During the morning of July 24, the last few items were finalized and we were ready for registration.

Day 1: National Drill

The Zlot began at 7 p.m. on July 24 in the Dombrowski Fieldhouse with the performance and competition of the National Drill, the Nie Rzucim Ziemi. After marching into the fieldhouse, the Polish and American anthems were played, followed by remarks from National President Wallace Zielinski, National Secretary/Treasurer Timothy Kuzma, and Father Tim Whalen about the tradition of the Zlots and welcoming the group to OLSM. Also in attendance were National First Vice President Patricia Del Busse, District II National Director Ron Merzweiler and District XIII National Director Julia Serafin. We also welcomed past National Instructor and Instructress Ed Pett and Marian Wesolowski. The crowd in attendance, many traveling from out of state, as well as a large number from District XIII, watched the National Drill performance. The drill music was supplied by Jason with the use of sound equipment donated by Lansing Community College.

After a long travel day for many, the first evening concluded with snacks provided by Julia and her staff of Ellen, Jan, Mary, Janet, Al, Kasia and Louis.

Day 2: Track & Field, Gymnastics, Soccer, Ball Drill and Sword Drill

The Track & Field competition began in the morning on the Msgr. Stanley E. Milewski Alumni Track with Senior discus and shot put, Prep standing long jump, and running long jump for Juniors, Intermediates and Seniors. As we gathered for the start, we were greeted by a short cloudburst, sending everyone scurrying for cover. Fortunately, it didn’t last long and the sprinkles, which continued on and off during the morning, were only a nuisance and did not stop any of the planned events. At the conclusion of the field events, the preliminaries were run for the various sprints and the final was run for the mile.

After lunch, the group was divided between Gymnastics and Soccer. The gymnastics group set up in the Fr. John Rakoczy Gymnasium. There was competition on the Beam, the Vault and the Floor Exercise. There were a lot of nervous gymnasts, but they all did their best and performed well.

For those not competing in Gymnastics, a soccer clinic was held under the direction of Ilya with assistance from Jon. This was followed by some fun games prior to the Soccer competition scheduled for Day Three.

The evening in the fieldhouse was reserved for the performance and competition of the Ball Drill and Sword Drill. Music for the Ball Drill was again provided by Jason. The Ball Drill was performed first to “In the Pasture,” followed by the Sword Drill. The girls remained in the fieldhouse for their competition while the boys moved to the banquet center for their competition. The evening again concluded with snacks by Julia and her staff.

Day 3: Soccer and Volleyball

With the teams already predetermined, the Soccer competition was a single-elimination bracket format for the Juniors and Intermediates. The Preps and Seniors, having only two teams in each age group, played one game for their respective championships.

The Volleyball play began in the afternoon and continued into the evening session, starting with round-robin games for all except the Prep division. With only two teams, a best-of-five-games series was played in the Prep division. The Preps and Juniors played in the old gym and the Intermediates and Seniors played in the fieldhouse. Thanks to Chuck, Juliann, Michael, Dennis, Nick, Willy, Dan, Paul, Joe, Trish, Ben and Scott for their help in setting up three volleyball courts in the two locations and making any needed adjustments. Thanks also to the head scorekeepers Catherine, (old gym) and Joe (fieldhouse), and the game scorekeepers –– Katie, Joe, Scott, Ben and more –– for their assistance. After the round-robin games were completed, the Juniors, Intermediates and Seniors were seeded by their records into a double-elimination bracket, and bracket play began late in the evening. Once again, Julia and her crew were ready with the much-needed snacks after a long day of competition.

Day 4: Track & Field, Volleyball and Softball

The morning for Track & Field did not look good as a huge storm passed through before breakfast. Again we were fortunate with only sprinkles, which allowed us to continue with the balance of the field events and the finals in the remaining running events. To the enjoyment of all the remaining young competitors, the morning ended with a relay race of four teams formed by the adults in attendance.

The afternoon saw the conclusion of the Volleyball competition with the Preps moving to the fieldhouse to complete their series.

After dinner, with all scheduled games completed, the group was divided with the Seniors and Intermediates forming two teams, and the Preps and Juniors forming two teams for a relaxing evening of two softball games. Thanks to Chuck for running the Senior/Intermediate group and for supplying many bats, gloves and balls. Also thanks to Catherine for supplying bats and gloves. Thanks to Shannon/Scott and Mary/Ben for coaching the Prep/Junior teams. This also allowed time for the office staff of Barb and Mary to compile the many remaining results of the competitions. Julia and crew provided the treat of the week with an ice cream social enjoyed by all.

Day 5: Outing, Mass and Dance

After a grueling three-and-a-half days, Saturday was a time to relax. After breakfast and comments from Vice President Del Busse, all remaining medals were awarded. At 11 a.m., the busses arrived for our outing at Kensington Metro Park, a chance to get away. Upon arrival, a BBQ lunch awaited the group prepared by Ken Kochan and Dawn Schultz. The group then moved to Martindale Beach for swimming and the waterslide. A few hours later, we reconvened for refreshing watermelon before returning to campus and preparing for Mass.

Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Krol who was very glad to have been invited to be a part of our week at OLSM. After Mass and dinner, there was time to dress up for the concluding dance with music provided by Paul Tyll. The dance included our traditional line/floor dance to “Taking Care of Business.” The dance floor was packed with kids until the very end of the evening and even included a chant for “one more song,” which DJ Paul graciously provided. During the evening, Julia again came through with popcorn and pizza.

Final Thanks

You have read throughout the article the names of adults that helped with all sorts of things at the Zlot. The following are the people who made the Zlot work: Barb Chervenak, Mary Pluta, Dennis Zembrzuski, Willy Bradley, Paul Kochan, Dan Michalak, Julia Serafin, Ellen, Ben, and Jason Mardeusz, Jan Merzweiler, Trish Del Busse, Sandy Czerniewski, Tim Kuzma, Rich Karpinski, and Janet and Al Knauber. Also, “thank you” to Kristin Booth for arranging Drill and Gymnastic judges, and to the people at the Downriver Gymnastics Club for donating their equipment. These people all contributed in many different ways to make the Zlot a successful event. We thank them and all the Instructors and Instructresses for everything that they did and do for the youth of the Polish Falcons. There were also numerous chaperones and adult spectators who offered plenty of help when needed. This helped make our jobs a lot easier.

A special thanks to all of our participants. You should be proud of the way you represented your Nests and Districts. We look forward to seeing you all at next year’s National Youth Volleyball Tournament, which will be held in Middletown, Conn., on April 4-6. Next year will also feature a weeklong Falcon Camp to be held during the summer!