Poland Takes a Bold Step: TOR NA MEDAL Foundation Officially Launched

A new chapter for sliding sports in Poland began on 30 September 2026, when the TOR NA MEDAL Foundation was officially inaugurated at the Warsaw School of Economics. The name says it all: in Polish, "tor" means track, and "medal" means medal. A track for the medal. A road to success. And for Polish luge, both meanings carry real weight.

Poland has been part of Olympic luge since the very beginning – competing at the sport's Olympic debut in Innsbruck in 1964, when Irena Pawełczyk finished an impressive fourth in the women's singles. Polish athletes have been returning to Olympic start lists ever since. What Poland has never had is a track of its own – a permanent, artificially refrigerated facility where athletes can train at home, where children can discover the sport, and where a national program can build the kind of continuity that leads to results. For decades, Polish sliders have had to rely almost entirely on tracks abroad.

The TOR NA MEDAL Foundation aims to change that. Its central ambition is to support the construction of Poland's first modern, artificially refrigerated ice track meeting Olympic standards for luge, bobsleigh and skeleton – planned for Mount Iwonka in Krynica-Zdrój, a location with deep historical ties to Polish luge. The Foundation has launched a nationwide public fundraising campaign through the ZRZUTKA.PL platform, bringing together the sports community, local authorities, business partners, the media and the wider public around a shared goal. Its guiding message is straightforward: "TOGETHER, let us build Poland's first ice track."

FIL President Einars Fogelis welcomed the initiative: "A track is not just a facility – it is a promise to the next generation of athletes. When a country invests in its own infrastructure, it invests in the future of its sport. We follow the TOR NA MEDAL project with great interest and offer the full support of the FIL to everyone working to make this vision a reality in Krynica-Zdrój."

The project also represents an opportunity for children and young people who are drawn to winter and sliding sports, at a time when changing climatic conditions increasingly limit access to natural winter training environments.

More information about the TOR NA MEDAL Foundation and the fundraising campaign is available at www.tornamedal.pl.