The historic 300th Sinj Alka tournament is won by Frano Ivkovic.
The winner of the 300th Sinjska Alka is Frano Ivković. This was his first win ever. During the yesterday’s competition, he won eight points. In the first and the third run, he hit the centre of alka, while in the second run he scored two points, which was enough for him to defeat 16 other competitors, reports Vecernji List on August 10, 2015.
The winner received his trophies from President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović who afterwards said: “I cannot describe in words how much I am pleased to be here on the 300th anniversary of Sinjska Alka. Thank you for the warm welcome. It is always nice to be in Sinj and the Cetina region. I congratulate the winner and everyone who participated in this year’s Alka”, said Grabar-Kitarović.
“Three centuries have passed since the heroic victory over the Ottoman army. For three hundred years, the people of Sinj have organized this competition. Alka has long since moved beyond the Sinj region and became a part of our cultural heritage, and is today registered in the UNESCO’s list of world’s intangible cultural heritage”, said Grabar-Kitarović.
She pointed out that Alka has great significance for the preservation of Croatian patriotic virtues which was not always easy. “But now we can celebrate in Croatia and express our patriotism always and everywhere. Alka is a message that the Croatian people have never led wars of conquest but have just heroically defended their homeland.”
“That was crowned by the Operation Storm, whose 20th anniversary we have celebrated recently with a magnificent parade in Zagreb and in Knin. I am proud that we have shown the dignity of a winner. And in Parliament we have shown our unity to protect Croatian national interests. We are also showing it these days by trying to save Tomislav Salopek, the Croatian hostage held in Egypt”, said Grabar-Kitarović.
“Fantastic! I’m glad that the government has given its contribution so that the Museum of Sinjska Alka can be completed on time and opened on the eve of the anniversary of Alka”, said deputy prime minister Branko Grčić, envoy of prime minister Milanović who did not come to Sinj due to illness.
“Nice atmosphere, a magnificent museum. We are preparing joint tourism programs between Split and Sinj, starting from next year”, said Split mayor Ivo Baldasar.
“The duke gave me the Alka earrings in Brussels and I have promised him that I would come here. I’m very glad to be in Sinj today”, said Croatian member of the European Parliament Marijana Petir.
Although tickets for the 300th Sinjska Alka were three times more expensive than usual (the cheapest were 150 kuna, and the most expensive 300 kuna), the tickets were the most sought after commodity in Sinj. The stands had about 5,200 seats, but that was not enough for everybody who wanted to come.
