News

19/11/09

I am pleased to share with Smrikve community the Smrikva Bowl Golden Honorary Member Claudio Montanelli's song "Ti voglio bene" interpreted by Milan's youg singer Michela May

Claudio Montanelli is a historical Smrikva Bowl friend and the Golden Smrikva Bowl member since that title was established.

It is hard to describe Claudio but few words I would associate with him are: friendship, gift and love for music, empathy, love for: tennis, guitars and also for the printing business… in one word probably the American Indians would name him: Big Heart.

We met thanks to his daughter Sara, very good tennis player, the under 14 team Italian Champion, that played Smrikva Bowl. Claudio proposed that Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors should have a brochure to remember Smrikva Bowl and this was his gift to our kids.

Claudio played the guitar in a rock group Nation and even today he continues to organize humanitarian concerts with friends from the band, but also with singers such as Gatto Panceri and others.

Another gift Claudio has is the gift fo song writing and several songs he wrote also for Michela May that I am pleased to share with you.

Michela Stanzione, in art named Michela May, was on vacation few years ago in Villa Smrikve with her boyfriend. She is 21 years old singer from Milan with a nice voice.

It was a pleasure for me to listen Michela’s singing my piano in Smrikve but it was even greater pleasure when I had a dinner last night with Claudio and he showed me a song he wrote for Michela being performed in public this August at Festival of Majano in Italy.

The song name is “Ti voglio bene”. Italians use two expressions to express the feeling of love: “Ti amo” and “Ti voglio bene”. The first one would be simply: “I love you” and the second one would be: “You mean a lot to me”.

Many Smrikva Bowl friends do knows that Smrikva Bowl mission is to develop and spread cosmopolitan values. Love, friendship and empathy are cosmopolitan values per excellence for people and humanity…

Culture, children, sport and music are part of the Smrikva Bowl idea of the cosmopolitan world. There are different ways to look at sport. There are different way to look at music, culture, love and also to children.

The vision of sport preferred in Smrikve can be described and extended to: culture, music and children using the following Nelson Mandela – Madiba’s words:

“Sport (Music, Culture, Children) has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.”

Thanks Claudio and Micky for this nice song and I hope the Smrikva Bowl community will enjoy it too.

For the people that would like to hear Michela May singing in English I am pleased to post Aretha Franklin’s song “Natural Woman” interpreted by Micky.

Please visit www.smrikve.com to learn more about Smrikve, Istria from Smrikve, Smrikva Bowl, one of the most important under 10 tennis tournaments in the World, and Villa Smrikve, for your accommodation with swimming pool in Stinjan (Pula – Pola) if you decide to spent your holiday in Istria, Croatia.

17/11/09

Giacomo Paleni - tennis coach of several former Smrikva Bowl players - wrote a tennis book with humanitarian scope: Il gioco del tennis - benessere fisico e mentale

Over the years Giacomo Paleni sent several top Italian and Swiss players to compete in the Smrikva Bowl. Some of the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors names I am pleased to recall are: Giulia Turconi, Remy Bertola, Gabriele Moghini and Sara Sussarello.

HOW I FOUND GIACONO PALENI’s BOOK?

During the last week end I participated to the 11th International Tennis Symposium that was held at PRO PATRIA in Milan. Among many interesting things going on during the event there were also several books on sale.

I asked a girl that was selling the books which book she liked most? and she indicated to me this book written by Giacomo Paleni: “Il gioco del tennis – benessere fisico e mentale”.

I heard during the symposium that proceeds from one of the books are dedicated to the children from Nigeria but I did not remember the title of the book.

I bought the book and later on learned that it was Giacomo Paleni that decided to dedicate all proceeds from his book to the children in Nigeria.

Reading the book I learned that Giacomo Paleni went to play with his player Lisa Sabino a USD 25.000 tournament in Nigeria in 2006 for the second consecutive year.

The experience was unusual for them as they found a country full of social, political and humanitarian difficulties. They met an Italian family who invited them to visit a small community with Nigerian children in Moroko area. The group of children left a sign in Giacomo’s and Lisa’s hearts. When they came back to Nigeria the following year they took a baggage full of tennis equipment with them.

The idea became real the following year when they met the children again and donated T-shirts, racquets, and balls. The children were so happy to receive the gifts that everybody danced and sang to express their happiness all day long.

Since than he try to schedule every year tournaments in Nigeria to visit his small friends and every year he buy t-shirts, balls, raccquets and other items that make for a moment this kids happy.

READING THE BOOK I ALSO LEARNED THAT GIACOMO PALENI IS THE COACH OF SEVERAL FORMER SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS

I was very surprised to find a Smrikva Bowl picture in the book, thus I went to visit Giacomo’s webiste www.palenitenniscoach.com and found out that many Giacomo’s players competed in the Smrikva Bowl and many of them are currently among the top junior players in Switzerland and Italy such as Giulia Turconi, Remy Bertola and Gabriele Moghini.

WHAT I FOUND IN HIS BOOK:

A passion of a person that love tennis game and that does his best to be a good tennis teacher and coach.

Many advises that Giacomo gained in his several decades long experience for each age group: from the very little child that take the racquet for the first time till the PRO player.

In end and probably the most important part that I found of interest is the way Giacomo looks at tennis game. There are many wise sentences in the book that appeared to me as Giacomo’s guide in what he does.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY THE BOOK PLEASE VISIT GIACOMO’s WEBSITE…

The book is written in Italian thus people that do understand Italian can visit Giacomo Paleni’s website www.palenitenniscoach.com and find e-mail contacts how to order the book. People that lives in Turin and Milan can find it in “Libreria dello sport”.

All the proceeds from the sale of the book should help Giacomo’s activities dedicated to Nigerian kids thus best wishes Giacomo!

12/11/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update November 2009)

IN 1996 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM ISTRIA AND KVARNER

1996 – 1st Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Vilim Visak, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006 and his best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is graduating in architecture.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Zeljko Peric, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Filip Kricka, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 runner up, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #215 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 on WTA list in June 2006.

IN 1998 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

1998 – 3rd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Filip Kovacic, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Mateja Horvat, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player. Her best ranking was around #800 on WTA list.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Borko Mudronja, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia. Deni’s best ranking was #1023 on ATP list as of November 2009. In October 2009 he had an accident with motorcycle and for some time he will be forced to stay out of the courts.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #543 on WTA list. Astrid’s best ranking was #356 on WTA list in March 2009.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy is not ranked.

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #301 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1515 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1058 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #84 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #601 on WTA list.

IN 2002 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2002 – 7th Smrikva Bowl and 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Javier MARTI, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Spain, is currently ranked #716 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1462 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #790 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #353 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #673 on WTA list.

2003 – 8th Smrikva Bowl and 2nd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Dominic THIEM, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Austria, is ranked #244 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #186 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian PORUMB, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #352 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #971 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #904 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #353 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #183 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #51 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #90 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, and is not ranked in under 16 cathegory.

2004 – 9th Smrikva Bowl and 3rd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1647 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #400 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #3 in Europe in under 16 cathergory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #153 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #357 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1127 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #306 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #820 on ITF ranking list.

IN 2005 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 3 CONTINENTS

2005 – 10th Smrikva Bowl and 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Matteo DONATI, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Italy, is ranked #117 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #377 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #272 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #162 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #153 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #*102 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #302 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #81 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #20 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #87 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2006 – 11th Smrikva Bowl and 5th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Gianluigi QUINZI, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #272 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #356 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #24 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #157 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #685 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #119 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #7 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #358 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2007 – 12th Smrikva Bowl and 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Sacha Merzetti, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Bogdan BORZA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Romania, is ranked #167 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Gonzalo Morell, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Virginia PENA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Spain, is currently not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ana KONJUH, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #188 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #242 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Eduardo NAVA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #27 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #7 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #67 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

IN 2008 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 5 CONTINENTS AND TURNED INTO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

2008 – 13th Smrikva Bowl and 7th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Luka Panic, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Switzerland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Mihnea Turcu, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Grega Kokalj, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Andrea Guerrieri, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Katarina JOKIC, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #433 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Viktoria KUZMOVA, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #412 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Estela Perez Somarriba, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Justin LEE, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #73 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #132 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #34 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #318 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

IN 2009 SMRIKVA BOWL HAD 6 NEW COUNTRIES AND 1 NEW CONTINENT THUS REACHED THE TOTAL OF 40 COUNTRIES AND 6 CONTINENTS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE TOURNAMENT SINCE ITS FOUNDATION

2009 – 14th Smrikva Bowl and 8th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Alvaro Regalado Pedrol, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Samuele Ramazzotti, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Karlo Suevich, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Alejandro Davidovich, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Katie Swan, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, from United Kingdom, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Jovana Vukovic, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up, from Serbia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Inci Ogut, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Turkey, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Arianna Capogrosso, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Noah SCHACHTER, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #40 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #482 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #133 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#173 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

08/11/09

Short interview with Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, before ITF Monteroni 2009 finals

Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, was the first Smrikva Bowl player to reach top 100 ranking on WTA list. Today Ivana Lisjak is 3rd best ranked Croatian player on WTA list and is ranked #219 WTA.

This summer she won a USD 25000 ITF tournament played in Monteroni in Italy and this interview was registered before the finals. I did not know that she was also fluent in Italian thus I enjoyed both her Italian and to see her after 12 years although only on You Tube :).

In the video she mentioned few times that she does not feel confident with her service at the moment and I wish her service get back strong and that we might see her among top 100 once again in the following future.

Best wishes to Ivana for the next season!

01/11/09

Ana Ivanovic motto: "Never stop smiling" :)

Ana Ivanovic – Smrikva Bowl Honorary Member – is today one of the best tennis players in the World and her funs are spread all over the World. An Ana Ivanovic supporter made a nice video named:“That’s Why She’s The One”.

I am pleased to post the video and share it with the Smrikva Bowl community.

In every part of the video where Ana appears here smile spread like the sunshine spread through the clouds. Ana’s motto is: “Never Stop Smiling” and watching the video it made me thinkg of Timon and Pumbaa’s motto: “Hakuna Matata” :).

Few years ago Ana Ivanovic started to donate signed t-shirts to the Smrikva Bowl finalists.

Katarina Jokic, Maia Lumsden, Katie Swan and Jovana Vukovic love Ana’s gift and I am also sure that this gift will inspire tham to do better and better in tennis.

On September 17th, 2007 Ana Ivanovic has been officially named the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Ambassador. On that day, in relation with the nomination, Ana said “This is a great honour for me to be invited to be UNICEF Ambassador. I love children, and I relish this opportunity to help them in some small way.”

With the signed t-shirts Ana showed that she loves children and this way she also helps Smirkva Bowl development “in some small way”.

“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.” said Nelson Mandela.

Never Stop Smiling Ana! :)

29/10/09

Matic Podlipnik visited Smrikve last weekend and visited the oldest Istrian linden tree

Matic Podlipnik is one of the most talented under 10 tennis players from Maribor (Slovenia). This summer he visited Smrikve with his trainer Tine Pufic from ZTK Maribor.

Last weekend Matic came back to Smrikve with his family and we made a small tour in order to visit some lovely Istrian places and enjoy the Istrian gastronomy.

We visited Krsan, Motovun, Slum and in end Hum where the most famous Istrian brandy festival was held.

In Motovun we had launch in Konoba Mondo that was celebrated in a recent New York Times article as one of the best restaurants in the World and the food was really good.

Later on I made a surprise to Matic and his family and brought them to visit a small village named Slum.

Slum is famous in Istria for the oldest linden tree. Matic’s surname is Podlipnik that means “under the linden tree” thus I made them a surprise and brought them to visit the oldest Istrian linden tree :).

I told to Matic that after our launch in Motovun we will go to visit his surname and he thought that it was a joke. Later on I asked him what he expect and he said probably another old town similar to those we visited and in end the surprise was there… :)

The huge and old linden tree is located nearby the Romanesque Church of St. Mathews from 1870. The current church was built on the site of an older church from 1555. It has been written that the church was built near the big linden tree thus it is likely that this linden tree could be at least five centuries old.

Djordje Balasevic wrote a very nice song about three people that were planting a linden tree and let a young boy to watch the moment when they were planting it. It is a nice song that I am pleased to share with all the Smrikva people that can understand it.

Jednom su sadili lipu (Djordje Balasevic)

Jednom su sadili lipu,
Stari Nestorov, gos’n Ceda i jos jedan.
Bio sam nov u tom stripu,
Komsijin mali kog su pustili da gleda.

Stari Nestorov, potpalivsi korov,
Tad rece mi: “Ti si mlad…
Ti ces dospeti za taj hlad…”

…

Jednom su palili lisce,
Sa one lipe, dim je lebdeo do neba
Na kom su, nema ih vise,
Stari Nestorov, gos’n Ceda i jos jedan…

Ko nije drvo razumeo prvo,
Pa tek onda sadio
Taj nije nista uradio…

I, shvatice, kad-tad, da ne zna sta je hlad.

27/10/09

Katie Swan - 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner - trained last week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy

I just received a letter from Katie Swan, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, that thanks to the Smrikva Bowl victory had the opportunity to train for a week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris.

One of the very prestigious Smrikva Bowl prizes for the winners is the training week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (MTA). MTA is considered one of the top tennis academies in the World and Katie Swan just returned to UK from France and sent me some nice words regarding her expirience that I am pleased to share with Smrikva Bowl community.

Dear Mio

I am writing to say that I had a really brilliant time at the Mouratoglou Academy in Paris. Thank you so much! It was a fantastic prize for winning the Smirkve Bowl and I was so lucky to go.

My friend, Georgie Axon, who also took part in the Smrikve Bowl, was there at the same time, as was another friend, Alisha. We had Rudolphe as our coach and we thought he was really great. We worked really hard, normally 4 hours of tennis a day + 2 hours of fitness but it was really good experience and Rudolph was very encouraging all the time.

On Thursday we got to go swimming and Georgie and I shared a chalet which was really good fun. On Friday, Patrick Mouratoglou watched me play a match against Georgie and he said he was really impressed with the standard of our tennis and our spirit. He signed our books for us and wrote really nice comments. It was really great to meet him.

Thank you very much for such a great prize. I really loved it.

With love and best wishes.

Katie Swan
Smrikve Bowl Winner 2009

Best wishes to Katie!

25/10/09

Perry Gregg, Jensen Brooksby, Claire Liu and Vivian Glozman are the under 9 "Little Mo" National Champions and Runners-up eligible to represent the USA - "Little Mo" team in the 9th"Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl 2010

Few days ago the “Little Mo” Nationals completed and I received the information from Carol Weyman that they had a very successful “Little Mo” Nationals.

The winner and runners up of Boys and Girls 9 that are eligible to represent the “Little Mo” team in 9th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl edition are:

Boys:

#1 – Perry Gregg, Davis, CA

#2 – Jensen Brooksby, Jenson Sacramento, CA

Girls:

#1 – Claire Liu. Thousand Oaks, CA

#2 – Vivian Glozman, Vivian Bellevue, WA

Congratulations Perry, Jensen, Claire and Vivian!

Murphy Jensen, the former tennis player, was the guest speaker that kids really enjoyed listening as you can see in the following video:

“Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl story...

In 2002, the Smrikve Tennis Club and the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation have created “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl, the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls 10 & under. In the last few years Smrikva Bowl started to gather top players from all around the World but “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl continues to be a special event and has arrived to its 9th annual.

9th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl will be played the day after the finals of the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 and will be played on June 27th, 2010 in the Smrikve Tennis Club in Pula, Croatia.

The players that participate in this unique competition are increasing year by year and many of them are among the best players in their age groups in their countries and in the World.

“Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players...

Former “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players include a long list and they are:

1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2002
Jordaan Sanford (USA), Morgan Basil (USA), Ajla Tomljanovic (Cro), Ema Burgic (BiH).

2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2003
Emmett Egger (USA), Robert Stineman (USA), Karen Forman (USA), Katie Klyczek (USA), Jennifer Ren (UK), Silvia Njiric (Cro), Dominic Thiem (A), George Morgan (UK)

3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2004
Mitchel Polnet (USA), Rayan Andrada (USA), Blair Shankle (USA), Anna Mamalat (USA), Ivan Levar (Cro), Miki Jankovic (Srb), Saska Gavrilovska (Srb), Ecaterina Opriou (Rum)

4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005
Jeffrey Schorsch (USA), Jose Gracia (USA), Yale Goldberg (USA), Dorothy Tang (USA), Saska Gavrilovska (Srb), Olga Yanchuk (Ukr), Matteo Donati (I), Gyore Laszlo (Srb), Gianluigi Quinzi (I), Harry Busby (UK)

5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2006
Daniel Maese (USA), Aries Wong (USA), Christina Makarova (USA), Gabriella Umoquit (USA), Gianluigi Quinzi (I), Filip Kraljevic (Cro), Eleonor Dean (UK), Dina Paocic (BiH),

6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2007
Eduardo Nava (USA), Tommy Paul (USA), Ndindi Ndunda (USA), Domonique Garley (USA), Sacha Merzetti (I), Bogdan Borza (Rom), Virginia Pena (Esp), Ana Konjuh (Cro).

7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2008
Justin Lee (USA), William Blumberg (USA), Ingrid Neel (USA), Luka Panic (Sui), Mihnea Turcu (Rom), Katarina Jokic (BiH), Maia Lumsden (Sco).

8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2009
Noah Schachter (USA), Alex Gee (USA), Michaela Gordon (USA), Ashley Lahey (USA), Alvaro Regalado Pedrol (Esp), Samuele Ramazzotti (Ita), Katie Swan (Uk), Jovana Vukovic (Srb).

Congratulations once again to Perry Gregg, Jensen Brooksby, Claire Liu and Vivian Glozman I hope to see them all in Pula at the end of June 2010!

21/10/09

Ajla Tomljanovic (born in 1993 - #400 on WTA list) on you tube through pictures collage

Ajla Tomljanovic, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up and third ranked on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, this week reached the ranking #400 on WTA list.

Ajla is only 16 years old and is among the best players in her age group in the World. She was the top 5 ITF and month after month continue to increase the ranking positions on WTA professional tennis ranking list.

A nice pictures collage with photos of Ajla in action was posted on you tube that I am pleased to share with Smrikva Bowl comunity.

Ajla Tomljanovic few years ago moved with her family in the USA to train at Chris Ever Academy in Florida. She is from the sports family. Her father Ratko Tomljanovic was the captain of the Croatian Hand Ball Team that won the golden medal at the Olympic games in Atlanta in 1996 thus for sure Ajla knows how mutch of hard work is required for the achivement of top results.

In 2002 Ajla Tomljanovic and Ema Burgic went to Austin in Texas and played the 1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. Ajla at the time was 9 years old and although a year younger than the other girls she contributed to the victory of the Smrikva Bowl team and the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl Trophy.

When Ajla returned from the USA she send us a beautiful patchwork, a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design, that her grandmother did.

14/10/09

Justin Lee donated a big Wilson US OPEN Ball to the future signatures of the Smrikva Bowl winners

Today I received a new Wilson US OPEN Ball that just arrived from New York. Justin Lee and his family are the donators the new Wilson signature ball.

Justin Lee is from the US and he played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl in 2007 as one of the most talented US players and currently is among the top players in under 12 age group in his country.

A month ago I received an e-mail from Lee family where they were informing me about their plan to go to this year US Open. They asked what would I like to have as a memory of their trip in New York and I thought that a new Wilson US Open Ball would be a nice gift for the future Smrikva Bowl winners because the current Wilson ball has almost no free space for the signuture.

In 1998 I was in New York during the US Open and I bought a big US Open Ball that since 1999 has been signed by the Smrikva Bowl winners. On current Smrikva Bowl Wilson ball there are signatures of:

• Astrid Besser
• Borko Mudronja

• Adelchi Virgili
• Tereza Mrdeza

• Petra Martic
• Marin Dragana

• Javier Marti
• Martina Caregaro

• Jennifer Ren
• Dominic Thiem

• Ivan Levar
• Saska Gavrilovska

• Matteo Donati
• Saska Gavrilovska

• Gianluigi Quinzi
• Eleanor Dean

• Sacha Merzetti
• Virginia Pena

• Luka Panic
• Katarina Jokic

• Alvaro Regalado Pedrol
• Katie Swan

Thanks to Justin Lee now we have another big Wilson ball hopefully for another decade where many other names with best wishes of playing one day on Artur Ashe stadium will be signed :)

On the picture below you can see Justin and Ingrid Neel, two US young tennis hopes.

Thank you Justin and thanks to your family for this nice gift!

13/10/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update October 2009)

IN 1996 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM ISTRIA AND KVARNER

1996 – 1st Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Vilim Visak, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006 and his best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Zeljko Peric, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Filip Kricka, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 runner up, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #221 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 on WTA list in June 2006.

IN 1998 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

1998 – 3rd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Filip Kovacic, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Mateja Horvat, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player. Her best ranking was around #800 on WTA list.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Borko Mudronja, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia. Deni’s best ranking is #1046 on ATP list and is his current ranking as of October 2009. Few weeks ago he had an accident with motorcycle and broke both hands thus for some time he will be forced to stay out of the courts.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #521 on WTA list.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy is not ranked.

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #305 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1539 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1329 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #84 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #613 on WTA list.

IN 2002 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2002 – 7th Smrikva Bowl and 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Javier MARTI, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Spain, is currently ranked #839 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1504 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #811 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #444 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #740 on WTA list.

2003 – 8th Smrikva Bowl and 2nd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Dominic THIEM, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Austria, is ranked #237 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #178 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #349 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #945 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #857 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #444 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #263 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #52 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #92 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, and is not ranked in under 16 cathegory.

2004 – 9th Smrikva Bowl and 3rd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1590 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #512 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #3 in Europe in under 16 cathergory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #199 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #360 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1085 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #395 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #823 on ITF ranking list.

IN 2005 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 3 CONTINENTS

2005 – 10th Smrikva Bowl and 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Matteo DONATI, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Italy, is ranked #14 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #21 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #13 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #199 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #*101 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #302 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #86 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #22 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #91 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2006 – 11th Smrikva Bowl and 5th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Gianluigi QUINZI, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #13 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #355 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #683 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #134 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #6 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #438 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2007 – 12th Smrikva Bowl and 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Sacha Merzetti, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Bogdan BORZA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Romania, is ranked #161 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Gonzalo Morell, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Virginia PENA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Spain, is currently not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ana KONJUH, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #190 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #431 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

IN 2008 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 5 CONTINENTS AND TURNED INTO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

2008 – 13th Smrikva Bowl and 7th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

GIRLS
Katarina JOKIC, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #433 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Viktoria KUZMOVA, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #409 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Estela Perez Somarriba, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Justin LEE, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #72 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #220 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #33 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #351 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

IN 2009 SMRIKVA BOWL HAD 6 NEW COUNTRIES AND 1 NEW CONTINENT THUS REACHED THE TOTAL OF 40 COUNTRIES AND 6 CONTINENTS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE TOURNAMENT SINCE ITS FOUNDATION

2009 – 14th Smrikva Bowl and 8th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

“Little Mo” TEAM
Noah SCHACHTER, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #37 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #470 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #155 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#197 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

12/10/09

Miki Jankovic - 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up - is the winner of the under 16 Tennis Europe Junior Masters 2009 played in Napoli (Italy)

Miki Jankovic won the under 16 Junior European Masters – an elite event for the top eight best-performing European players on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour. Former Masters champions include Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Kim Clijsters.

Miki Jankovic is native from Serbia and today is one of the best players in Europe in his age group and this victory is another confirmation of his talent and work.

He was the runner up of the 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 and currently trains at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy near Paris. Mouratoglou Tennis Academy is one of the Smrikva Bowl sponsor that few years ago started to award the winners of the Smrikva Bowl with one week training in this very prestigous and World recognized Tennis Academy.

Miki Jankovic is currently ranked #3 in Europe in under 16 age group cathegory and is also ranked #511 on ITF ranking list.

His road towards the victory of the under 16 Tennis Europe Junior Masters 2009 played in Napoli (Italy) was the following:

Quarterfinals: Miki Jankovic – Connor Glennon (Uk) 6:1, 6:3
Semifinals: Miki Jankovic – Likas Mugevicius (Ltu) 6:4, 6:2
Finals: Miki Jankovic – Michele Palma (Ita) 7:5, 6:4

Congratulations Miki!

For those who are interested to learn more about Miki please visit his website on www.mikijankovic.com

10/10/09

Today in Smrikve we collected olives that will end up in bottles with Smrikva Bowl olive oil that will be given to the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Ambassadors - Istrian olive oil is considered among the best one in the World

Today we started to collect olives, the 2010 Smrikva Bowl olive oil production. It is considered 2010 production because the next year every new Smrikva Bowl Ambassador will receive a bottle of it.

In Smrikve we produce Istrian olive oil that has over 2000 years old tradition in olive oil making and was considered among the best one in the Roman Empire and today is still considered among the best one in the World.

During the Smrikva Bowl we use to give to every Smrikva Bowl Ambasador a bottle of oil as a memory to their Smrikva Bowl. In this days we started the process that will end with transforming the olives into oil for the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 players and Ambassadors.

We beleive that one day we will be able to produce special and limited collections of the Smrikva Bowl olive oil from the Smrikva Bowl centuries old olive trees planted by some of the future tennis Champions…

A SHORT INTRODUCTION OF THE LONG STORY OF THE ISTRIAN OLIVE OIL…

The tradition of the olive oil production started to develop in Istria during the time of the Emperor Augustus. Thanks to the olive oil Pula was for few centuries one of the richest towns in the Roman Empire and this is one of the main reasons why Pula got its magnificent Arena.

Arena was completed at the same time as the famous Colosseum in Rome. It is one of the six largest Roman amphitheatres in the World and is today the Roman amphitheatre with best preserved external mantel in the World.

It is important to say that at the time olive oil was not used only as the salad dressing as we use it today but it was used also for lighting thus it was important as todays are important the sources of energy we use. It was the gold of its period. This explain the status and importance Pula had during the Roman Empire time.

Istrian olive oil was considered among the best in the Empire but also the amphorae production was very important. In the village located nearby Pula named Fazana one of the most prestigous amphorae production facilities were located owned by a Roman Consul.

SMRIKVA BOWL AMBASSADORS OLIVE TREES…

In 2005, for the 10th Smrikva Bowl anniversary, we started the tradition of planting an old Olive tree. The Olive tree selected needs to be older than the oldest man living on the earth today.

The people that planted Smrikva Bowl Olive trees for the first time are no longer among us and the message this Olive tree transmits to the Ambassadors is that intergenerational responsibility alone will allow future generations to enjoy the beauty of life, the sunsets and the seasons of the earth.

The Lion King cartoon is an artwork and many life messages one can find in it and most of them are in line with the Smrikva Bowl.

They are in line with the message of the Ambassadors’ Olive Tree; they are in line with the values of friendship and love; they are in line with empathy. Love, friendship and empathy are all Cosmopolitan values per excellence, as far as people and humanity are concerned thus in line with Smrikva Bowl mission.

WHAT REMAINED IN ISTRIA FROM THE ROMAN OLIVE OIL TRADITION…

The olive tree can live for millenniums and thanks to this long life of the olive tree we do know one of the sorts that was cultivated during the Roman Empire time.

Today in Istria there are other sorts of olive trees but the olive oil is outstanding thanks to the geographic position of Istria.

It is hard to understand how Romans without sophisticated analysis instruments that we do have today were able to determine in which part of the Empire they were able to get the best food, olive oil and wine. Istria was considered the area of the best olive oil and wine.

Romans had deep knowledge of olive oil making and we do know that they had five different olive oils quality ranking:

1. Oleum ex albis ulivis: first quality olive oil made by green and white olives

2. Viride: olive oil made by the olives that started to become black

3. Maturum: olive oil made by mature olives

4. Caducum: olive oil made by olives collected from the ground

5. Cibarium: olive oil made by rotten olives

Most of the old knowledge returned to Istria in the last decades thanks to the many Istrian families that dedicated with passion in rediscovering this old agricultural art.

THE OLDEST ISTRIAN OLIVE TREE…

On Brioni island there is an olive tree from the beginning of the 4th century that is one of the oldest olive trees in Europe. For its years could be also a symbol of wise.

To give you an idea of his age just imagine that this olive tree was planted during the time of Emperor Costantine the Great.

In general, wise and talented people usually create things after hard personal experiences. Men mostly learn trough experiences and that knowledge usually have value for future generations.

It would be nice to think that the oldest Istrian olive tree from Brioni could lend a part of its wise to every visitor of Istria.

Marcus Valerius Martialis, native from Cordoba, who lived in the 1st century AD, during the Roman Empire times, celebrated Istrian olive oil with the following verses: “Uncto Corduba Laetior Venafro Histra Nec Minus Absolute Testa”. The translation in English would be: “Cordoba, you being more fertile than the olive oil region of Venafro and so perfect as the oil (amphora) from Istria”.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ISTRIAN OLIVE OIL, WINE, ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY, PEOPLE AND CULTURE IN GENERAL PLEASE VISIT “ISTRIA FROM SMRIKVE” E-BOOK ON www.smrikve.com/istria/.

08/10/09

Kristina Miletic from Arandjelovac won the under 12 Masters tournament

I just received the message from Kristina’s father that after the victory of four under 12 tournaments in the row she was able also to win the under 12 Master of the Serbian Tennis Federation.

Kristina Miletic is only 10 years old and she played her Smrikva Bowl this year. After her participation on the Smrikva Bowl her achievements and results were extraonrdinary and currently she is ranked #13 on under 12 Serbian ranking list but excluding the 1997 age group she would be #3 in the Country.

Congratulations Kristina!

06/10/09

Ariana Rabac won the under 14 Porec Open tennis tournament played over the weekend

This weekend Ariana Rabac won the under 14 tennis tournament that was played in Porec. Ariana is 13 years old Smrikve Tennis School player and she is currently the best junnior Smrikve Tennis School player.

She started to play tennis when she was already 9 years old. Her motivation and love for tennis is allowing her to continue to progress year after year.

As said above this weekend Ariana played an under 14 tournament where 12 girls from Croatia and Slovenia participated and her road towards the victory was the following:

Quarterfinals: Ariana Rabac – Sara Petric (Cro) 6:4, 7:6
Semifinals: Ariana Rabac – Julijana Versic (Cro) 6:4, 7:5
Finals: Ariana Rabac – Kaudija Bukovec (Slo) 6:3, 6:2

Congratulations Ariana!

04/10/09

Updates on Villa Smrikve accommodation units and breaking news on insertion of the Istrian music scale on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list

Dear Smrikve friends,

Recently we completed some smaller restructuring of our accommodation units to made them more beautiful and confortable for our guests. I am taking this opportunity to invite you to visit the updated villa Smrikva page:

http://www.smrikve.com/villa-smrikve/

In particular there are new photo galleries of the accommodation units Smrikva (Juniper), Trs (Vine), Ulika (Olive), and if you have interest I invite you to read a short summary of the idea that was followed in personalizing each unit.

There is another news of the week that I am pleased to share with Smrikve friends and is related with the Istrian music. The traditional Istrian music was inserted on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. If someone has interest in listening what type of music it is, I invite you to visit the page of my cultural E-book „Istria from Smrikve“ dedicated to the Istrian music and you will hear my grandparents singing „na tanko i na debelo“ on the Istrian scale.

http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/istrian-music/

I would be pleased to see some of you again as villa Smrikve guests for tennis training or to discover together the historical, cultural and gastonomical beauties of the Istrian Region.

Regards,

Miodrag BOZOVIC

02/10/09

Remy Bertola on Swiss ticinonews TV

Remy Bertola is a former Smrikva Bowl player from Switzerland living in Canton Ticino. I just received the news that he qualified for the Nike Junior Tour Finals.

A nice TV show was registered and broadcasted for ticinonews in honor of his qualification and I am pleased to share it with the Smrikva Bowl comunity that do understand Italian.

In the video Remy talks about the importance he gives to the school and also about Roland Garros dream.

For those who wants to learn more about Remy I also suggest the visit of his website www.remybertola.ch.

Congratulations Remy!

30/09/09

The first "Istria from Smrikve" skycrapper banner (160x600) on www.vstopnice.com

Few days ago the first “Istria from Smrikve” skycrapper banner (160×600) was placed on www.vstopnice.com by Gregor Koprivc – the Smrikva Bowl Golden Honorary Member.

“Istria from Smrikve” is the first cultural E-book about Istria region that aims to further promote the Smrikva Bowl event and also to promote Istria as cultural tourism destination.

www.vstopnice.com was founded and developed by Gregor and is one of the most successful websites’ dedicated to the selling of the music concert tickets in Slovenia. The comunity he created around his music portal counts almost 3000 members and in its history have been sold almost 73000 tickets.

Vstopnice.com sells tickets for the concerts not only for Slovenia events but also for selected concerts in: Croatia, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Serbia and Germany.

I used to say while describing the Smrikva Bowl mission that children, sport, music and culture are already part of the Cosmopolitan world and this is the idea promoted by the Smrikva Bowl event. I am even more glad that this music website is promoting the first cultural E-book about Istria. The promotion campain statement is: “Vikend je pred vami”.

I like the skycrapper banner designed and created by Gregor with the message “Vikend je pred vami” that means in English “the weekend is coming”.

Slovenia borders with Istria and in less than few hours almost every citizen of Slovenia can reach any of the Cultural destinations described in “Istria from Smrikve”.

There are different ways to look at sport. There are different way to look at music, culture, love and also to children.

The vision of sport prefered in Smrikve can be described and extended to: culture, music and children using the following Nelson Mandela – Madiba’s words:

“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.”

Gregor gave us a little help to extend our vision to the music world and thank you again for your contribution!

27/09/09

Igor Dobranovic and Patrik Chiavalon are the winners of the 2nd Smrikve Rekreacija 2009 Tournament

Since this year we established the Spring and Autumn Smrikve Tennis Club tournament for the recreational players and this weekend the Autumn edition was played.

21 Smrikve Tennis Club members participated in the 2nd Smrikve Rekreacija 2009 Tournament. Over two days there were many nice and competitive matches that the people that were in the Club had the opportunity to enjoy.

On Saturday we also had the grill day prepared by my mother and today we had other food surprises for the semifinalists and finalists and also for the people that gathered to cheer them.

The winner of the Main Draw was Igor Dobranovic who defeated in the finals Sandro Suljic. It was a very nice and competitive final full of emontional moments.

Igor and Sandro are both very strong servers and excellent players. It was almost two hours match with many nice points. The final result was 6:3, 4:6, 6:2.

In the Consolation Draw the winner was Patrik Chiavalon who defeated Marjan Grzetic. It was another almost two hours match with extraordinary points for two players that really enjoy and love the tennis game.

I was very pleased for Patrik when he explained after receiving the trophy that he was never really involved in any sport in particular as young boy thus he never had the opportunity to win a trophy in a sport competition.

He fall in love few years ago with tennis and today he obtained his first trophy. It was a great day for him!

Patrik won 9:8 but Marijan was leading few times during the match also thanks to his very strong serve. In end Patrik succeeded to conclude the match in his favour and all the Club friends enjoyed the match they played for them and for us.

Thanks to each member who played over the weekend for the nice tournament and congratulations once again to the winners of this Autumn edition: Igor and Patrik!

27/09/09

Four Smrikva Bowl players in semifinals at 25th Stella Maris Cup played in UMAG - an important under 14 European Tournament

Just a week ago Borna Coric, one of the best Croatian and World players in his age group, won the 25th Stella Maris Cup, an important European under 14 tournament.

I was pleased to read that all the players that were in semifinals are former Smrikva Bowl players and two other Smrikva Bowl players reached the quarterfinals:

Semifinalists:
• Borna Coric and Karlo Skvorc, both Croatian players, played Smrikva Bowl when they were 9 years old, respectively in 2005 and 2004.
• Djere Laszlo from Serbia was the runner up of the 10th Smrikva Bowl played in 2005, and Marin Suica from Croatia also played Smrikva Bowl that year.

Quarterfinalists:
• Neven Krivokuca the fifth Smrikva Bowl player that reached the quarterfinals of the 25th Stella Maris Cup played 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 and is currently part of Niki Pilic Academy. Neven lives in Germany but is of Croatian origin and has a second home close to Smrikve.
• Andre Biro was the semifinalist of the 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 and in Umag he reached the quarterfinals.

Borna Coric met in the semifinals Djere Laszlo and in the quarterfinals Andre Biro on his road towards the victory:

1st round: Borna Coric – Sebastian Schloffer (Aut) – 6:4, 6:1
2nd round: Borna Coric – Matej Buril (Svk) – 6:1, 6:1
3rd round: Borna Coric – Patrik Sudic (Cro) – 6:3, 6:3
Quarterfinals: Borna Coric – Andre Biro (Hun) – 6:4, 6:2
Semifinals: Borna Coric – Djere Laszlo (Srb) – 6:4, 6:3
Finals: Borna Coric – Marin Suica (Cro) – 4:6, 6:3, 6:2

Congratulations boys!