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Georgi Chilikov is the most successful coach, and FC Dunav is the team of the year

The most successful in 2025 Ruse athletes, coaches and teams were awarded tonight at the "Athlete of the Year" ceremony, which was held in the Dokhodno zdanie. The packed hall applauded the winners - Radoslav Rosenov - athlete No. 1, Georgi Chilikov - coach No. 1, Eleonora Pavlova - athlete-applicant No. 1 and Football Club Dunav - team No. 1 of 2025.

The event began with a minute of silence in memory of Prof. Dr. Kiril Panayotov, who restored weightlifting in the region and founded the Ruse Weightlifting Sports Club, which brought world, European and Balkan medals to the city and the country.

Mayor Pencho Milkov opened the ceremony and thanked the competitors for raising the name of Ruse to the highest podiums in the world last year. "With your efforts, will, faith and discipline, you have glorified your clubs, families and our beloved Ruse. I thank all the coaches who stand behind every successful athlete - your mentors who prepare you, support you in difficult moments and shape your personality on the path to high sportsmanship. But sport is not only about victories over opponents, but above all about victory over yourself - every day to master yourself and your strength. Let us all show that strength should be used for good and aggression has no place among young people. This is my message to you - become part of those who do good in many directions," said Milkov and wished everyone health and an unwavering will to win.

The winners of the sports top ten were chosen by journalists who participated in the poll of the newspaper "Utro". Number one athlete Radoslav Rosenov is an eight-time European boxing champion and a bronze medalist at the World Championship for men. Ranked second, Angel Rusev from Weightlifting Sports Club-Ruse is a five-time European weightlifting champion. Third is Yuliana Yaneva from the Yunak club - vice-champion of the World Championship in freestyle wrestling for women and gold medalist of the State Championship. Fourth position is occupied by Ivan Banchev from the Jumbo club - European indoor archery champion and national outdoor and indoor champion. Fifth place is assigned to Bilyana Dudova from the Yunak club because of the bronze medal won at the European Championship in freestyle wrestling. Sixth in the ranking is Deniz Danev from Weightlifting Sports Club-Ruse, who is a silver medalist at the European Championship in weightlifting for competitors under 23 years of age. Seventh is Sevda Asenova from the Ruse Boxing Club, who reached fifth place at the Women's World Boxing Championship and became the national champion and champion of the Strandjata Cup. The captain of FC Dunav, Kamen Hadzhiev, is eighth in the ranking. Last year, his team is the leader in the Second League of Bulgaria, and Hadzhiev is one of the team's top scorers with 5 goals. Ninth is Damyan Iliev from the Lokomotiv-Toncho Todorov Club - European junior champion in sports shooting and state champion with two national records. The top ten is completed by Kaloyan Petrov from the Image Club, who won the World Cup in synchronized mixed doubles trampoline jumping together with Hristina Peneva.

The ten elite athletes received a bronze statuette "Star" made by sculptor Nina Lishovska, a diploma on behalf of the mayor and a cash prize. The awards were presented by Gabriel Valkov - Chairman of the Committee on Youth and Sports in the 51st National Assembly, Acad. Hristo Beloev - Chairman of the Municipal Council in Ruse, Stoyan Koprivlenski - world champion in K-1 World MAX and multiple champion and winner of cups from various international tournaments, Teodor Karastoyanov - competitor with 12 amateur kickboxing titles in Bulgaria, coach and founder of the Bulgarian MMA Federation, representative of the Bulgarian Fight Agency, PhD. Rositsa Georgieva, head of the RDE-Ruse, Evgeni Ignatov and deputy mayors Zlatomira Stefanova, Encho Enchev and Borislav Rachev.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Utro" Mladen Lyubenov awarded the "Phoenix" statuette to the best competitor in applied sports. This year it is Eleonora Pavlova from the Prista sports model club - world champion among women in aeromodelling class F1E - WCH F1E RANA 2025 and first among women in the final standings for the 2025 World Cup.

The journalists named Georgi Chilikov - head coach of the Dunav football team - as coach No. 1. In 2025, the team broke all records in the Second League and is the sole leader with a 6-point lead. For his merits, Chilikov received the "Victory" statuette and an honorary diploma from Deputy Mayor Dimitar Nedev.

A special moment in the event was dedicated to boxer Sevda Asenova, who ended her sports career in 2025. For her overall contribution to boxing and sports, the champion received an honorary plaque from Pencho Milkov.

The mayor awarded the "Star" statuette, a diploma and a cash prize to the Athlete No. 1 of the Year - Radoslav Rosenov and wished him medals at the Olympic Games.

The football club "Dunav" became the No. 1 team due to the team's extremely successful performance in 2025 years. The mayor presented the coach and the team with the "Victory" statuette and a diploma and emphasized that the club has always been a symbol of the spirit of Ruse - fighting, dignified and forward-looking. "I congratulate the coaching staff and the management for the correct strategy and patience, and I wish the players health and even greater confidence," said Milkov.

Among the official guests of the ceremony were Dragomir Draganov - Regional Governor of Ruse, Eleonora Gurbanova - Regional Coordinator of Ruse at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Bishop Makariy of Glavinitsa - Vicar of the Metropolitan of Ruse, Alexander Kovachev - Deputy Director of the Regional Directorate of Ministry of Interior Ruse, Lieutenant Colonel Pavlin Iliev - Commander of Military Formation 32420, Commissioner Svetoslav Voychev - Director of the Regional Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection, municipal councilors and members of the Municipal Committee for Youth and Sports, Georgi Hristov - sports journalist of the newspaper "Utro", Evgeni Nedev - Director of the Sports School "Major Atanas Uzunov", coaches and representatives of sports clubs.

The winner of "The Voice of Bulgaria" Petya Paneva congratulated the awardees and the audience with her performances, and the musical program also included Stefania Gornachka, the Children's and Youth Ensemble "Zornitsa", the Dance Sports Club "Flamingo", the Cheerleading Squad "Extreme", the Dance Club "Freedom", the Folklore Studio "Zora" and others. The ceremony was hosted by Joanna Angelova.

The celebration was organized by the Municipality of Ruse with the assistance of the companies "AS - stroy" Ltd, "Transstroy - Ruse " and "Medicom" Ltd.

The Municipality of Ruse announces the start of a new stage of ticket sales for the concert of the world virtuoso Ara Malikyan, which will be held at the Arena Ruse Hall on March 27 and is part of the International Festival "March Music Days".

From January 16, the musician's fans will be able to secure seats for the concert through the Kupibileti.bg platform, as well as at their partner box offices in the country, including the box office at Arena Ruse.

After the first tranche of tickets was released in December in the Entase system (where stocks are still available), as of this Friday, the purchase options are expanding. This is the second phase of the distribution of passes for the long-awaited spectacle, part of the 65th edition of the prestigious music forum.

The physical box office of "March Music Days" is expected to open in February in the Revenue Building, where music lovers will be able to purchase tickets in various price categories for the event, as well as for all other concert programs of the festival. More information about this will be provided later.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Online: https://www.entase.com/ (already on sale) and https://www.kupibileti.bg// (from January 16).

Physical box offices: Arena Ruse box office and partner box offices at https://www.kupibileti.bg// (from January 16).

Expect in February: Opening of the festival box office of "March Music Days".

The Regional Library "Lyuben Karavelov" held its traditional award ceremony for the most reading children in Ruse. The tenth edition of the event was held in the Children's Department "Bibliotechko" and honored outstanding readers for the previous calendar year. Mayor Pencho Milkov awarded the most reading child - 10-year-old Simeon Gyurov, who read more than 200 books in 2025.

"Today we congratulate the most reading children in Ruse - not because they are "first", but because they are curious, persistent and loyal friends of reading. Each book read is a small victory - over boredom, over the fear of not understanding, over the laziness of not opening the first page. The Children's Department "Bibliotechko" is a launching pad for dreams, from which journeys without a suitcase begin. By choosing books, you choose to live thousands of lives, to ask questions and seek answers - this is the real super power,” the mayor addressed the attendees. He congratulated the director of the Library, Teodora Evtimova, and her team for raising readers every day, and to the parents of the youngest Ruse children, the mayor expressed special gratitude with the words “The best example always begins at home.”

“We turn off the phone, open the book and no longer look at the phone.” This advice was given to the attendees by Simeon Gyurov for the best experience with a book. The little Ruse resident shared that his favorite reading material is the adventure story “The Silver Arrow” by Lev Grossman. According to the tradition of the Regional Library, he left his mark in the Alley of Reading Children of Ruse.

Third in the “school age” category up to 14 years old was Radina Gancheva, aged 7, and second place was taken by Maria Damyanova. All awardees received prizes provided by the Ruse Library, the Ruse Municipality and the event sponsors.

During the ceremony, Eva Yosifova, a 4th grade full-time education teacher from the Otets Paisii Primary School, was awarded, who became the “Library Ambassador Teacher”. The teacher presented Teodora Evtimova with a paperweight with the image of Lyuben Karavelov, made by the artist and book illustrator Krasimira Balusheva, who is the mother of one of her students.

The youngest user of the “Bibliotechko” services was 4-month-old Ivayla Velikova, who was enrolled in the children’s department at only 40 days old. Her mother shared that her favorite book so far is “The Little Mermaid”.

In the first grade category, Adelina Dundarova, 6, came in third place, Vladimir Velchev, 3, who came to the ceremony as a law enforcement officer, came in second, and first place went to Maria Tsvetanova, who is not yet one year old.

The Regional Library "Lyuben Karavelov" also presented statistics on the most read books for the past year. Traditionally, Ruse children have taken up the most mandatory books from the summer lists. Favorites of the youngest are also the series "Harry Potter", "The Barbarians", the books by Julia Donaldson and "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The most read Bulgarian series for children is Katya Antonova's "The Sugar Plum Fairy". Other hit titles are the series "Anatol Poraziev" by Anne Didier and Olivier Muller and the series "Toto" by Serge Blok and Franck Girard.

Guests of the event were Kremena Dobrikova from the "Bukvarche" bookstore, Vanya Hinkova - manager of the "Helikon" bookstore, as well as numerous readers of the Children's Department and their parents.

Ruse Municipality officially accepted a newly built site intended for one of the branches of the Radost kindergarten in the central part of the city. It was implemented within the framework of investment commitments of the Investstroy – Ruse company. The acceptance of the premises was carried out after the completion of the construction, assembly and finishing works, in accordance with the approved investment projects.

The Mayor of Ruse Municipality Pencho Milkov, who together with Deputy Mayor Encho Enchev, the Director of the Education and Culture Directorate Tsvetoslav Dimitrov and employees of the Municipal and Condominium Property Directorate visited the site, emphasized its importance for the residents of the central part of the city. “The municipality acquires a fully completed site, without additional financial burden, and creates better conditions for the families living in the area,” said Milkov. In his words, such projects show that through clear contractual relations and consistent policy, sustainable results in the public interest can be achieved.

The new premises of almost 200 sq. m are located on the ground floor of the building at 4 Batak Street. An outdoor playground with an area of ​​140 sq. m has also been built. The Municipality of Ruse is also acquiring an administrative premises - an office for the kindergarten, located on the ground floor of the building at 9 Nikola Palauzov Street, with a built-up area of ​​nearly 26 sq. m, as well as a second playground in the yard of the property with an area of ​​105 sq. m.

The playgrounds are intended for children from 3 to 6 years of age and are equipped with shock-absorbing flooring and play equipment, in strict compliance with all regulatory safety requirements.

Currently, 354 children are enrolled in the kindergarten groups and its branches, and the new facility will provide additional capacity for up to 23 places and will contribute to a more even distribution of users of preschool educational services in the central city area.

Ruse will host the historic first edition of the Bulgarian Cup – Women’s Premier League, and the arena for the volleyball matches will be the Dunav Hall. The competition will be held on January 24 and 25 and will bring together four teams that will fight for the first trophy in this format.

The teams of VASK, Lokomotiv Sofia, Spartak Varna and Lyubo Ganev - Avtosvyat qualified for the final four, the latter also hosting the tournament.

The creation of the Women’s Premier League is an important step in the development of Bulgarian women’s volleyball. Its main goal is to provide more competitive matches, game practice and opportunities for young volleyball players to compete in a real competitive environment. The Bulgarian Cup – Premier League is a logical continuation of this concept and another platform for development, competition and experience accumulation.

Tournament schedule:

January 24 (Saturday) - Semifinals, Dunav Hall, Ruse

16:00 - VASK - Spartak Varna
18:30 - Lyubo Ganev Avtosvyat - Lokomotiv Sofia
January 25 (Sunday) - Final match:

14:00 - Winner of match 1 vs. winner of match 2

The Bulgarian Cup - Premier League (Women) tournament is organized with the assistance of the general partner of the Super League - Demax +, as well as with the support of the Municipality of Ruse.

All matches will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, as well as on the Facebook page of the National Volleyball League for Women, which will allow a wider audience to follow the first edition of the tournament.

Ruse will be the scene of a new and important moment for women's volleyball in Bulgaria - the first Bulgarian Cup in the Premier League, aimed at the future, young talents and the sustainable development of the sport.