page_title: Skra Bełchatów
section_title: Team history
hierarchical_section_title: Skra Bełchatów / Team history
caption_attribution_description: Lotos Gdańsk vs Skra Bełchatów
context_page_description: Skra Bełchatów, competing as PGE Skra Bełchatów for sponsorship reasons and officially called KPS Skra Bełchatów SA is a Polish professional men's volleyball team based in Bełchatów, founded in 1957. The club has been playing in the top level Polish Volleyball League continuously since 2001. Nine–time Polish Champion and seven–time Polish Cup winner.
context_section_description: Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Skra was founded in 1930 in Bełchatów. First, it was a football club. In 1957, a volleyball section was created. In 1977 the football section was separated from the club and incorporated into KWB Bełchatów. In 1991 Bełchatów Power Station became the sponsor of the club, and the club changed its name to Energetyczny Klub Sportowy (Energetic Sports Club) Skra. In 1994, the club advanced to the Polish league II, and in 1997 to league I "B" series. In 1999, they were promoted to series "A", but after a year they fell back down to series "B" again.
  In 2001, the club led by Wiesław Czaja was promoted to PlusLiga. In their first season there – 2001/2002 – the team achieved the bronze medal of the Polish Championship, defeating Jastrzębski Węgiel after three matches. During the 2002/2003 season Skra took 6th place in the league and lost in the second round of the CEV Cup in a match against Russian club Lokomotiv Yekaterinburg. The team had a new head coach - Ireneusz Mazur. In 2003/2004 the club was close to achieving its next medal. Skra lost against AZS Częstochowa after five matches. The team was also defeated in the final match of the Polish Cup by Płomień Sosnowiec.
  In 2004/2005 players of Skra began their masterful passe. They won first title of the Polish Champion after three matches with AZS Olsztyn and also achieved their first Polish Cup after a final match with the same club (3–1). The team repeated this success in the next season, when they won their second title of the Polish Champion in four final matches with Jastrzębski Węgiel and the Polish Cup for the second year in a row (winning final match with AZS Częstochowa (3-0)). They lost two matches against the Greek team Iraklis Thessaloniki in playoff 6 of the 2005–06 CEV Champions League.
  In 2006, Daniel Castellani became the new head coach, the first coach of the club from outside Poland. He spent three seasons in Bełchatów. During his work PGE Skra won next three titles of the Polish Champion (2007, 2008, 2009) and two Polish Cups (2007, 2009). In 2008 PGE Skra played as a host of the 2007–08 CEV Champions League Final Four held at Hala MOSiR in Łódź. On 29 March 2008 the team lost the semifinal against the Russian club Dynamo-Tattransgaz Kazan (2–3). On the next day, PGE Skra players won a bronze medal in a match with the Italian team Sisley Treviso (3–2).
  In 2009, Jacek Nawrocki became the new head coach. The first success under the guidance of the new coach was the silver medal in the 2009 FIVB Club World Championship. At this tournament after being promoted from Pool B, PGE Skra won their semifinal against Zenit Kazan (3–1), but on 8 November 2009 the Polish club lost the final against Trentino Volley (0–3). 2 of 7 individual awards were received by PGE Skra players – Bartosz Kurek as the Best Scorer, Marcin Możdżonek as the Best Blocker.
  In 2010 the Polish team was again a host of the 2009–10 CEV Champions League Final Four. They lost the semifinal against Dynamo Moscow and won a bronze medal in a match against ACH Volley Bled. Mariusz Wlazły was named the Best Scorer of the Final Four tournament. In 2009/2010 season the club won their 6th title of the Polish Champion. On 21 December 2010 PGE Skra achieve a silver medal of the 2010 FIVB Club World Championship. They lost against Trentino Volley (1–3). In 2010/2011 the Polish club won their 7th title of the Polish Champion and fifth Polish Cup. The first trophy in 2012 was the sixth Polish Cup in the history of the club. On 18 March 2012 PGE Skra achieved the silver medal of the 2011–12 CEV Champions League. They won the match against Arkas Izmir in the semifinal, but lost the final against the Russian club – Zenit Kazan in the Final Four held at Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland. The final match ended controversially, because the referee didn't see the block of Russian player and ended the match despite the fact that the audience and all the players saw the touch on a screen. PGE Skra players received 3 out of 8 individual awards. Michał Winiarski was named the Best R
caption: Setter Falasca and opposite, captain of Skra Bełchatów Wlazły during the match against LOTOS Trefl Gdańsk on 30 September 2011.
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