OMV Petrom contributes with EUR 200,000 to "Țară, țară, vrem campioane!" project for performance in Romanian gymnastics

• The partnership with the Foundation Casa Campionilor will be extended for two years
• Twenty-five young gymnasts continue to benefit from all the training facilities required for high performance thanks to „Țară, țară, vrem campioane!” program
• OMV Petrom has allocated EUR 2 million since 2014 to present for the support of Romanian women gymnastics 

OMV Petrom extends the partnership with the Foundation Casa Campionilor for the next two years and contributes with EUR 200,000 for the continuation of the project „Țară, țară, vrem campioane!”. Through this program, OMV Petrom supports the training of twenty-five gymnasts from the National Olympic Centers for juniors in Deva, Constanța and Bucharest, coming from five sports clubs: The National Sports College “Cetate” Deva, CS Dinamo Bucharest, CSS Bârlad, CS Farul Constanța and CSS 1 Constanța. 

The OMV Petrom funding will provide optimal training conditions for the young athletes: equipment and the sports materials needed for daily training, recovery and support for participation in training camps and national and international competitions. The coaches involved in this project will also benefit from training courses. 

“The performances in women's gymnastics always generate a lot of pride and have been carrying the name of Romania to all corners of the world. For Romanians, gymnastics is a very loved sport, with an impressive history and a promising future. We want to keep supporting the efforts to shape young talents into great champions that Romania can be proud of", said Christina Verchere, CEO OMV Petrom.

The project "Țară, țară,vrem campioane!" started in 2014, at the initiative of the internationally recognized coaches, Mariana Bitang and Octavian Bellu, with the support of OMV Petrom. So far, the company allocated over EUR 2 million to fund the project and the women’s gymnastics team. The aim of the project is to relaunch Romanian women’s gymnastics.

“This project has been and is very important for Romanian gymnastics because it enabled investments where unfortunately no one invests, namely "at the grassroots", at the selection stage, and in the first years of activity. We hope some of these gymnasts will succeed and make it to the team who will represent Romania at the World Championships, the European Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games, and obviously we all want them to win as many medals as possible. But to get there, gymnasts need continuous financial support, high training standards, dedicated coaches and good health", said Octavian Bellu.

About "Țară, țară, vrem campioane!"

The project started in 2014 with a wide national selection and the participation of 10,000 children. The training program started with 200 children in the autumn of 2014, and currently there are 25 young talents remaining in the program. 

Over the last 2 years, the athletes in the program managed to win more than 100 medals in national competitions and 68 medals in international competitions. After 6 years of training, the Romanian junior team managed to win the most of the medals at European Championship for Juniors, which was held in December 2020 in Mersin, Turkey. The athletes from the „Țară, țară, vrem campioane!” program won the gold medal in the team competition. Ana Maria Bărbosu won another five gold medals in the finals on beam, floor, uneven bars, vault and individual all-around, Maria Ceplinschi won two silver medals in individual all-around and floor, and Andreea Preda won the bronze medal for beam.

About OMV Petrom 

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy company in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual Group hydrocarbon production of 53 million boe in 2020. The Group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons annually and operates an 860 MW high efficiency power plant. The Group is present on the oil products retail market in Romania and neighboring countries through 793 filling stations, at the end 2020, under two brands – OMV and Petrom. 

OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria, holds a 51% stake in OMV Petrom. The Romanian State, through the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, holds 20.6% of OMV Petrom shares, Fondul Proprietatea holds 7% and 21.4% is the free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. 

OMV Petrom is the largest contributor to the state budget, with contributions of approximately 32 billion euro in taxes and dividends paid between 2005 and 2020.  
Since 2007, OMV Petrom has included corporate responsibility principles into its business strategy. Between 2007 and 2020, the company has allocated approximately 72 million euro to develop communities in Romania, focusing on environmental protection, education, health and local development. 

On July 29th, 2020, OMV Petrom announced its support for the recommendations issued by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) regarding risks and opportunities on climate change.