Balkanski KotkiRugby club, BerkovitsaБГCome to training

Rugby. In Berkovitsa. Since 1974.

Balkanski Kotki is the rugby club of Berkovitsa, a small town at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. More than 50 years of rugby and seven men's rugby 15 titles, five of them in a row. Training is free for children and juniors.

Come to trainingWhat is rugby?

Next match, 8 November 2026, 13:30

Balkanski Kotki v NSA

Trebich Stadium, Sofia. National championship, men

8November
Add to calendarHow to get there

Last match, 25 October 2026

Balkanski Kotki68 : 5Lokomotiv Sofia

News

It all began with one class and two balls.

  1. 1974

    Dimitar Avramov comes home to Berkovitsa and forms a team from the boys at the local secondary school. The first two balls are a gift from Levski, and the first captain is a boy who came over from wrestling: Dimitar Gavrilov.

  2. 1982

    The first national title. The champions are the Pioneers, born in 1969, and their prize is a tour of Romania.

  3. 1987

    Gavrilov, by now known as Trenera, the Coach, takes over every team. The youth sides win title after title.

  4. 2004

    Trenera revives the men's team. In its very first season it finishes fourth in the country.

  5. 2010

    The first rugby 7 tournament in memory of Trenera. It has long been part of the town's September festival.

  6. 2019

    A first Bulgarian men's title, under coach Tsvetostin Tsvetkov, who grew up in the club.

  7. 2023

    A fourth men's title and a sixth in a row at rugby 7. Captain Kristiyan Pavlov is voted Bulgaria's best rugby player.

  8. 2024

    Half a century of rugby in Berkovitsa. The club marks 50 years in September, after winning a fifth men's title in May.

  9. 2026

    Ten wins from ten matches, a seventh title and a fifth in a row. In October comes the first Bulgarian Cup, 25:24 against NSA, with a penalty by captain Petar Nikolov in the last move.

Every national title is one ball.

The children and youth teams have been winning from the very start. The men came later, with boys who grew up in those same teams.

Point at a year to see who won.

See the years as a table
Children1982, 2002, 2008, 2018
Under 161987, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Under 18, rugby 151998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019
Under 18, rugby 71998, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2023
Men, rugby 72018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Men, rugby 152019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Pass back. Move forward.

Rugby in a minute. Five things worth knowing before your first match. Pick a step and watch the pitch.

  1. Two teams of 15 fight for an oval ball. The aim is to carry it over the other team's goal line and press it to the ground. That is a try, worth 5 points. There is no goalkeeper and no net: the in-goal area is the whole strip behind the line.

  2. You may only pass the ball backwards or sideways. You can run forward with it or kick it forward, but not throw it forward. That is why attackers run on a diagonal, each a little behind the next.

  3. The defence may only stop the player with the ball, using their arms and below the shoulders. Once on the ground, that player lets go of the ball and both teams compete for it on their feet. Play does not stop and carries on straight away.

  4. After a small mistake, such as knocking the ball forward, play restarts with a scrum. Eight against eight lock together shoulder to shoulder, number 9 feeds the ball down the middle, and both packs push until it comes out at the back. The numbers on the pitch are positions from 1 to 15.

  5. Only the captain talks to the referee, and nobody argues. After the final whistle the two teams line up facing each other and everybody shakes everybody's hand. Rivals on the pitch, friends after the match.

Try: a Kotki player presses the ball down in the other team's in-goal area and scores 5 points.
Kotki, with position numbersThe oppositionThe ball

How points are scored

Try
5
The ball is pressed to the ground in the in-goal area.
Conversion
2
A kick after a try. The ball must pass between the posts and over the bar.
Penalty kick
3
A kick at goal after an offence by the other team.
Drop goal
3
A kick in open play: the ball hits the ground and goes over the bar.

Two games, one ball

Rugby 15. 15 players a side, 2 × 40 minutes. The classic game, played by the men and the under-18s.

Rugby 7. 7 players a side on the same big pitch, 2 × 7 minutes. Fast, open, and an Olympic sport since 2016. The Kotki men won eight titles in a row up to 2025.

The full guide to the gameWorld Rugby laws

What kind of player are you?

KOTKA22

Trenera

Dimitar Gavrilov, 1958–2009

“Every success since 1983 is the work of his hands.”Dimitar Avramov, founder of the club

The team's first captain, then the coach of generations of Berkovitsa boys. The stadium carries his name.

Since 2010, teams from across the country have played a rugby 7 tournament in his memory.

About Trenera and the tournament

The album

All photos
A scrum on an open field under a cloudy sky.
Scrum against NSA, March 2023
The rugby 7 team with medals and a trophy.
Rugby 7 champions, 2023
A scrum on an autumn pitch with the mountain behind the forest.
Against Yantra at home, autumn 2021
Two teams gathered together on the grass in front of the stand.
Both teams together after the match, April 2023
The rugby posts at the stadium against a wooded hill.
Dimitar Gavrilov Stadium
The men's team with the Bulgarian flag.
With the rugby 7 cup, 2020
The men's team on the grass with the snowy ridge of the Balkan Mountains behind them.

A town below Kom peak.

From the stands, the mountain is right in front of you. Come for the match, stay for the weekend. Pick a stop along the way.

There is always room for you on the team.

No experience needed. Our coach Tsvetostin Tsvetkov started exactly that way, as a child on this very ground, in 1999.

“No child who is ready to train with us should be turned away for financial reasons.”

Youth players with medals around their necks, arms around their coach, the cup in front of them.
The under-18s after their rugby 7 title, April 2023
10
Call 0885 06 30 56or write

Call the coach to arrange your first session. Training is free for children and juniors.

After the match, everyone shakes everyone's hand. Back the Kotki too.

Membership card

For players, fans and friends. Your fee helps the club.

About the card

Become a partner

Back the club for a season with a sponsorship package.

See the packages

Give your time

Driving to away matches, photos on matchday, helping run the September tournament.

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