History

A school team, two gifted balls and fifty years of titles from a town of a few thousand people.

It all began with one class and two balls.

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.
1982
The first national title. The champions are the Pioneers, born in 1969, and their prize is a tour of Romania.
1987
Gavrilov, by now known as Trenera, the Coach, takes over every team. The youth sides win title after title.
2004
Trenera revives the men's team. In its very first season it finishes fourth in the country.
2010
The first rugby 7 tournament in memory of Trenera. It has long been part of the town's September festival.
2019
A first Bulgarian men's title, under coach Tsvetostin Tsvetkov, who grew up in the club.
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.
2024
Half a century of rugby in Berkovitsa. The club marks 50 years in September, after winning a fifth men's title in May.
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

Children	1982, 2002, 2008, 2018
Under 16	1987, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Under 18, rugby 15	1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019
Under 18, rugby 7	1998, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2023
Men, rugby 7	2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Men, rugby 15	2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Season by season

2015/16

The men finish second after a final against NSA: a 21:17 win at home and a 10:33 defeat in Sofia.

Undated: Lokomotiv 5:59 Kotki, Kotki 42:0 Valyatsite, Valyatsite 47:9 Kotki, Kotki 64:11 Lokomotiv. Quarter-final: 91:0 and 82:0 against Botev. Semi-final: 15:10 and 40:30 against Valyatsite.

2016/17

The men finish third, and fourth in rugby 7. Both junior groups are rugby 7 champions.

Group A: 1. Valyatsite, 2. NSA, 3. Balkanski Kotki, 4. Yantra, 5. Lokomotiv.

2017/18

The men are runners-up in rugby 15 and champions in rugby 7. The children finish first, and the juniors win both rugby 15 and rugby 7.

2018/19

The first men's title, with 39:17 against Valyatsite in the final. Champions in rugby 7 too.

Undated: Kotki 47:10 Yantra, Valyatsite 54:0 Kotki, Kotki 55:0 Varna, Kotki 0:32 Lokomotiv. Juniors: Lokomotiv 0:58 Kotki.

2019/20

A second men's title in a row, with 153 points scored and 63 conceded. Champions in rugby 7 too.

2020/21

The men finish second to Valyatsite. The under 16s are rugby 7 champions, and the men win the Bulgarian Cup.

Final order: 1. Valyatsite, 2. Balkanski Kotki, 3. Lokomotiv, 4. NSA.

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