Gwardia Opole

Promotion to the Superliga came in 1962, and within two seasons the club had its first bronze medal, in 1963/64.

What followed was less a rise than a series of falls and recoveries. Gwardia spent a decade in the second tier through the 1980s and dropped as far as the third division for three years from 1997. Promotion in 2003 lasted a single season. Only in 2015, under Rafał Kuptel, did the club win the second division without losing a match and finally stay in the top flight.

The 2018/19 season is the one Opole talks about. Gwardia took their second Superliga bronze, and along the way beat Vive Kielce 32:31 in the playoff semi-finals, snapping a run of 103 consecutive wins for a club that had dominated Polish handball for years. Three Polish Cup semi-finals followed in 2017, 2018 and 2019, none converted into the trophy, and a first European campaign, in the EHF Cup, ended in the third round.

Goalkeeper Adam Malcher ran through most of this story, arriving in 2003, leaving, returning in 2013, and staying until 2025; he was named the league's best goalkeeper three times, and the club retired his number.