Q&A with Elżbieta Panas

Ela, you are a woman of many talents. An artist and an athlete. Which came first?

I dreamed about acting – probably like most girls – from kindergarten. It was then that the first poems were recited, singing and dancing lessons, because at the age of five I was enrolled in ballet by my mother. Then there were academies, recitation competitions, etc. That is the way to make children’s dreams come true. And the sport came later, in elementary school. I loved it and still do today, in many sporting contexts. As a primary school student, I trained athletics at the Silesian Wroclaw club.

Tell us about your most important roles?

I don’t think I have a most important one, each has been important. There weren’t many theatrical ones, but each was special. It just so happened that I have had more work in series and that gives me great joy, although it is a brutal job. I love it and I love to work, meet my colleagues and work on various projects.

May I ask why you took a break in your acting career?

It happened that my husband, who was professionally involved in sports, [Henryk Apostel, footballer, coach of the Polish national team], that family responsibilities meant I needed to ‘suspend’ my profession for some time.

How did golf enter your life?

It was an accident. During one of my trips abroad many years ago I saw golf on TV, and when I was driving past a golf course I even stopped to see what it was all about. Then, I think it was in 1993, I saw the program “Appetite for health” on TV and a report by Kasia Dowbor from the golf course in Rajszewo. That’s when I thought ‘bingo!’ I also want to try and see what this is about!

Tell us about your passion – I know it is a passion not only as a player, but, above all, promoting golf in Poland, especially among women.

Oh this is a long, almost thirty-year passion! I could talk about it endlessly. In fact, I have been golfing continuously for three decades.

Because apart from my membership on the board of the Polish Golf Union (PZG) many years ago, I have taken part in countless tournaments in Poland, but also many abroad. It should be emphasized here that I am an AMATEUR golfer and I take part in amateur tournaments. Playing better or worse, I have also had my little successes as a senior amateur golfer. So much for the competitive passion.

However, as a golf promoter, I have been able to participate in many projects. I co-created for TV- Magazyn Golfowy, I wrote golf columns, together with my friends, I did exhibitions on the history of golf, I co-edited the album Polski Golf, I am also the founder of a golf cabinet, which is located in the Sports and Tourism Museum in Warsaw.

In 2011, I reactivated the oldest Polish tournament for women, “Warsaw Open Ladies Golf Cup,” which took place in the 1990s under the name “Warsaw Women’s Championship.” It was during this tournament that I came up with the idea of inviting the legend of European golf Vivien Saunders. I remember going to visit her in England to introduce myself and share the idea. Vivien gladly accepted the invitation. Her two-time stays were primarily free golf academies, which she conducted with female golfers and with those who wanted to get into golf.

I am the helper and co-founder of the Polish Women’s Golf Association, which was founded in 2015. The Association is a supporting member of the Polish Golf Union and a signatory to The R&A Women in Golf Charter – signing a card promoting golf among women is extremely obliging for us to work for the development of this discipline among women of all ages. Together with my colleagues from the board, Ania Zabłocka-Wiercińska, Renia Filipek-Baryłowska, Beata Nicgorska and Ania Woźniakowska-Dębiec, I have had the honor to work and promote women’s golf in Poland. Our association organizes tournaments, runs social media in which it provides up-to-date information on golf events from Poland and the world. We carry out various projects to introduce and promote this beautiful game. This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of golf in Poland. We decided two years ago to contact Poczta Polska S.A. with the initiative to issue a stamp and on March 25 this year on the day of issue, the premiere of a beautiful stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of golf in Poland took place at the Sports and Tourism Museum in Warsaw.

Listing all these projects, I can see that it has been quite some journey. But apart from what you have already mentioned, you also work for charity. Who are you helping?

Yes, it is extremely important to me. Help is something normal, and obvious all the more nowadays …. talking to many people, close or distant friends, I have not met anyone who is indifferent to support from another person …

For years, I have been trying with my friends to support the Veteran Artist’s House in Skolimów in various ways, where our colleagues live.

We have established contacts with many companies that are open to help. By asking them for support with various products, e.g. food or hygiene products, they never refuse us. These are these fantastic moments, so I would like to thank them all for that once again.

Do you feel fulfilled in everything you do?

I think that in life we ​​always look for confirmation and acceptance in what we do. I received this approval from my loved ones – from my family, but I was also lucky that I met wonderful and kind people with whom I could implement all these projects and make my dreams come true – because without them I would simply not have realized it all!  And for this I thank them with all my heart.