Special military entertainment for the javelin athlete: the javelin player sent off his son to military service with a javelin competition.

In Bayburt, equestrian sports clubs organized a javelin match for the son of a former javelin athlete who is going to the military. The javelin competition, held under the name of military entertainment, showcased colorful scenes, while the former javelin athlete father bid farewell to his son with javelin.

Players from 8 equestrian sports clubs held a military entertainment event and played a javelin match for Yiğit Altıparmak, a player from the Bayburt Equestrian Sports Club, who is going to military service tomorrow. In the match played at the Bayburt Javelin Field, this time, the javelin players galloped their horses to leave a beautiful memory for Altıparmak. The javelin enthusiasts from Bayburt, who showed great interest in the match, watched from the sidelines, not leaving Altıparmak alone during the military entertainment. The athletes started the match enthusiastically and played a sportsmanlike game, giving Altıparmak an unforgettable day. Just before the end of the first half of the match, Alpay Tekdemir, a player from the Bayburt Equestrian Sports Club, fell off his horse in a strange way. The athlete holding the saddle was dragged along with the horse for a while and injured his arm. Towards the end of the match, Tekdemir had another accident, which opened a cut on his eyebrow. Not wanting to interrupt his friend’s military entertainment, Tekdemir said, ‘My eyebrow is cut, I have scratches on my arm, but it’s all for the cause.’

“It’s all for the cause”
Alpay Tekdemir, an experienced athlete from the champion club, faced a series of misfortunes during the match. While Tekdemir’s horse tossed its head back, a piece of iron hit Tekdemir’s face, opening a cut on his eyebrow. Despite the accidents he experienced, Tekdemir showed his loyalty to his soldier friend by not leaving the match, stating, ‘We are at the military javelin of my brother Yiğit Altıparmak, I had a small accident. My eyebrow burst, I have scratches on my arm, it’s all for the cause. No problem. It was a nice match, thank you all.’ Tekdemir, who completed the match despite being injured, said his health was good.

“I throw to the field, raising soldiers for the homeland”
Kamil Altıparmak, a former javelin athlete who has been involved in the sport for many years and has raised 2 of his 4 children as javelin athletes, emphasized that he contributes to the traditional sport of javelin and also raises soldiers for the defense of the homeland, saying, ‘I am Kamil, the javelin thrower. I throw to the field, raising soldiers for the homeland. If I wanted, I could have sold my horse, invested in paid military service, and had my son do paid military service, but I did not choose that. We organized this entertainment because my son Yiğit is going to the military. Friends from the javelin community also came and made us proud. We thank them all.’ Yiğit Altıparmak, who was not left alone by the elder javelin throwers, expressed his gratitude, saying, ‘My javelin brothers organized this javelin event for me because I am going to the military tomorrow. I thank them all. They are very kind and I am very happy.’

Grandmother was also behind those who came to watch the military javelin
Hanife Adıgüzel, the grandmother who came to watch the military javelin organized for her grandson, prayed for ease for all soldiers performing their national duty, especially her grandson who is going to the military. Thanking the javelin community and the people of Bayburt for not leaving her grandson alone on such a day, Adıgüzel said, ‘My grandson, Kamil’s son Yiğit is going to the military. May he go and come back safely. May God protect our soldiers. Thanks to all the friends and citizens who came here. They came and made my child happy. May God grant my grandson to return home safely. We thank everyone for coming.’

“Military javelin has become a tradition in Bayburt”
Şahin Köprücü, a former javelin athlete and captain of the Turkish Javelin National Team, emphasized that military javelin has now become a tradition in Bayburt. Stating that they organized such a day for all javelin athletes and sports friends, Köprücü said they would continue the entertainment after the competition with drums and zurna, and that the military entertainment would not be limited to this area. He mentioned that the military javelin, military dinner, and military wedding would continue until the night, saying, ‘Kamil Altıparmak is a javelin brother of ours. We organized a military javelin for his son Yiğit Altıparmak. We call this javelin a military javelin. Later, we will have a dinner program, which we call military dinner, and we will play the Bayburt bar with drums and zurna, which we also call a military wedding. We will do all of these today, if fate allows. First javelin, then dinner, and after that, we will play the bars. May our child Yiğit go and come back safely. This has become a tradition in Bayburt; we organize such a day for all our javelin athlete and sports friends. Hopefully, we will do it for those who come after us as well.’

“These are our customs, traditions, and heritage”
Javelin athlete Muhammet Dağ, who did not leave his friend Yiğit Altıparmak alone during the military entertainment, stated that they try to keep the traditions and customs of Bayburt alive, saying, ‘Today we gathered here for the military javelin of our brother Yiğit. We came to play matches with different sports friends from every club. These are our traditions and customs. We strive to keep this alive.’

Two different cultures together: drums, zurna, and the equestrian sport of javelin
Akif Cimuli, a drummer who plays Bayburt folk songs at weddings and javelin competitions, expressed that two cultures are combined, stating, ‘We are here for the military entertainment of a friend who practices javelin. As a drum and zurna team, we combined the two different cultures of javelin and drums to organize a beautiful event for our dear brother. We wish the best for our brother who is going to the military.’

Citizens showed great interest in the military javelin
Arif Köprücü, the president of the Bayburt Equestrian Sports Club, stated that they organized such a day for their athletes going to military service, and that the citizens showed great interest in the competition, saying, ‘We organized a javelin display for Yiğit Altıparmak, one of our athletes from the Bayburt Equestrian Sports Club, with the participation of all club athletes in our city, and our people showed interest. I wish Yiğit success in his national duty, and may he go and return safely.’