SILVER PLAQUE

PINZOLO INTERNATIONAL ALPINE SOLIDARITY AWARD

In 1972, Angiolino Binelli, at that moment chief of the Alpine Rescue Squad Station in Pinzolo, coming back from a very difficult rescue operation, decided that it was necessary to award who risks his life for the others. The Pinzolo International Alpine Solidarity Award was born back then, and ever since, year after year, it awards those who have distinguished themselves in alpine rescue operations.
The Silver Plaque gets its inspiration from the simplicity and straightforwardness of mountain people and from the principles of true human solidarity; it awards those who leave home, work and family apart, to run there where someone needs help, without asking anything in exchange.
The award can be assigned also to doctors, service managing directors, firemen, alpine guides, civilians and soldiers or even to journalists who have drawn the attention to the efforts, the risks and the sacrifices carried out in order to save mountaineers in danger. A committe examines with seriuosness every nomination that gets to the Pinzolo Office every year and chooses under their own responsibility and counsciousness, the winner. The award consists of a Silver Plaque and a Golden Medal with the engraved reason for the award.
This acknowledgement is a symbol for the human and moral values of those who sacrifice themselves to other people. From its 25th edition on, the prize has been supported by the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and the particular blessing of the Pope.
The International Alpine Solidarity Award committee in Pinzolo decided, this year, to award the 38th “Targa d’argento” -Silver Shield to distinguished members of the Tatra Volunteer Rescue Service on the centenary anniversary of the organisation.
The nominee for the award is one of the rescue service volunteers, Roman Kubin: Roman Kubin was born in Zakopane on the 11th of March 1953 . From his childhood he has explored the mountains, being particularly interested in the Tatra caves. Since 1974, already a member of the Tatra Caving Club, he started to get to know the underground world of the Tatras. Initially he worked at the Central Sports Institution in Zakopane, there he was responsible for sports technical support, such as electronic measurement and audio-video. In 1981 he joined the Rescue Service, and nine years later became a mountain rescue professional. He specialised in underground rescues. The most difficult of the underground operations, in the past twenty years, were carried out under his personal leadership. He is one of two members of the Tatra Rescue Service to have taken part in over seven hundred rescue operations (the average for active rescuers is about a hundred). An important aspect of his work was instruction. Basically he has trained all the current rescuers specialising in caving rescues. He has also trained colleagues in the Slovak Mountain Service. He is a senior instructor of the Tatra Rescue Service. In July 2008 he retired. To all his abilities and services, should be added an important trait. He is calm, self-controlled and a team player. He leads a team of people working in extreme conditions superbly. But you will never hear it from him, for he is exceptionally modest.