The Sokol spirit survived the entire communism
Milota Bacúriková was born on November 7, 1941 in Bratislava. During the Slovak National Uprising, her parents hid her with her aunt Darina Kriva in Hodruša because the guards were looking for her father, who was a member of the University Guard Unit and participated in the preparation of the radio broadcast of the Free Slovak Broadcaster. She began attending elementary school in 1947 in Palisády. She completed the 11-year school in 1958, when she successfully graduated. In 1948, Milota’s father had to leave the Education Commission, where he worked with Husák and Novomeský. When Milota was 8 years old, her mother Milota tragically died, killing herself while hiking in the Tatra Mountains. In 1958, she entered the Faculty of Education, teaching Slovak and physical education. She graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports of Comenius University, which was established during her studies. Milota actively competed in downhill skiing. Her greatest achievement was winning the Czechoslovak Universiade on Chopok in 1960. Milota married Igor Bacúrik, who was a construction engineer, in January 1963. After the wedding, they lived with his parents for a while and then moved to Banská Bystrica for three years. In 1963, their daughter Zuzana was born. In Banská Bystrica, Milota worked at the Secondary Industrial School of Construction, where her husband was also employed. After returning to Bratislava, she took a job at the Academy of Performing Arts at the time when the Department of Physical Education was being established there, where she worked until her retirement. In January 1968, Milota’s son Igor was born. They also actively participated in activities during the Velvet Revolution. During the revolutionary days, Milota was given the position of head of the ROH to oversee the delivery of reports on people that the communists had conducted on their citizens. After the revolution, she also participated in two All-Slavic Gatherings as a trainer in the Sokol physical education organization. She retired in 1994, but for another 5 years she actively took care of her little granddaughter while her daughter went to work. Milota is still very active today and is still involved in skiing.
