Addressing the participants at the end of this three-day event, President Zoran Milanović spoke about the importance of this chivalric tournament in the history of the Croatian nation.
"Alka has been connected with important landmarks in our past," the president said recalling the history and milestones since the start of the tournament in 1715 after the local defenders fended off attacks of the Ottoman forces.
The tournament is held every year on the first Sunday in August to commemorate a battle of 1715 when the outnumbered defenders of Sinj defeated Ottoman Turk invaders. The local community says that the victory was won through the intercession of Our Miraculous Lady of Sinj.
In his speech the president also recalled that in 1995, the Homeland War ended with the glorious victory of the Croatian Army in Operation Storm in the first days of August when the Sinjska Alka traditionally takes place in Sinj.
"Is this coincidence of providence? I cannot know," said Milanović.
He also added that this year he had invited the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, to be his guest at the tournament.
Milanović: Destiny of Kosovo is similar but not identical to our destiny
Milanović said that the destiny of Kosovo is similar but not identical to the destiny of Croatia.
"At the beginning (of the Homeland War in the early 1990s), we were defended by the few people, we had no assistance from outside. All those allies and friends just sat by and watched what was going on. On the other hand Kosovo started (its independence) with great (international) support which has been waning in the meantime to vanish now. Kosovo is currently let to its own devices. Five EU and NATO member-states have not yet recognised Kosovo. Therefore she (Osmani) is my guest today."
Milanović reiterated that the Sinjska Alka is holiday filled with emotions of joy and not of spite, and that the Homeland War which ended also in early August, showed that Croatia's path was the right one.
The Sinjska Alka is a lancing tournament that takes place annually since 1715, in the town of Sinj, in the Cetinska krajina region. During the contest, knights ride horses at full gallop along a main street, aiming lances at an iron ring hanging on a rope. The name of the tournament derives from this alka or ring, a word with Turkish origin. The tournament rules, codified in a 1833 statute, promote ethics and fair play, and stress the importance of participation in community life.
Participants must be members of local families of Sinj and the Cetinska krajina region. The event was Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.