Dunakeszi was also a participant in this year’s SUP World Championship – Interview with Réka Slekta – Dunakanyar Region

SUP (Stand-up paddle) is a not so well-known sport in our country, its representative is Réka Slekta, competitor of the Dunakeszi Kayak Club. In November of this year, he represented the Hungarian colors at the World Championship in the distant Pattaya.

• What is the difference between a SUP and a kayak-canoe?

• We paddle standing on the SUP, on one side at a time, but we switch sides at certain intervals. While kayak canoeing has a number of flat water and marathon events, either solo or team boat, SUP has a total of three races, mostly solo. These are the long distance (which is usually 12-15 or 18 km), the technical (which is actually a slalom course full of turns), and the sprint number. In addition to the movements and competitions, what is another difference between the sports is that SUP still has a kind of “surfing laziness”: music plays during the competitions, and a festival atmosphere prevails during a multi-day competition, with smaller musical programs in the evenings.

• How did you feel at the World Cup in Pattaya? How many Hungarian competitors were there next to you?

• I think the World Cup in Thailand was one of the biggest adventures of my life so far. In addition to the fact that I had not been to Asia before and had not met the culture there, a lot of us participated in the world championship, I was able to learn from the best of the SUP sport. I was able to compete against them, which is a great experience in itself, especially since this is the first world championship where I competed in the adult field. The ICF (International Kayak-Canoe Federation) stood up for itself this time as well, it was super organized with a super location, and the accommodation proved to be impeccable. You always have to adapt to all circumstances, there is no other option. We have a World Cup once a year, we have one shot. I tried to make the most of my opportunities and my form: I finished in 15th place in the sprint, 18th in the long distance, and 21st in the technical number. The number of adult female participants was roughly 60-80. The Hungarian national team consisted of three competitors, I represented Hungary in the adult women’s field, and in addition to me, two young, junior competitors, Csillag Kocsis and Zénó Szabó, competed in Hungarian colors. The atmosphere under the Hungarian tent was good, not to mention that Csillag was even able to win a medal in his age group, with exemplary competition.

• What races will you compete in in 2024?

• At the beginning of the year, we will start with the pool competitions, and from the end of January to May, I will study in Prague as part of the Erasmus+ Program, so I will start my spring preparations at the association there. During the spring, I will compete in the World Cup in Austria, just like this year, and then the focus will be on the World Cup qualifying competitions. If the selectors go well, I would like to compete again in the World Championship, which will be held this time in the USA. The European Championship will be held in Szeged in June. My primary goal is to get a place in the national team that will earn me the right to go to the EC, and then I want to compete well there.

Péter Pál Laurinyecz