In Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, at the World Rafting Championship, Hungary will be represented by two teams, both in the women’s categories. The one is Masters Women, and the other is, this team in the Open Women. This is the strongest womne’s category in this sport, so there is a very difficult taks in front of these girls.
We present this team to you with the help of Evi Berekalli.
Eva, introduce us to your team?
“Nóri Egedy (captain on the water), she is the team mum :D, paddling right back; Évi Berekalli (captain, and iIorganize everything for the team) paddling every position, usually right front; Vicka Pásztorné Szakállas – left back; Bettina Rozs – left front; Eszter Nagy-Rasztótzky – right or left front. Except Betti all of us were a flat-water kayakers in Hungary.”
Two of you I have known for a long time, but there have always been some changes, so can you tell me something about this set of HUN OW team?
“Our team has changed several times from the beginning. Two of us, Nóri and Évi, have been paddling from the beginning. Evi started first in this sport in 2007, in Wildalpen. Nori first tried the white water slalom kayak, and then started competing in rafting.
Now we have been paddling together since 2014, and we won a silver medal in Slalom in Bosnia at ERC 2015, and Bronze in H2H in 2015 too.
Also the Fair Play Prize, during the Downriver race at the Costa Rica WRC, for helping the Argentinian team.”
How do you prepare for the competition?
“In Hungary there isn’t any white water, so we could train only in the Danube at home, or by going to Cunovo. It is 200 km away from our living-place, from Budapest.
Sometimes it is so funny when people see us. They don’t understand why we are paddling in a big air mattress :D A few years ago we had some problems with the Water Police because they thought our boat was an air-bed :D”
That’s funny!
Do you have any expectations related to the result?
“We would like to be 3-6 place in Slalom and maybe H2H. We are strong paddlers and like the big challenge of Slalom racing.”
What do you think will be your biggest obstacle in this competition?
“I think for us the biggest challenge will be the length of the track. Not because of our endurance, but because we have to memorize the course.”
Do you study your competitors at all?
“We competed a lot during our flat-water life, we have learned we must have respect for our opponents, but every racing day is a new day with a new chance. So we are not calculating, just going and trying our best.”
Since this is the first time that you will be going to the UAE, what is it that you want to see and experience?
“Unfortunately after the race we need to go home, only Evi has a possibility to stay a week in UAE. She will be visiting the water park, Burj Kalifa, and other interesting places, and play in the sea with her little boy.
If we have free time during the race we will try to discover what is in Al Ain.”
Sponsors you want to thank?
“Main sponsors have been ourselves, and Evi’s boyfriend, our Flat-water federation helped us a lot. And Pataki’s company (vadviz.com) gave us a boat.”
It is interesting to see how many flat water countries are successful on the white water. Hungary has always been a strong opponent to others, soon we will be looking at you in the toughest competition, so we wish you a good stroke and a nice time in UAE.
I’m glad to see these girls at the WRC competition. But I especially love when I see that these girls, in spite of so many obstacles, will succeed in participating in the WRC competition.
Their Facebook page: RaftingLadies
