Anastassiya Gubkina, Alexandra Berestova, Kristina Seryankina, Kristina Resnyanskikh (captain), Yana Khokh with help of Coach Vitaliy Drobizov will be representing Kazakhstan at the upcoming World Championships.
It’s always a pleasure to see a new team amongst us at the WRC competition. This time it is the Open Women’s team from Kazakhstan. Everything seems mystical, exotic and so interesting with this country so we took this opportunity to meet them before the competition. We had Kristina Resnyanskikh answering a few questions.
Kristina, introduce us to your team.
“Women’s team “FURY” is a young team which was established in March 2016 and consists of five sporty, strong and purposeful girls. The team are participants and prizewinners of the Kazakhstan Rafting Cup. Also, “FURY” participated in the International, Republic and Almaty competitions in “professional” and “nonprofessional” categories. “FURY” team are the current champions of the Republic of Kazakhstan in rafting in the “Open Women” category.”
What do you love about rafting?
“Rafting is not only a sport and competition. It is also a reason to come together and have a good time with friends and work for one common aim. Rafting is being developed so fast in Kazakhstan. It is so fascinating to see the number of participants increase year by year. Nature is not predictable. There is so much beauty, water levels and rapids which constantly change. Rafting means so much to us. During the competition or training you are in real nature, in the open air with close friends. You belong to water on the river and when you finally learn it you’ll know how a boat would go adrift.”
Has anyone been to the UAE before?
“Nobody has been to the UAE, it will be the first time for all of us. We are waiting eagerly for the departure to UAE for the competition”
How has the lead up to the event been so far?
”It is a great honour to participate in a World Championship and represent our country. We worked for it during the year. We struggled in the local Championship to take the Cup and so then be able to represent Kazakhstan at the World Championship. Our young team will have it’s first experience in participating in such a big championship. It was a tough season for each team member. General muster, travelling to unknown rivers, constant training has made from us one whole family. World Championship is a new step to prove that we can reach further and know that we can do it.”
How has your team prepared itself for the competition?
“During the year we train on rapid rivers of any difficulty and on calm rivers. The calm rivers give advantages (teamwork and endurance). Vitaliy Drobizov, is our coach and teaches us to sense each other and be one whole team. We have many rivers in Kazakhstan. The best rivers for rafting are Chilik, Kok Su, Charyn, Ulba. All the time, rivers surprise us with not only their nature but with their unpredictability, water level and rapids.
Do you have any expectations for this event?
”We are expecting to win for sure, but we realise how big the competition is. We will show what we can do and will fight to the finish. Experience and professionalism of each team will be the important thing.”
Which discipline does your team like the most?
“We have several favourite disciplines. They are Downriver, H2H and Slalom. Of course, Slalom is the most favourite. We like to pass from one gate to another and take reverse gates. When the whole team works like clock-work it gives much pleasure. “
How does your team relax after a hard training session?
“Besides training we all have our favourite business, work or hobby. After a tough training session we relax with our family, friends and colleagues and share with them our emotions which overfill us.”
Getting to the competition requires a lot of material resources, are there any sponsors who you would like to thank?
“We want to thank our friends, family and everybody who has supported and prepared us for the World Championship. Special gratitude to “Crossfit Idol Almaty” exercise room where the doors were always open for our training. All this means a lot to us – when you are supported and believed in by people for whom you are so important. A special thanks to our Coach who gives his best shot and trains us in spite of the state of the weather, the time of day and other complexities.”
Is there something particular you want to see and experience in the UAE?
“FURY” team is excited and keen for the start. The competition in the UAE is a new period in our lives. We are interested in the Wadi Adventure channel because we have never been on this kind of water. Conditions and organisation of an international competition is very interesting for us.“
Thanks Kristina, and enjoy your first ever WRC!
Definitely special and the experience of a lifetime. After each WRC competition we are at least a step ahead of where we were before, because the experience that is collected by participating in such a competition can not be measured with any other and we all know that very well.
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