HungaroRaft women’s team find new ways to train

5 September 2020

For HungaroRaft Women’s team, racing has not been possible this year. Hungary doesn’t have suitable white water for the team to train on so they had to find new places and ingenious ways to train this year. Today we catch up with Lilla Süveges, captain of the HungaroRaft Women’s Team.

HungaroRaft Women’s team on the Soča – by Lilla Süveges

This year is a bit different. All competitions have been cancelled and we could not go for training abroad either. However no year can pass without rafting.

Hungary has no whitewater river but we are lucky to have a team member who lives with her family in Bovec. We visit her as often as possible to enjoy training sessions together. We usually meet on Friday afternoons after work in Budapest and head to Bovec. It’s a 600 km drive from Budapest.

On the long road, with only one stop, we entertain each other with the latest hits, discuss our experience from flatwater competitions and correct the GPS instructions. If a new team member joins us we tell her the biggest stories of the team and go through the whitewater safety instructions. By the time we get to the zig-zag mountain roads, we get the weekend mood. Feel the excitement of learning, new experiences and the waves.

The next day starts early with rafting. At the beginning it takes time to remember how different it is from flatwater. After that we stop behind every possible rock to find all the eddies and traverse possibilities. If we have the time and opportunity, we take another round in the afternoon as well. If not, a walk or hike can also do.

The lack of competitions this year has provided us with more chance for a little more siteseeing around Bovec. Being honest we have recommended these place to many people over the years, however we saw most of them only from pictures! Normally most of our time in Bovec is about training.

In the breaks for entertainment we go kayaking, zip line, paragliding or bicycling. Some days we joined local rafting tours searching for the biggest waves. It’s always fun to slide down the boat, jumping from rocks and also brings the new team members closer to us.

Saturday night is time for going out. Local restaurants or parties. Sunday morning we always regret that a bit but the feeling of rafting helps us to collect all our energy again. Finally after training we put the wet noeprenes into the car – which has all those the smells. It is time to go home.

Unfortunately the weekend and our great time in Bovec is over. In the quick stops it is always hard to get out from the car. Fatigue is all over our body. We do not have energy to correct the GPS. Just being relaxed and note how lucky we are to have the opportunity visit such wonderful places and get great experiences in such a short time. Monday mornings are always about the wish to turn back time. But shortly after that we already start planning the next trip. Organising, scheduling and try to remember how such a bright purple bruise came to my leg.

HungaroRaft Women’s raft team have been training hard with a dream to be competing in Ziyuan, China for the 2021 IRF World Rafting Championships. The team are regulars for the Ziyuan World Cup and can speak volumes on the river and the hospitality of the city. Reach out to them if your team haven’t been yet and want real first hand knowledge.

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