The hunt is on
The Raceboard Windsurfing World Championship has officially started with the opening ceremony in Balatonföldvár, in which 60 competitors from 12 countries are to compete.
The marina of Spartacus Sailing Club in Balatonföldvár was full of life already on Monday morning. The surfboards and sails turned up and the competitors began to prepare their equipment for the eventful days ahead. Then came the necessary paperwork, and when the registration was over, there was nothing left but hit the water and get in the mood for the late afternoon opening ceremony.
By then, everyone was dressed in team uniform getting the scene ready for the opening ceremony. Katalin Benedekffy sang the national anthem, then Béla Turpinszky Gippert performed the famous aria "My homeland, my homeland!" from the opera Bánk bán, and the HOP Hungary parkour team fascinated the crowd with their gravity-defying extreme performance.
First, Piotr Oleksiak, General Secretary of the International Windsurfing Association expressed his gratitude to the organisers for their hard work and wished good winds on the beautiful Lake Balaton for all competitors, then Balázs Szalay, President of the Hungarian Windsurfing Association said that we could cheer for nine Hungarian competitors in the following five days, which are scheduled to include three races per day. Finally, András Holczhauser, representing the Hungarian Sailing Federation, welcomed the competitors, who were looking forward to starting the real action on Tuesday.