The Danube Regatta was held on the first weekend of October in the heart of Budapest, on the stretch of our largest river from the Parliament to the University of Technology quay. Széchenyi István University is a traditional participant of the popular university rowing and dragon boat race, a sports, music and cultural festival, and won the dragon boat race for the first time in its history in 2015. Since then, they have narrowly missed out on first place on several occasions, but they have not given up and their persistent efforts have been crowned with success.

In the second race of this year's competition, the team from Győr finished ahead of the University of Pécs, the Hungarian University of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the University of Pannonia and Semmelweis University.

Announcement of the results, with Széchenyi István University’s team on the top step of the podium

We asked Péter Hegedüs, coach of the winning boat, about the background to the success. As he said, the use of the 20-person boat and the venue for the summer training sessions are provided by the Győr Water Sports Association (GYVSE), while winter training takes place in the University gym. The recruitment of crews is made possible by the University's sports days, so the pandemic has also made it difficult to provide new recruits. And there was a really tough opponent in the field, as the Pécs team went all the way to the World University Championship this year. 

"Fortunately, we were not short of world champions either, as several university students row for one of the best - if not the best - team in the country, the Rába Dragon Boat Club, and GYVSE "lent" us some canoeists. And last but not least, our own racers from last year's graduates also rowed there. All of them gave their best, and under the guidance and direction of Szabolcs Turóczi, they made it to the top step of the podium," stressed the coach. 

He concluded, "For me - and of course for the University - the most important thing is to get as many students as possible involved in professional and recreational sport. In addition to providing a high level of professional knowledge, the institution also attaches great importance to creating the conditions for a healthy lifestyle.

Since I started with university dragon boating, almost 400 students have joined the team and many more have tried it out. I want as many students as possible to join this enthusiastic and fun-loving group, and then we promise: there will be several more years of the dragon."

The competition took place on the most beautiful stretch of the Danube in Budapest.

Here is a list of the winning team:

Alexandra Huszka, Dorottya Barta, Laura Bertalan, Barbara Bilstein, Blanka Bucsi, Rebeka Káli, Kíra Kovács (team captain), Gabriella László, Zsófia Németh, Nelli Schiewerth, Ádám Ambrus, Levente Balla, András Brückl, Gergő Fogarasi, Bence Forró, Balázs Kovács, Bence Kuska, Domonkos Nagy, Péter Neubauer, Gergő Rumi, Dávid Szanyi, Szabolcs Turóczi.