Canoe Sprint

Szeged raises bar on presentation of canoe sprint

National hero Attila Vajda won Gold, Germany and Russia tied for the lead in the medal count, but in the end, there was widespread agreement that the biggest winner at these 2011 ICF World Sprint Championships was the sport of Canoe Sprint itself.

According to Canoe Sprint insiders, Szeged 2011 has raised the bar on the presentation of the relatively small sport to a level enjoyed by some of the most popular international sports.

It’s not about how the Hungarians performed, it’s not about the results, but about the sport itself, it’s future and it’s positioning for longterm success

said Parti Zoltan, a project manager for Kajak-Kenu Sport, the Hungary’s national canoe federation.

Part of the sizzle of the event was in the technical execution and part was from the sheer volume of media coverage.

Luciano Buonfiglio, President of the Italian Canoe Kayak Federation and Treasurer of the International Canoe Federation, enthusiastically agreed. “For the member countries of the international federation, Szeged has been a very good occasion, in the best way, to showcase our sport on the international stage. Hungarian television production was really fantastic.”

Szeged marks first time in the history of Canoe Sprint that a spidercamÒ flying camera system was deployed to provide a birdseye 360-degree view of the races. The state-of-the-art camera system was a hit with spectators and athletes too.

Szeged 2011 issued more than 400 press credentials which translated into extensive media coverage throughout Europe. Among the press pool were four of the most prestigious international wire services: Reuters, Agence France Presse, Associated Press and Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Platoons of national media outlets came out in force to cover the event including two channels of German television, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC), RadioTelevisione Italiano, as well as Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports satellite and cable network, available in 59 countries and broadcasting in 20 different languages.

Every major print, radio and TV news outlet in Hungary plus TV news crews from neighboring countries to as far away as Finland were on site.

Szeged 2011 Press Chief Balasz Nemeth said more than 25 countries provided live coverage or highlights from these Championships.