High-performance paddling takes canoeing to new heights
Head coach at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club Attila Adrovicz tells on his passion for the sport and his hopes to inspire a new generation of paddlers.
Recently, seven Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs) paddlers took part in the Sprint Senior World Champs Germany.
Nickolas Weeks, Clinton Cook, Bradley Boulle, Wayne Jacobs, Bruno Cochrane, Luke Salmon and Kayla Szalay formed the senior Dabs high-performance paddling team that left the country in hopes to come back triumphant.
High-performance paddlers have been described by some as experienced paddlers – junior to older – who are interested in reaching their full potential within the sport.
The paper met with the head coach at Dabs, Attila Adrovicz, whose passion for the sport extends into those he coaches just as passionately. His focus at the club is on high-performance paddling and encouraging other potential paddlers to be part of this passion too.
Originally from Hungary, he was once a paddler for his national canoe team, and he is also an Olympic medallist in the sport. He also coached for the Hungarian canoe national team.
Now, Adrovicz has been a coach at Dabs for about six years, holding an International Coaching Federation (ICF) accreditation, the highest accreditation in the sport. Through Dabs he has a three-fold mission with paddlers – to build the sport within new generations; to encourage high-performance athletes, whether they be junior to master canoeists who would dedicate themselves to high-performance paddling and finally, build on the number of canoeists within the club – from beginners and adventure paddlers.
The way he sees it, canoeing provides a great opportunity for young people who are not necessarily interested in team sports. “This sport helps with individual progress; helps build dedication and confidence.”
Dabs is one of the Gauteng clubs that assists in producing paddlers who not only compete in great local and national competitions, but internationally too. This season Dabs had many of its paddlers compete internationally.
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