Szeged and Maty-ér need no introduction to the members and friends of the canoeing family, but all visitors are certain to be surprised when they arrive at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships this week.

Three canoe sprint world championships and many other important national and international competitions have been organised in the past at the Maty-ér racecourse in Szeged. And while these events were all very successful, it was time that Szeged and the Hungarian Canoe Federation took the next step by modernizing and expanding the venue in preparation for 2019 world championships. The goal was to be a better host of the event than ever before.

“The new roof on the main tribune may be the easiest to spot. It is indeed a very impressive sight,” Gábor Schmidt, president of the Hungarian federation, said on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the venue.

“An old dream was fulfilled by connecting the dividing island to the land with a bridge so the camera and commentary positions of the international television broadcast can be built on it. The timekeeping, starting and buoy systems were renewed, and the area of the venue was expanded.

"Now we have more spacious parking lots, athletes’ and supporters’ areas as there was a great need for all of them since there are a record-breaking 101 countries on the entry list and we are expecting tens of thousands of supporters.”

Gábor Schmidt also said that more tickets were sold in the lead-up to the world championships than ever before, so the organisers are expecting an event with an excellent atmosphere and they hope that all guests, athletes and supporters will take great experiences away from Szeged once again."

 

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