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As I entered this hall to be with you, a song from my youth was playing in my head: “Stars, don’t shine, Stars, I’m going blind.” I salute the athletes, their coaches, their leaders, and all those who have made this sport great for Hungarians. My second thought when I saw the building was that if we are going to do something, let’s do it seriously. We are, after all, a nation that was once going to be wiped off the face of the earth; so with our every gesture we need to prove that this nation has vitality and deserves to exist. So if you do something, do it seriously. If you build an academy, that academy should be world class.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I welcome you all. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for having me here with you today. We have had an intense week, and it is still only Saturday. This week we had a debate in Strasbourg and we also inaugurated the permanent exhibition of the Ethnographic Museum. Debate is a fascinating art form, but it is only useful if in the end we get somewhere – something which is increasingly rare. I am sure you prefer occasions like today, when something large-scale, something forward-looking, something focused on the future is coming to fruition or just beginning. From this point of view, for Hungarians the balance for this week is positive: we have opened the permanent exhibition of the Ethnographic Museum, and we can finally inaugurate the glorious new centre for the Katalin Kovács National Sprint Canoe Academy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We Hungarians have a special relationship with water sports. I do not think anyone knows why this is so. Although we have beautiful rivers and wonderful lakes, Hungary is landlocked. Despite this, water polo, swimming and sprint canoeing have always been the flagships of elite Hungarian sport. More recently we have also competed on the open water, with our sailors even beating teams from great maritime nations. Let’s be honest, this is almost a miracle. But whatever our successes, the most recent Olympics have shown how easy it is to fall short of the top step on the podium. A Czech hero came along, pulled himself together and gave a performance the likes of which the world has not seen for a long time. The lesson is simple: we must keep up with the world leaders not only on the track, not only in the water, but also in our preparation and the quality of our sporting facilities.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Katalin Kovács,
We often hear that it is not winning that is important, but taking part. I would say it differently: you cannot win without taking part. Taking part means making sport part of our lives. You have to invest in long-term work, and if anyone knows what long-term work is, how to get the most out of yourself through years of hard training, it is the great lady of Hungarian sprint canoeing, Katalin Kovács.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With 31 world titles, Katalin is the world’s most successful female sprint canoeist. She also has 29 European titles and three Olympic golds. She started her sprint canoe career in 1987 at the age of 11 with the Spartacus Association, and over the years she has become a true gladiator. I will not now read out a list of all the achievements and milestones in the career of our great athlete, because then we would be sitting here all day. But I would just like to note that when Mrs. Katalin Kovács was asked what she owes her success to, she said: “As a child I didn’t train for big dreams, but rather for the good sense of community that I found in this sport.” I also read another quote somewhere that “I always had the idea that I shouldn’t just sit on my laurels. I’m not a dissatisfied person, but I do believe that you can always raise the bar to improve.” Community and dissatisfaction understood as personal ambition. These are the two most important drivers of success. This is why I am confident that the future of Hungarian sprint canoeists will be in good hands at the academy of Katalin Kovács. For without community, Ladies and Gentlemen, there are not only no water sports, but there is no nation either. This is why Pál Schmitt, whom I salute, became our President of the Republic. Thank you for being here with us today. His work has expressed this unity. This is why the types of experience gained by the next generation when they come to adulthood are important.
Today our children live in an increasingly isolated world, under constant supervision and control. The great social freedom we grew up with hardly exists anymore. Parents’ biggest dilemma is how to make up for what is being missed out on. Even if the world in which my generation grew up can no longer be recreated, the needs of the times demand that community, collective effort, physical strength and skill should still be present in the lives of children. And the best way to do this is through sport. It is really in the community that sport can be played, and it is in the community that performance is measured. You can’t run faster than everyone else in your head or win the Olympics in your sleep. You have to get on the pitch, you have to get in the boat, you have to get on the track to find out what your work is worth, and what you are worth.
Athletes know that community gives you strength and tenacity. Others trust in us, and we trust in others. Vital values such as trust, perseverance, honouring your word and camaraderie are all best learned from sport. Another prerequisite for a nation’s success is ambition, not settling for what is just good enough. Those who play sport always want to be better and eventually learn to win. You learn not to choke at the decisive moment, to give it your all, to steel your will and not give up halfway. These are skills that Hungary will have great need of in the period ahead.
Although there have been difficulties in the past 35 years, the world has lived through an essentially peaceful era. Success could be achieved with simple life strategies, with slightly better than average performance. More will be needed in the future. Hungary will need people who can always raise the bar. This is why the Hungarian government is investing in sport, and why it is creating sports academies like this one.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Katalin Kovács,
Despite all the difficulties, despite the crises, epidemics and wars, we have created a world-class sports complex on the shores of Lake Velence. We have first-class sports facilities, we have high-quality training, and we have a good community. We have everything needed to succeed. In the future there will not be a Czech hero who can surprise us at our own game. Great things await us Hungarians in the coming years. After five years, I believe that we have already overcome the difficulties and will soon lift our heads out of the clouds of daily worries. Great things await us. In the sport of sprint canoeing, too, we must climb back to the top of the world. We have no time to waste. I believe that we can do it.
Many thanks for the academy are due to everyone involved.
