At the begining of September a new series has started on icehockey.hu where the youth programs throughout Hungary are introduced. This week Kiskőrös, the Attila Rajz Ice Rink and Károly Szekeres were highlighted.
How long have you been living in Kiskőrös and what was your original occupation?
I have been living in Kiskőrös since 1990, I’m a manager at a multinational company however I graduated form a sports high school.
When and how was the idea of an ice rink born and started, what was your part in this?
In the 1990s we would go to Soltvadkert to skate on the Büdös lake, and back then the idea of building a proper rink was brought up since hundreds of people were risking their lives for the sport of hockey and skating.
I never thought about becoming an active hockey player but the idea of the perfect ice has fascinated me, for the most optimal surface the ice has to be at -4°C, at the Attila Rajz ice rink I am responsible for pretty much everything, I really enjoy what I do. My wife says that if I could marry the rink we would be divorced by now. My kids are actively involved as well.
How long did it take to establish the club and how did the local react to the idea?
The HC Kiskőrös hockey foundation was formed very quickly, a lot of people thought it was a joke, the local papers said that we were like the Jamaican bobsled team.
What problems did you run into at the start and what were things that turned out well?
The people that stood by me were all average people, the kids, everyone was congratulating me on the street and in the store, it was a good feeling.
How many kids did you start the club with and how many are participating today? How large can the club get in a small town like this?
In 2011 we started with 23 kids all in one age group, today we are above 50 and we have teams in three different age groups, U8, U10 and U14. In a small town we have a limited number of kids we can draw from but the numbers are growing.
How many people are working with the club?
Unfortunately we lost Attila Rajz last November, right now we have Kinga Koncsag and Attila Bálint as well as Károly László and myself helping out, right now we are looking for a goalie coach.
We have two roads ahead of us, the short term youth development and the road that will make us be a bigger club. We had four kids move onto better leagues this past season. In the long run we would like to expand our rink, Kiskőrös has the chance to develop a solid youth program with a senior team in the Hungarian 2nd division.