This time every year at the Merkapt Sportpálya a sport selection event is held where schools and families can go at visit and interact with athletes and try a number of sports. This is a great opportunity for young kids to become familiar with different sports and may decide what they want to pursue in the future.
“I think this is a great idea, we need to somehow get kids interested in ice hockey. There are a number of schools here and kids as well. We can show them what is the beauty in ice hockey and hopefully they will start playing hockey.” said Stipsicz with regards to the event.
During the opening ceremony, senior national team and Fehérvár AV19 defenceman Bence Stipsicz shared the stage with Olympic Champions World Championships and big name Hungarian athletes from water polo, soccer, boxing, fencing and handball.
“It was interesting bing up there on stage with these champions, I remember watching most of these athletes winning their medals as kid.” Stipsicz continued with. “It is an honor anytime you have a chance to have a conversation with people like this and that we can be in the same category as this.”
Stipsicz also talked about how he had gotten involved in the sport as a child. “I got interested in hockey not at an event like this but something similar. I started skating at the ice rink at the City Park, at that time MAC actually would have ice hockey practice out there a few times a week, with maybe the idea to pull in anyone that saw the practice and would maybe like to play. What they would do is invite anyone that was there an watching them. They asked me a few times if I wanted to join and kind of got stuck and started playing ice hockey.”
Along with Stipsicz, national team and FTC-Telekom forward Gergő Nagy was at the event as well who enjoyed his time at the event as he brought his young son with him as well. Nagy was joined by Attila Németh, who played for the national team as well, and this offseason switched teams going from DEAC to FTC-Telkom where he will be teammates with Nagy this coming season.
There were two members of the U20 national team also helping promote the ice hockey as Máté Seregély and Nándor Fejes, who are teammates in MAC were there. Fejes made his senior national team debut this season and said that he was surprised that how many kids had asked for his autograph. Seregély enjoyed his time with the kids so much that he said he did not think he would have had so much fund and would be back next year as well.
From the women’s team Andrea Kiss who also plays for Ferencváros and just won promotion to the A-Pool was in attendance and helping promote women’s ice hockey. Former national team players Márton Vas and Péter Gebei had fun interacting with kids, Vas has coached with a number of youth national teams the past few season, with Gebei becoming a referee after he retired.
During the weekend the kids had a chance to meet and talk with people from all aspects of hockey as there were men’s and women’s players, both youth and senior national team player and also got to know that you do not leave the sport once you have up the skates as you can get into coaching to officiating after.
