Paratroops Win Silver Medal at World Cup

The HDF parachuting team was received this time again with great ovation at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport, because the boys have already won so many medals in European and world championships. The fact that they have less opportunity for training and are not supported by sponsors, compared to the military sportsmen in foreign countries, makes their achievements even more valuable. The primary conditions are provided for them by the Hungarian Defence Forces. At the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base there are several dozens of cups and medals on display to tell us about their successes.

The newly won silver is their fourth second placement won in world championships. Attila Réczi and Tamás Varga, the members of the national team told us:"We are very happy with the result; this is what we had expected. Of course we wanted to come home with the gold medal, but unfortunately the weather conditions made it impossible for us to perform the last series." The team members are the best in accuracy landing; this is their special field. It means that after jumping from an altitude of 1,000-1,200 meters, participants try to land on a target, known as a “dead center" circle, which has a diameter of 2 centimeters.

The boys are by profession the soldiers of the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base, and as athletes, the members of the Honvéd Parachute Club of Szolnok. “The team is the national team of the Hungarian Defence Forces, but also of the Republic of Hungary. Since most of the club members are soldiers, accuracy landing is their strong point. The whole team must land precisely, so to say gradually, on the given target. It is a very demanding task. A successful series of eight to ten jumps require a lot of practice, mental and physical preparation" – said Col. Dr. Romulusz Ruszin, the Chairman of the Club, adding: “We are very proud of them because in recent years we have been happy if they could perform up to 200 jumps a year. The Russians for example have an average of 1,000–1,200 jumps every year, and they are still lagging behind our team."

The Military World Games were launched by the International Military Sports Council (CISM) in 1995. The Council now counts 137 members and organizes the Games quadrennially, in the year preceding the Olympic Games. Most of the 19 sports constitute also part of the traditional Olympic Games, but military events such as parachuting, military, naval and aeronautical pentathlon can also be found at the Military World Games.

Lt-Col. Tibor Beiszer, the official in charge of sports at the MoD Office for Public Relations and Military Grave Care told us that the 2011 world cup had the highest number of participating nations in the history of the games. Hungary was represented in three sports: parachuting, fencing (tenth place in team), and judo. The fencing and the judo national teams participated in the competition in Brazil with the help of the Honvéd Bolyai Sports Club and the Honvéd Sports Club of Budapest.

Photo: Gábor Galovtsik and HDF National Parachute Team

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