An event for decades

Once upon a time at TRGSE…

This is how the tale of the Santa Claus Cup (formerly known in Hungarian as “Mikulás” Cup) could begin to explain how the competition was conceived – but this is absolutely true!

It was the year 1992 when the first event was organised. The details are shared by one of the most authentic sources in this topic, Ferenc Heidum. Two of his daughters, Petra and Bernadett have become fascinated by short track speed skating:

“We often went to the City Park Ice Rink, and this is where Klaudia and Tamara Kaszala discovered my daughter Petra first. From then on, skating has played an increasingly important role in our lives, and we shared this experience with many others. The TRGSE (Tornado Short Track Speed Skating Association) was established by the parents, initially fifteen to twenty kids joined the club, but in a relatively short time it has become one of the best junior training organisations in Budapest. We had competitions all around the country back then: such events were organised in Szombathely, Debrecen, Pécs, Szeged, and when the Hungarian National Skating Federation asked us to join the other cities, we said yes. After a review of the events calendar, we agreed to this date in early December.”

This is how it all began.

And the parents all contributed by baking the Christmas poppy seed rolls and the pastries for the events, and it had become clear: if this race was successful, it had to continue.

It has now become a tradition: in December, short track Santa Claus Cup!

And it is also a tradition, the Santa Claus brings to events to all the fans, because since 2007 the Santa Claus Cup for Figure Skating has also been organised.