Csillag’s passion for the water and her relentless training regimen have earned her numerous accolades and a reputation as one of Hungary’s top SUP athletes. She consistently performs at a high level, showcasing her prowess in all SUP disciplines. Csillag’s commitment to excellence and her competitive spirit continue to inspire.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Csillag is also known for her involvement in promoting SUP within Hungary, often participating in local events a. It was time for us at the Stand Up Magazin and reach out to her to find out what motivates her and what her dreams are.
Aloha Csillag thank you very much for your time. We have some many great juniorsacross Europe and by looking at your results you are definitely one of them. I understand you started with SUP only 3 years ago and were able to achieve many great results since then.

Hello Mike, I am glad to be here and have this interview for the Stand Up Magazin. Yeah, I’ve been busy in the last couple of years with training and racing but it seems the work I put in starts to pay off. You are right, I started with sup in 2021 after 8 years of swimming but my first year was really a slow start.
Can you tell us a bit how your first experience with SUP was?
It was in Italy on the summer of 2021 when I spent some time with my aunt who lives on the coast of Tuscany. She really couldn’t handle my energies and asked her best friend Monica Bertelli ( she was 3rd on the Etrusca SUP Race this year between the kahunas ) to take me to try SUP. It was a love at first sight! When got back to Hungary I told my parents I quit with swimming (which was impossible to do anyway because the COVID lock of pools) and start something else. We just found a fantastic SUP club near to the town we lived in those years and they started to train me. The start of my career dedicated to Dida Kocsis (just a match of names) and George Barna who are my SUP-Mom and SUP-Dad since then – we speak a lot about trainings and races and other prospects of SUP in every two or three weeks regularly.
Evidently you had a great experience when you got into it and you took it one step further and became a competitive paddler. What is the fascination for you behind SUP Racing?
I have always been a competitive person thanks to all the sports I had done in the past.
I enjoy racing, training and mental preparation – basically every aspects of this beautiful sport. My motto is : Love what you do and do what you love.
Looking at your long list of great results, it looks you had the opportunity to paddle many ICF events, ISA Worlds last year, the APP race in Costa Blanca and many more. What is your favorite type of race?
It’s hard for me to single out one, every race has its own beauty. As you said, I had the opportunity to participate in many different types of competitions. I really enjoyed last year’s ISA World Championship in France, but ocean conditions are not my strength yet. Overall, the long-distance races are my favorite, closely second is the technical.
When it comes to sprint races, the ISA WCH heat was my favorite with beach start and run-out long legs of mine come in handy at this time. It is my great desire to participate in a real ocean race, but I still need a few training camps abroad.
Out of all of the results which one is the one you are most proud of?​
I hold myself to high standards and I am very rarely satisfied with my performance.
At the same time, the silver medal at the ICF World Championships in Thailand in technical race was an important milestone for me, and in terms of the mental part of the race, I still draw a lot of strength from it to this day. Not least thanks to this final, I have my main supporter, who is the biggest sponsor of the Blue Cup race in Okinawa. He was so kind to invite me to his race this year but the European Championship was so close I couldn’t go. Next year maybe…
Behind all great results stands a dedicated support team, in your case I assume your parents. Tell us a bit more about your training and the support you are getting?
That’s right. I owe a lot to my family, spiritually, financially and technically, for the support I receive from them every day. My mother is responsible for my diet and my father is who we analyze my work with basically every day. I am currently in the BalatonfĂĽred Yacht Club (ICF WCH 2021 venue) and I am preparing under the guidance of Zsuzsa Házi. I have a well-structured, complex, professional training plan and thanks to the chemistry with my coach, it’s easy to accomplish the work. For me, the problem was never to do the trainings but to rest compliance with.
The sup is not financed that much in Hungary, so without the support of my family and the aforementioned Japanese sponsor, I would not be able to travel to tournaments at all. At the same time, we are in talks with board manufacturers and paddle brands to see if they see potential in me.
With all your training and focus what are your next big events that you will be participating?
My next big tournament will be the ISA WCH in Copenhagen and immediately afterwards the ICF World Cup in Crete. After that, I’ll have smaller events, all of which are in preparation for the ICF WCH in Florida in November.
Looking at the greater future, what are your hopes and dreams for your SUP career and what is your plan to achieve them?
As I mentioned in previous interviews, my goal is a gradual linear development. I go step by step, if you like, climb the ladder rung after rung. Competing in the junior age group for two more years, after the European Youth Championship trophy, the next big goal is to win the age-group world championship title at both world organizations.

By the way, I already compete in the big international tournaments among adults, so when I get into the open category, I will have some experience. I want to be a European, World and Olympic champion. To do this, you need to learn from the best, train with them and compete against these great athletes. To do this, I need to race in more big events, which hopefully I will be able to do from next year – with the help of a serious sponsor reading this interview outside in the world.
I’m going to university soon, and I’m also choosing to be able to sup — so I’m definitely looking for a seaside town.
Thank you very much Csillag, I wish the most of success in all of your future.
Bio:​
- Name: Csillag Kocsis
- Born in: Hungary, 23-04-2007
- Age: 17
- Sponsors: Krisztián Földi ( Japan ), ROZZI Spor – @rozzi_sport, Starfish, supbabe
- Favorite SUP Race: ISA WCH 2023, ICF WCH 2023, ECA EuCH 2024
- Socialmedia: @kcsillagv (Instagram) Csillag Kocsis ( FB )