Improved access to the water at the Karloveská zátoka. (source: Jaroslav Repta)
Positive change does not always require thousands of euros. Sometimes a significantly lower sum together with enthusiasm and goodwill is enough. This is also the case of the Water Slalom Club Karlova Ves, which, with a grant of just over €1,200, managed to build a convenient access area to the river, a bench and also a slalom course for beginners.
The project of water sportsmen from the Karloveská zátoka bay, Access to the Water in Karloveská Zátoka and Slalom Course for Beginners, is one of six projects the Danube Fund (Dunajský fond) of the Central European Foundation supported from its first call for grants. Out of the total costs of the project of €1,546 the club requested and received support of €1,233.
“The project is very simple,” coach and author of the project Branko Illek told The Slovak Spectator. “It solves the access to the water in Karloveská zátoka.”
The main problem was the mud, complicating access to the river and getting on board. The mud accumulates on the bank as the water level oscillates.
Thanks to money from the Danube Fund they were able to build a wooden pathway to the water. Via the pathway, water sportsmen can now comfortably board their vessels and no longer need to trudge through the mud.
As the Karloveská zátoka bay is a popular place for Bratislavans, the club also installed a wooden bench there. It is secured to the ground ensuring survival of possible vandalism.
