Master of the maritime city

While most SUP enthusiasts pack their gear away in the fall to wait for spring, Uusikaupunki-based Tomas Lelovits continues training on the sea. His season extends into December, sometimes even longer.

-I train as long as the sea isn’t frozen, he says. It doesn’t feel any colder than skiing as long as you have the right gear. Although, falling in is not recommended.

Year-round training has certainly paid off: Tomas Lelovits is a seven-time Finnish champion in SUP and the world champion in the over-40 category in 2023.

Many of my competitors live in warm countries, so their training conditions are quite different from mine. If I couldn’t train in my sport all winter, I would be at a disadvantage compared to them,” he explains.

A sport that has become popular on summer cottages’ shores is often seen as a relaxed activity in beautiful surroundings, but in competitions, both speed and technical skills are put to the test.

There are three race categories: sprint, long-distance, and technical racing. Tomas Lelovits competes in all of them.

-So far, I’ve done best in the sprint, but I enjoy them all. It depends on the conditions of each competition which one feels the best at any given time, he says.

Beyond the sport itself, the community surrounding it has become important.

-Even though this is an individual sport, competing allows us to meet many new people. Some of them have even become friends.

Water as an element is essential to Tomas Lelovits. Before SUP, he was into kiteboarding, which requires windy conditions.

-Even back then, I learned that water sports bring people together.

When you’re dealing with water and something happens, others immediately come to help because they understand and recognize the situation. There’s a certain kind of connection.”

Tomas and his wife moved to Uusikaupunki from Slovakia in 2011 for work. Their family later grew with a son, who has also become a skilled SUP paddler.

The sport is more or less a family activity. Besides father and son competing, the whole family often helps as volunteers at race events.

They travel to as many competitions as their daily lives allow.

-We live a completely normal life—we go to work, and our son goes to school. This is just a sport, not a profession or something that brings in big prize money, Tomas Lelovits chuckles.

Although their hometown in Slovakia was much larger than Uusikaupunki, they have never found time to be bored. Their free time is filled with competitions and sports. Their 12-year-old son also plays ice hockey for Jää-Kotkat, and Tomas finds excellent facilities in Uusikaupunki for his supplementary training.

I go to the gym, and sometimes the indoor ski tunnel if the sea is frozen and I can’t train on the water.

We also go skiing as a family, he says. -Oh, and of course, we have a boat. After all, we’re Uusikaupunki residents.

Preparation for the upcoming competition season is already in full swing. As soon as the first ice-free patch appears in Lepäinen Tomas Lelovits takes his board and heads to the water. Last year, he missed the Finnish Championships due to a scheduling conflict, but this summer, his plan is to compete both in Finland and across Europe.

He intends to keep competing as long as it feels good.

-I still don’t have a world championship silver medal—maybe that could be my next goal, he says with a smile.

-Of course, I’m getting older, and at some point, younger paddlers will surpass me. One day, my own son will surely be faster than me. Maybe that’s when I’ll stop.