Janez Skok

Kayaking instructor, river guide and the Coach of Slovene National Kayak Team

From the very first beginnings there were signs that the lad will amount to something. There he was at the banks of River Sava watching his older brothers Dušan and Miran how they fought and tackled the rapids at the Sava in front of their property. Janez himself made the decision to have a go at this on his
own. Such a hunger to better the two older brothers of course produced results. And the boy's tenacity and hard work played a deciding part helped with a great talent and feel for the water.

The results were impressive: the placement in the top 10 in the world for a number of years. He became the National champion few times in the junior, intermediate and senior class; he was part of the National team which had proved itself by winning the 1st place in European Cup; 2nd place in the World Cup, the 2nd and 3rd place in the teams World Cup, and the 10th place at the Olympic Games.

However he was not satisfied with all the successes. He had the drive to pass on his vast knowledge gained during his years of competition to the new and up coming generations of youngsters. He became the Slovene National Kayak Team Coach . . . Janez is now placed in a group of world's best kayak coaches. That same dedication and knowledge of the sport he is now passing on to the world of the recreational kayak paddler.

His motto is:

Anybody can realize the dreams they hold, what is needed is the hunger and persistence accompanied with lots of work to attain the goal held in their dreams.