Night Training in Brat

Following the race we had two more days of training in Bratislava. Monday evening we got to paddle under the lights which is always a different experience!

Is that Gretzky?
Start of the Session...that's the moon

Assistant coach

Hastings on a cross

Ben Hayward

Slovak Open - 2011 Pre-World Championships

A mixed Canadian team represented this weekend at the Slovak Open. Development Team members Paul Manning-Hunter and Thomas & Daniel Purcell joined National Team members Jessica Groeneveld, Ben Hayward, John Hastings and David Ford, in the Pre-World Championships. All but Hastings are Alberta born and raised so it great to see the depth of Alberta's development over the years.

For the first time in 7 years the Bratislava organizers ran the tough left-left channels on the Danubia course. The slalom course here allows for at least 4 different channel configurations. Left-left will be the channel used for next year's World Championships and Olympic Qualifier.

It was a good showing for the Team. All but Manning-Hunter qualified for the Semi-Finals. The Purcell brothers made they're first semi-final along with all the National Team members

From the Semi Finals, Hayward was the one to step up and qualify for his first ever Final! With two good runs, Ben qualified 7th, and then followed it up with a similar run to finish 7th overall. With fastest splits on both runs he was happy to be on an upswing going in to the next month of training and racing.

One more day of training Bratislava and then we head to Tacen, Slovenia to prepare for the World Championships.

Cheers, Mike

Canadian National Championships - Minden, Ontario

A return to Minden for the National Championships will be the highlight for many Canadian athletes this year. The site, which is arguably the best in Canada, has hosted Team Trials, National Championships, and World Cups over the years. In 2015 it will be the host site for the Toronto, PanAm Games.

Alberta entered 19athletes in the 2010 edition of the National Championships. A good contingent given the three day drive to get there. Our youngest athlete Hannah (12) was just over a fifth of the age of our wiley veteran, Greg Hunter. With three coaches, a strong contingent of cadet, junior, senior paddlers and a cohesive team we put our mark on the event. Congratulations to Ontario in re-capturing the Brian Creer Cup on home soil.

Alberta athletes won a dozen individual slalom medals (Jessica, Ben x2, Purcells, Haley, Marissa x2, AJ, Hayden, Ryley, Hannah, Matt A, Greg). They also won handfulls of downriver medals dominating the points in the DR classic, while Ontario athletes were the ones to beat on the short course. All sorts of teams were thrown together on Sunday for an exciting Team race on the lower course.

Following the race, Mikkel and Brace lead 8 athletes on the Ottawa River and Sturgeon falls for a week on the way home. Superb surfing was had by all, even if some of it was longer and in bigger holes than intended! Thanks to Owl Rafting for putting up the Team on the Ottawa!!

Well done Alberta on a successful Canadian Championships. Next year's edition should be in BC and we're looking forward to a slightly shorter drive and a dominating performance from Alberta.

Alberta Summer Games - Peace River

As usual the host community put on a great event and were extremely supportive of the Games. A huge thank you to the local volunteers!

51 athletes from across Alberta competed in the Canoe/Kayak events of Polo, Slalom and Downriver. Some great Zone rivalries were re-ignited, yet everyone was very supportive of one another. Many new friendships were born and some long time friends were re-united. Some 150 slalom, polo and downriver boats were brought out by a dozen club coaches who did a great job training and supporting thier athletes.

Three days of setup were required for the different venues and in the end all three worked out great. The biggest challenge was the changing water levels on the Peace River for the Slalom course. When race day came though, the water came up and we were able to host a great event.

Well done to all the athletes who participated. Hope to see all your names on upcoming Alberta Cup races and tournaments!