Winter Camp Preview - Dec 16-21, 2011

November Training Camp

We're wrapping up the November National Team training camp here in Charlotte, NC. Here's a quick clip of Jessica Groeneveld of Innisfail, doing ups on the hole near the top of the course. Notice the red water. The Whitewater centre dumped a bunch of food colouring in to the water for Halloween, making the river look like there had been a shark attack. It was supposed to go away on it's own, but after three weeks it was still bright red. Yesterday they finally got sick of the red and dumped a bunch of chlorine in. Now is back to a nice green river, but everyone needs to rinse their gear to avoid it being eaten by the chlorine.

This weekend the camp wraps up with a race that will include nearly all the top American and Canadian paddlers. From Alberta are Paul Manning-Hunter, Jessica Groeneveld, Purcell brothers, Ben Hayward & Chris McTaggart. They're all looking good on the water and I wouldn't be surprised to see them bringing home some hardware on this the (US) Thanksgiving weekend. I big thanks to the US Team for hosting a delicious turkey dinner last night. It was the first time i've ever seen three turkeys in one place (add your own joke about any three individuals here).

I'm off to Ottawa for the Canoe Kayak Canada AGM & Comp Intro development committee meetings.

Fall Pictures

2011 ASCK President Joanne judges at National Championships (photo Dan Groeneveld)

Darius Ramrattan of Innisfail at his first National Championships (photo Dan Groeneveld)

Levi Severtson of Innisfail at Nationals (photo Dan Groeneveld)

Paul and Jess with grade 2 class @ Clear Water Academy

Hayden teaching beginners with Waterwerks Kayak Club @ Inglewood Aquatic Centre

Thanksgiving Training Camp at Kananaskis

Fall colours at the Kan

Strategic Planning Survey

Hello All,

The Board is undertaking a Strategic Planning process and your input is important as we chart the course of slalom kayaking in Alberta.  Please take a few minutes to complete the anonymous survey by Saturday October 29th, 2011. 

If you would like to provide further input, please call Karen Hirl, ASCK Vice President, at 403 247 8215 (home) or email

karenhirl@shaw.ca  

THANK YOU for your interest and continued support of Alberta's paddlers as they strive to achieve their full potential through the Alberta Slalom Canoe & Kayak Association.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dER5WF9HYXZZZkYxWE5oeFJVS09pUnc6MQ

Sent on behalf of the ASCK Board of Directors

ASCK AGM

Hi Everyone,

This note is to serve official notice of the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak Association on Saturday, October 15^th , 2011 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm in Calgary.

Location: Bow Waters Canoe Club (time donated by Waterwerks)

The meeting will be followed by a potluck supper and gathering with our National and Provincial team members from Alberta. Come join us and meet our future Olympians and hear their stories of the road to London.

Meeting Agenda:

1. Greetings and Introductions

2. Presidents Report

3. Treasurer’s Report

4. Directors Reports

5. Head Coach Report

6. 2011 Year in Review

7. Upcoming Plans

a. HP and winter training programs

b. Changes at CKC and impacts to the RDC program

c. Club Coaching programs

d. Alberta Cup series

e. National Junior Team Selection race

8. Election of Officers – vacant positions

a. President

b. Vice President

c. Director at Large

9. Adjournment

Chuck Lee

Executive Director

Thanksgiving camp

ASCK will be offering a Thanksgiving Training Camp, October 7,8,9 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). From what I know, most schools have the 7th off so we should take advantage of it. Monday is also a holiday, but I want to leave that for Friends and Family time. Cadets, Junior, Seniors, Masters - Lets all get together one last weekend and paddle and have fun! I'll find coaches as necessary. Pass along to anyone additional who you think might like to paddle or coach (Roxanne).

Sign Up by October 6th- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag_BLM7FVcUodHVQUzduUlNBZEU2VUI2REFrY0JaSnc&hl=en_US

Cost

• $100/3days or $40/day
  
• $65 Winter Program athletes
• $0 HP athletes

Accommodation

• Friday night, Homestay Calgary - Mike can take 3 (others ??)
• Saturday night - Stoney Nakoda Hotel ($32ea based on 4 in a room) Will ask for better rate.

Food - Bring Sandwiches, Snacks, Breakfast stuff.

Transport - AWA Van + Trailer (from Calgary) + personal vehicles

Boats - If you don't have a slalom boat, talk to your club, or let me know.

Draft Schedule (weather/water permitting)
Friday - Calgary

• CKC fitness tests (running, + gym) Mt Royal
  
• Deerfoot Meadows (Harvie Passage, if open)
• Eve - Alberta Team meeting
  

Saturday - Kananaskis

• Technique x 2 + Hike
• Evening stories at Stoney Nakoda
  

Sunday - Kananaskis

• Fun Race/Full Lengths
  
• Slalom skill challenge (TBA)

Sign in for one or more days. See you then!

Boats, etc, for Sale

2011 Vajda Kapsyl 2 -K1- Large, blue with red maple leaf - $1550 + possible shipping expenses from Europe - Ben Hayward - bengrh@gmail.com

Sold 2011 Galasport Sonic -K1- Med-Large, Carbon with white maple leaf - $1500 - David Ford -

2010 Vajda Kapsyl 1 (360cm) -K1- Large, carbon with yellow stripes - $1400 - Chris McTaggart - chrismct7@hotmail.com

2x 2011 Caiman Storm -K1- x-small, white & pink - $1550 - Jessica Groeneveld - jessicamgroeneveld@gmail.com

SOLD 2008 ITomCo APS -K1- small - $350 - Marissa Dederer

2008 Jackson Star -playboat- $650 - Marissa Dederer - marissatiel@gmail.com

2008 Jackson Fun - Big Playboat, Yellow, mint condition - $550 - Mike Holroyd - mholroydcoach@gmail.com

Sold 2008 PaddleOne Ergometer with Computer- $1100 - Marissa Dederer

World Championships - Wrap Up

The Canoe Slalom World Championships are all wrapped up in Bratislava, Slovakia and everyone is safe and sound in their homelands. Canada went into these Worlds with the hopes of sealing Olympic berths and avoiding a trip to the PanAm Championships, and last chance Olympic Qualifier, in Brazil in March. Unfortunately, Canada is going to have a big team in Brazil with some serious work to do because they were unable to qualify in any of the Olympic disciplines.

Paul Manning-Hunter of Edmonton, was joined in the K1 men's Semi-Finals by John Hastings of Ottawa, and hopes were high. It wasn't their day. John cut the lines too much and incured 50sec penalties putting him at the back of the semis, while Paul had touches bumping him to 35th place. This wraps up a very consistent first season for Paul, where he place between 24th and 39th in every race (as well as a 14th in the Qualifier in the French leg of the World Cup circuit). Consistency is not something which often comes easy, but Paul has been a model for it in 2011. From Team Trials, through 4 World Cups, the Olympic test event and the World Championships he's been a rock. Add a little extra speed over the next six months...and look out!

Haley Daniels of Calgary, showed very well in her Worlds debut. She was 22nd in the C1 womens class, which is working towards inclusion at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Her team-mate Alexander McGee of Ottawa, finished 6th in the final, showing that the Canadian ladies are headed in the right direction. Haley said afterwards, that she never expected to do so well and is looking forward to a hard year of training so she can join her compatriot in the finals.

In the C2 class the Purcell Brothers from Innisfail, have the PanAms date in Brazil etched in their minds. No C2's qualified from North or South America so there is one spot up for grabs in March. They will be spending much of the winter training in North Carolina and Brazil in order to put their mark in the spot.

In K1 womens, Jessica Groeneveld was unable to hold her form of the last two World Championships (22nd, 19th) and will also be in the hunt for an Olympic berth in Brazil. She was 21st after the first runs on Wednesday, but the results were nullified and the race re-run on Friday, due to high winds. Friday was not her day, and she finished well back. Jessica has been the most consistent woman from Canada for the last three years, so she has lots of experience to draw from going into the Olympic year.

The biggest story of the 2011 World Championships was the success of the French pair of Gargaud and Levefre. Together they were 2nd in C2 & 3rd in C2 Team; Gargaud is the World Champion in C1; and Lefevre was 3rd in K1 & 2nd in K1 Team. Amongst them they medaled in 5 races!

Till Brazil...

Qualification

Sometimes it's your day, sometimes it's not.

Paul Manning-Hunter continued his consistent streak of making Semi-Finals today with a 26th place in the World Championship Qualifier. He was the top Canadian, while fellow team mate John Hastings also squeaked through to Semis in 39th place. Both will race Sunday for a berth in the Final and they will be racing to make the Nation sport for Canada at the Olympics. We need one of them to be in the top 15 countries. Who goes will be determined next April in North Carolina.

Purcell/Purcell had some great paddling today but were unable to make the top 20 semi-final. The C2 class is the hardest to qualify in recent years and today was no exception. The racing was tight and there was no room for error.

In the women's class Jessica Groeneveld was unable to repeat her performance from Wednesday (when the race was cancelled) and did not move through to the semis. Canada did not qualify an Olympic spot in K1W or C2 and will now have to race off against other countries of the 'Americas' in Brazil in March. Luckily in K1w, the Americans Did qualify a Nation spot, so we don't have to race them in Brazil.

Tomorrow, Haley Daniels makes her world Championships debut in C1w. Good Luck!

Weather Delays

The Worlds started yesterday here in Bratislava. One run was completed by the C2 and K1 women in rather the trying circumstance of gale force winds. After the run was completed it was decided to scrap the results and start over again. Today, Thursday was the planned new start, but they have again postponed till Friday 8:30am. Team runs will likely be biggest casualty of the event, as the organizers and ICF do everything possible to preserve fairness and quality for the Olympic Qualifier.

The Canadian C2's and Women enjoyed their practice runs and are ready to perform, whenever they are told to go. Jessica was 21st in the unofficial runs and Thea Froehlich of Ottawa was 29th. While those results don't count towards the final, it shows they're going in the right direction.

We'll keep you updated!

Provincial and World Championships!

Congratulations to all who competed in the Provincial Championships over the weekend! Thank you to all the vounteers and coaches who made it happen. Full results to follow shortly. Now our attention shifts to Bratislava, Slovakia.

Paul Manning-Hunter in the Big Drop - Thanks to Kelly Vanderbeek for the great shot!

Tomorrow is the beginning of the XXXIV Canoe Slalom World Championships. Canada has it's biggest team in since 1999 including 5 Alberta athletes. Paul Manning-Hunter, Jessica Groeneveld, Thomas & Daniel Purcell, & Haley Daniels, all training out of Calgary, are looking to help Canada secure Nation spots for next summer's Olympics in London. There is much to race for and Canada is ready!

Paul Manning-Hunter of Edmonton, has been consistent all year, in his first season on the National K1 Team. He qualified for the Semi-Finals in all four World Cups with a best finish of 24th. In women's kayak, Jessica Groeneveld of Innisfail has had a string of solid performances in recent years, including 22nd ('09) and 19th ('10) at the last two World Championships. This year she had a personal best World Cup finish of 20th place at World Cup #2 in France, and is now looking to crack into the top 10 finals. The Purcell brothers, also from Innisfail, are looking forward to their first World Championships since 2007 in the C2 class. With four more years of experience under their belts, they're hoping to have a solid performance and help secure an Olympic spot. Haley Daniels, the rookie of the bunch, is helping to pioneer the women's canoe class. It is the class' second World Championship and the progression of the sport has accelerated quickly.

Here's a run down of the major match ups internationally. http://canoeicf.com/icf/NewsGallery/News/Road-to-London-Bratislava.html The stage is set for an epic battle in many classes, and Bratislava is just the course for it. It's fast, technical and includes a big drop right at the end of the course. 30,000 Slovak fans are expected over the 5 days of racing so it will be an exciting and loud event.

Check the International Canoe Federation page for live streaming: http://www.canoeicf.com/icf/Aboutoursport/Canoe-Slalom.html
Results can be found at:

http://www.123result.com/
Or on your smart phone at: http://www.123result.com/Mobile.htm

The World Championships will be aired live and taped, on Rogers Sports Net in Canada at the following times:

Saturday (live)

Eastern Time
6:00 AM	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi

Sunday (Live)

Eastern Time
6:00 AM	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi: (90 min)
6:30 AM
7:00 AM	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected	Sportsnet Connected
7:30 AM					World Cup of Darts

Monday (replay)

Eastern Time

4:00 PM	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi	EPL Review Show	Mountain Bike World Cup	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi	Prime Time Sports w/Bob McCown
4:30 PM			Mountain Bike World Cup
5:00 PM	Prime Time Sports w/Bob McCown	Mountain Bike World Cup	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi	Prime Time Sports w/Bob McCown
5:30 PM		Mountain Bike World Cup
6:00 PM	Sportsnet Connected	2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi	UEFA Mag	Sportsnet Connected

1:00 AM

2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi

Sportsnet Connected

Sportsnet Connected

Sportsnet Connected

Primetime Spo

Tuesday (replay)

Eastern Time

1:00 PM

2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi: (90 min)

Sportsnet Connected

Sportsnet Connected

2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi: (60min)

Premier League World

Wednesday (replay)

Eastern Time

5:00 PM

Prime Time Sports w/Bob McCown

2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi

2011 Canoe Slalom World Champi: (60min)

Prime Time Sports w/Bob McCown

Prime Time Sp

Good Luck to all the Canadian competitors!!

World Cup Consistency!

Paul Manning-Hunter of Edmonton, wrapped up the World Cup Final having gone 4 for 4 on making the World Cup semi-finals. Being his first year on the National Team, he exceeded his expectations. 'We really just focused on the preparation this year and weren't too worried about the outcome' said Alberta coach Mike Holroyd. 'Paul's been in the hunt for a few years and was just waiting for the opportunity compete.' The World Cup tour took the team to Slovenia, France, Germany & finally Czech.

Jessica Groeneveld of Innisfail, made the Semis in the 2nd event but finished just outside in the others. She's looking forward to longer preparation for the World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, September 7th-11th. The Worlds are also the first of the Olympic Selection events for Nation spots. Canada is hoping for multiple spots in Bratislava to lessen the number of classes needing the second chance race in Brazil in February.

Thomas and Daniel Purcell of Innisfail, raced well in the final World Cup, in the tough to qualify C2 class. This was their second ever World Cup and they too are enjoying the learning curve leading into the Olympic year.

In the only non-Olympic (yet) class, Haley Daniels of Calgary, bounced back from a rough first run in her very first World Cup with a solid run 2. The C1 women's class is two years old this year and she is excited to race in Bratislava on the very tough Danube race course.

Training is now well underway in Bratislava and all the Canadian athletes are looking good on the water and the coaching staff is optomistic about the event. We have the biggest team in years with a number of serious contenders. A number of International rivalries at the top of all classes will lead to an epic battle for World Championship medals and Olympic berths. Set your alarms to watch all the action live!

The World Championships will air on Rogers SportsNet. Check your local listing for the full schedule. http://www.sportsnet.ca/

National Championships - Kids leading the charge!

The National Championships wrapped up in Chilliwack, BC with Alberta in a dead heat with Quebec for the overall title. Congratulations go to Ontario with a final day of gusto.

Alberta held a significant lead going into the weekend and still after the Juniors held their own on Saturday. Unfortunately the Masters and Seniors were unable to backup the earlier performances and finish off the deal. With the National Team out of the country it was up to the young guns to produce. Michael Taylor (ON) in K1m, Ben Hayward (AB) & Cam Smedley (ON) in C2, Jazmyn DenHolander (BC) K1W, Julian Potvin-Bernal (PQ) C1m, and Alicia Greves in C1w.

In the Junior Class Alberta's Penner family cleaned up. Ryley had a Gold K1Jr men and Hannah a gold in K1jr women. Hayden Daniels won the C1jr men's class with Darius Ramrattan the only Cadet to give it a valiant try on the swollen Chilliwack river. Darius did better in his kayak grabbing up a bronze. Levi Severtson, Sam Hosoya, and Bradyn Jessen finished just outside the medals.

Great job to all those who competed and a huge Thanks to the organizing committee for a great event!

Paul in London - Qualifier

Can you spot the fantom touch on the outside pole in 9? Win some, lose some, should equal out in the end.

Untitled from P MH on Vimeo.

Sick new profile video for one of the top German paddlers

Chilliwack Training Camp Video

Video of our Spring Break training camp. Thanks Lissy!

Wausau Open (Jr Pre Worlds)

54hrs of Driving. Nothing like it!

Our tour to Wausau took us via Sturgeon Falls, Manitoba for a bit of surfing to break up the two day drive. The water levels were slightly lower than past trips there, but there were still plenty of good waves to be had. Chris was throwing ends in his slalom boat as well as crossing on the green waves with AJ. Thanks for the highlight video from our Videographer AJ!

Sturgeon Falls from Adrian Cole on Vimeo.

From there we dropped down to Wausau, Wisconson for the Wausau Open. The event was also a test event for next year's Jr World Championship and U23 World Championship. Check out the promo video for 2012.

2012 ICF JR & U23 Canoe Slalom World Championships Promo. from Michael Schroeder on Vimeo.

This year's event featured 7 countries including large teams from Australia and New Zealand. Alberta had 6 athletes racing in the competition ranging in age from 14 to 25. Edmonton's Ben Hayward won the event in dramatic style on the last run. Sitting in 6th place after the Semi-Final, Ben threw down a blazer to sweak ahead of the USA's kid phenom Michal Smolen. Chris Mctaggart of Canmore rode a wave of 2nd and 3rd consistency to a bronze medal.

Other Alberta kayak results were: Qualification - AJ Cole (Blairmore) 26th, Levi Severtson (Innisfail) 29th, Ryley Penner (Sundre) 32. Semi-Finals: Ryley 22, Levi 23, AJ 39.

Hayden Daniels had a consistent weekend as our only single bladed paddler and finished 10th in the C1 category.

Camp Alberta

Check out the highlight video of the weekend and see how many of your favorite Alberta paddlers you can find. I found, Ben, Chris, AJ & Ryley

The Wausau Open Slalom from Michael Schroeder on Vimeo.

This weekend we're in the Crowsnest Pass for Thunder in the Valley and Alberta Cup #3.

World Cup #3 Markleberg, Germany

From an easy river and a relatively straight forward course in France the circus travelled to Germany for the last World Cup before a 2 week break in the schedule. One of the only courses in the world to 'turn' right, the site just outside Leipzig is know for its tough moves. The French coach designing the course this weekend put it all on the line and set a doozie.

Paul Manning-Hunter Qualified solidly in 34th position. In the Semi-Final Paul showed amazing consistency finishing in 26th place. You can see the run below. With a 31st, 24th and 26th place result in the first three World Cups we look forward to seeing a serious jump in his world ranking which was 94th going into the events. Paul is remaining in Europe for the entire summer to train, and compete in the London Test Event, Prague World Cup 4, and culminating with the World Championships in September in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Jessica executed the moves, but lost time in being too careful, costing her a place in the Semi-Final. Jess is headed home for a brief 10day reload, and then will be headed back to London for the first Olympic Test Event. She will then remain in Europe with the rest of the Team for World Cup 4 and right through the World Championships in September.

Well Done Guys!

Paul's Semi Final Run:

Qualifier 1 Leipzig World Cup # 3 from Diago Alps on Vimeo.

Argentiere Update - Personal Best Results!

A great race for our two Alberta paddlers in the second World Cup. Argentiere la Bessee is a cross between the Kananaskis and Chilliwack. Crisp, clean water & eddies with a constant gradient. Clearly an natural venue would play to their strengths.

Jessica Groeneveld of Innisfail tore up the course to post her best ever World Cup finish. She qualified 28th and then proceeded to 'switch off' and race to a 20th place result. She was extremely pleased with the result dispite a couple of minor time errors.

Paul Manning-Hunter was equally specatacular in France Qualifying in 14th place! In the Semi-Finals he finished 24th in what was one of the tightest races in recent history, with only 4 seconds separating the top 23 men on a long (105 seconds) course.

14th place Qualifing run

Qualifier 2 L'aganteire World Cup # 2 from Diago Alps on Vimeo.

World Cup #2 Argentiere, France

World Cup 2 is upon us. After a blazing start for Paul Manning-Hunter in WC1 in Tacen, he's looking to improve on his personal best, 31st place finish. Paul's hoping his new haircut will make him even faster!?!

Jessica Groeneveld will be looking for a better performance after missing out on the semi-finals in Tacen. Jessica has been teaching herself french over the last year, so she'll finally get a chance to use it this week in France.

Also having two Olympic medalists in their coaching staff should instill all the confidence needed to throw down! Benoit Peschier won gold in Athens, while Michal Staniszewski won silver in Sydney.

Results, Video, Webcam
http://www.largentierecanoe2011.com/en/

Updated - Live Video this weekend of World Cup #1 - You can watch it all here taped as well. See Paul in the SF, John in the final!

Live Video Link - World Cup #1 from Tacen (Ljubljana), Slovenia.

Good luck to Jessica, Paul, Thomas & Daniel. This is the first World Cup ever for the later 3, so again congratulations on making the big step up. Jessica was 19th here at the World Championships last September, so she's looking to have another good result to continue her quiet climb up the World Ranking, where she currently sits in 58th. The Purcells are sitting in 59th in C2 in the WR and Mr Manning-Hunter has cracked the top 100 in K1 Men with his spring racing in Europe and currently sits in 94th.

Go Team!!!

http://video.digotel.com/eurovisionbest/icf/index.html

National Team Trials Pics - Thanks AJ!

The view from our cabins

Catch the wave with your chin? I doubt I said that...

Training behind the Maxi grocery store

Ben 'McGruff' Hayward

Alberta's Senior National Team Members Video

2011 National Team Trials - Valleyfield, Quebec.

See the official Canoe Kayak Canada Press release here:
http://www.sirc.ca/news_view.cfm?id=40604

Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak had a record showing at this year's National Team Trials selecting 5 senior athletes and 2 Junior athletes to their respective National A Teams! An additional 2 Alberta athletes were named to the National B Team. Congratulations to all the athletes!

Thank you to all our partners & supporters who helped make this event one to remember for Alberta.

Thank you Connor and Greg for your coaching and video support.

Thank you to the Alberta Sport Development Center-Calgary, Canadian Sport Center-Calgary, Alberta Sport Recreation Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Undercurrents,

Thank you to our IST providers: Karen MacNeil, Nicholas Simpson, Susan Massitti, Kelly Quipp & Kelly Anne Erdman.

Most of the National Team is headed to Europe this week for three World Cups, followed by another European tour in August, including coach Mike, for a fourth World Cup and the World Championships.

Stay tuned for more results... Good Luck to All !!!

Sweet new vid from Twelve Productions!

V.H The Machine in B.A from Twelve Productions on Vimeo.

Penguin Race and Picture link

The Waterwerks Kayak Club hosted the third annual Penguin race at the Meadows Saturday. The first event of the season saw a conglomeration of paddlers take to the river to demonstrate their skills. From young to old, beginner to adept, all were out showing their stuff. The many hours in the gym paid off for some of the older and junior paddlers as they saw their times drop on the challenging 16 gate course, while the cub-cadets, many for whom this was their first time in a boat this season, saw a great improvement to their second runs from their first. Paddlers from as far as France and Japan also came to the local event with a strong showing from the Cottonwood Kayak Club (Innisfail) and the Waterwerks Kayak Club (Calgary).

Volunteers made the event a success with an assortment of chilli and goodies for the athletes to fill up on after their race. In addition to the delicious food (with a special mention to national team athlete Jessica Groeneveld’s penguin-topped cupcakes), penguin-themed prizes were awarded.

Thanks to our sponsor, ATB Financial and to all the volunteers who made this year’s race a huge success and we’ll see everyone back at Waterwerks’ 4th annual Penguin Race in 2012.

Pictures can be found Here. Thanks to Geoff Holroyd. If you were racing, and there isn't a dozen pictures of you, let me know, because I think he was only able to upload half of them.

The Keg - Grant Submission

We'll see if we get through the nomination process, but here's the video AJ Cole put together for us for this Grant. If we get to the voting round you'll hear lots more about it. Good Job AJ!!!

What a great opportunity for paddling in Alberta!

Lower Kananaskis River area redevelopment plan

The Lower Kananaskis River area is a popular day use destination, and is recognized for its river-based recreational opportunities. There are four facility nodes within this planning area – Canoe Meadows, Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre, Widowmaker and Barrier Dam.

The draft redevelopment proposal has been prepared to help address issues related to the increasing recreational use of the area, while minimizing any adverse impacts on the Lower Kananaskis River watershed and area wildlife. The key objectives of the proposal include reducing congestion at day use sites; improving river access for recreational users; increasing camping opportunities; and enhancing the Canoe Meadows site to accommodate special events, river recreation, and to act as a multi-function camping area.

Information on the proposal, and instructions for providing written or online comments are available at http://www.tpr.alberta.ca/parks/consult/consultations/LKR/

The consultation period for this proposal will start on February 25, 2011 and close on April 25, 2011. The website will be updated once all comments have been considered and a decision has been made. Please check back after April 25, 2011 for updates.

In addition to public feedback gathered during this comment period, site management efficiency, cost effectiveness and public safety will be key considerations in making a final decision on the proposal.

ASCK Casino

Wednesday and Thursday, March 16-17
Calgary at Casino Calgary, 1420 - Meridian Road N.E.near Barlow and 16th Ave.

We need to fill our casino volunteer positions for our casino. As you know all HP and Winter Training families are responsible for taking a minimum of 2 casino shifts each year. But we also need help from our regular slalom community too. This casino is vitally important to providing coaching and support to our slalom team. Without our casino funds we would not be able to offer the excellent program that it has become. ASCK will treat all casino volunteers to meal vouchers at the casino and for out-of-town volunteers, ASCK will pay the normal volunteer mileage rate of $0.26/km to the casino and home and a hotel room if required. If you would like to volunteer for a position I will need to know the day(s) and the time(s) that you are available and the type of position that you would like to work in.

Download:
CasinoVOLUNTEERSCHEDULE.doc
AGLCVolunteerApplication.pdf

You can email these forms back to Sue Penner at rspranch@gmail.com or fax them to 403-335-3160. Please forward this on to anyone that you know that might be interested in helping out.

AJ Cole's Australia Video of Team Canada!

Check out AJ's sick vid and make sure to watch it in HD if you can.

Untitled from Adrian Cole on Vimeo.

Spring and Good Technique

It's spring and time to make sure you are starting off the year with impeccable technique. Check out a great site to see how it's done.

http://www.slalomtechnique.co.uk/index.php

A Beginner's guide to Canoe Slalom

Australian Open Results

The Australian Open is in the books. It was a hot weekend but us resiliant Canadians managed it well. Seven canadian athletes made it through to the Semi Finals including the Purcells, Jessica, and Paul. Ben had to return home to take care of a shoulder while AJ raced well the Invitational on Sunday after a disapointing first race of the year on Friday.

In the Men's kayak class Paul Manning-Hunter finished in 32nd in the semi-final after a good qualifier, as he looks to crack the top 100 in the World Ranking. John Hastings of Ottawa and David Ford of Chilliwack finished 17th and 8th.

In the Women's kayak Jessica Groeneveld paddled to a solid 14th place finish as she steadily climbs the ranking ladder. The Purcells finished in 20th position in, the cloud of a tough family loss.

One more week of hard training before we head home. A good start to the season and it's been a great measuring stick for the athletes, with the majority of the top paddlers here in Penrith.

Train Hard!

Live Results Thursday, Friday, Saturday (in Canada)

http://ausopen.canoe.org.au

Teaser 2011 Australian Open Canoe Slalom

Purcells training on Penrith

Morning in Australia

Another benefit of early morning sessions

Pan Am Championsips

Alberta athletes help Canada dominate the Americas in Mexico!

See the official Canoe Kayak Canada release here

See Jessica's blog here

ASCK Snow Camp - Photo Essay

Final Tally

Grotto Canyon

From Ha Ling - Jon & Ryley

Going up Ha Ling

Haley and Jessica iced up on Cascade Fire Road

Jessica, AJ and Ryley at the Canmore Nordic Center

Taking over the fireplace!