Sundre’s Fourth Annual Canoe Polo / Slalom Tournament

Where
Sundre Aquaplex Swimming Pool
 
When
March 17-18 (pool time to be determined based on registration numbers last year was 8-8 sat & 8-12 sun)

FYI The Sundre Paddling Club also has weekly play-boating pool time booked on Friday nights from 7:30-9:00 cost is a drop i fee to the pool. All welcome! (Adults $7, youth $4)

What
Saturday Canoe Polo 3 on 3 Tournament
Sunday Slalom Races!

Costs/ Registration

• Early bird registration (& Payment accepted at tourney) until March 9th for: $30 for adults and 17yrs. and under $25
• March 10th until March 15th:$35 adults and 17years and under $25
• Tournament fees include pizza dinner Sat night!

• Registration due by Thursday March 15th by noon (unless you go for early bird), via email Christie Siddle at sundrepaddlingclub@gmail.com or can be mailed to Christie Siddle, Box 793 Sundre AB, T0M1X0. (payment will be accepted on site)

• Late registration will be accepted until 6pm Friday night via email for a late fee of $5 since teams and schedule would then have to be all changed!
• I will try to email out the morning schedule Friday night to help those driving in early but I am not going to promise a time.
• Registration table will be open Saturday between 8-11am to pay tournament fees and sign wavers.

Accommodations

• Available Fri-Sat night, floor space only bring your own sleeping stuff! Gymnasium cost paid for by Alberta Canoe Polo! Thank you!!!
• email sundrepaddlingclub@gmail.com, facebook Sundre Paddling Club or text/ call Christie 
• Leave your valuables/ belongings in the gym at your own risk!
• There is to be NO Alcohol on premise.

Food

• $10 per day (Saturday/Sunday) for breakfast, lunch and snacks must pre register! The food will be available at the pool all day each day for those who take part.
• Cold breakfasts and build your own sandwiches for lunch, snacks will be a
• The U21 Canadian Women’s team will be putting on this food. Any profits made will help them go to their ongoing fundraising for competition fees and training costs.

Transportation
Since this is an Alberta Canoe Polo sanctioned event there is a travel grant subsidy available for Alberta Residence who meet the requirements of the grant. Check out this link for specifics: http://www.albertacanoepolo.com/files/TravelForm.pdf If you are eligible please fill out the form and send it along with your registration form. We will get your signature during registration on Saturday morning.

Saturday Night House Warming Party I (Christy) recently bought a condo in Sundre and Saturday night seems to be a good time to break it in with all my out of town friends! Nothing too crazy since it is a condo I have to respect my neighbors but after polo on Saturday night everyone is welcome to come on over until 11pm at which time those who want to keep the party going can walk down the road to Swamp Donkey’s and carry on! (2km ish)

Texas Training Camp

 Whitewater in Texas? You bet. The San Marcos river emerges from a spring lake in the centre of San Marcos. The water, which is always 70degrees year-round, then works its way to the Gulf of Mexico. An old dam in town has been modified to create a whitewater park for all. The locals use it to swim, tube, raft, canoe & SUP while it is a destination location for freestyle and slalom kayak. Because of the sensitive natural history in the area the river is always kept at a minimum water level ensuring the native wild rice, turtles, snakes and other animals are protected. This guarantees water for paddling.

A 5min paddle downstream from the whitewater is the Power Olympic Outdoor Centre run by Ben Kvanli. This is where we made our home for 9 days in February. Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak lead a trip composed of 12 athletes and 2 coaches from 5 provinces and states. Alberta team members AJ Cole, Levi Severtson, Ryley & Hannah Penner, and Darius Ramrattan joined head coach Mike Holroyd and parent/chaperon/paddler Matt Cole.

Another 5min downstream from the centre, two drops provided hours of entertainment as the paddlers did laps. The first, a three footer, provided an excellent opportunity to work on boofs while the bigger 15 foot drop allowed everyone to practice their waterfall skills. 





The week consisted of a lot of paddling! 16 slalom sessions, 3 runs, 2 core, 1 weights, 2 boof/waterfall, 2 flatwater freestyles. Amazingly nearly everyone did all the sessions and with a significant amount of quality. This was helped greatly by the groups' ability to eat well. 5 teams of cooks provided a set of meals for each day ensuring that there was always food ready after each session and enough to get the athletes ready for the next workout. 

The highlights on the food front were the Tapas night where everyone pitched in, the Mexican meal, and the home cooked feast from mama Gail!

With paddlers from so many regions the quality of competition was excellent for those with sights on Junior and U23 Worlds in Wausau this summer.

Whether Darius or Hannah was the winner for catching the most turtles is still in debate. For the first few days they were constantly seen with disks in their hands. This was muted somewhat when they realized that often, sleeping next to the turtles, were cottonmouth snakes. While they aren't aggressive the cottonmouth are quite poisonous. Tutles catching stopped seeming like so much fun.

The 7000km trip was a success and while no one is looking forward to the drive itself, going back to Texas is high on the agenda for many of these paddlers. Till next time, Thanks Texas.

 Other articles about Texas and our trip:
http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/texas-winter-training-camp/
http://austin.ynn.com/content/283356/wilde-about-texas---competition-on-the-san-marcos-river

Big Race Preparation - from Sportscene.tv

For more articles like this go to sportscene: http://www.sportscene.tv/whitewater/canoe-slalom/training/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-international-race

How to prepare for your first international race?

Question athlete: This is my first year of competing internationally – what do I need to do differently to prepare for race day?

Answer from Jonathan Males, Founder Performance1
Many people make mistakenly believe that they have to change their approach to racing just because it’s a big international race.  This catches people out even more at the Olympics because it only happens once every four years. In fact it’s more important to maintain a consistent approach to competition.
The most successful competitors, in any discipline, achieve consistency by working out their own competition routine.  This is usually pretty simple and helps you keep your attention focused on the things you need to do. It helps you think ahead so you can respond well to any unexpected changes, and stay in as much control as possible.   Although you have a plan, adaptability is critical.  As a member of a national team you don’t always have total independence and things can and do change around a big event, so you need to be confident in your ability to stay calm and flex.
Your competition plan may start several days, or more, before the event itself. As a general rule, you shouldn’t plan on doing anything in or around a major competition that you’ve not practiced already.  You may of course choose to use minor events to test out different alternatives.
Your plan will include your key Process Goals – because these are within your control, you’ve worked on them in training, and you know that they are your best chance of achieving the performances and outcomes you want.
A good plan will also pay attention to
• Your travel to the event, so that you arrive at the right time for you (not too early, not too late).
• Accommodation  (if it’s required).
• When and what you will eat and drink.
• When and how to warm up – physically and mentally.
• Timing of any physio or medical input.
• Who you will speak to, or avoid (!), during the event.
• The times you want to withdraw and be on your own, and the times you want to socialise with other people.
• Your technical preparation (e.g. getting boats and equipment scrutineered, walking the course, watching fore-runners).
• Your most important Process Goals (but usually not more than 2 – 3)
• How you will respond to important ‘what-ifs?’; (e.g. What if my coach is late? What if my i-pod goes flat? What if the event is delayed? What if I break a paddle? )
• How you will warm down and review your performance.
Next time I’ll talk more about the specifics of preparing for the Olympics.
Are you an athlete or coach and do you have a question for Jonathan? You can submit your question here and please don't forget to mention 'Question for Jonathan': www.sportscene.tv/contact
Other articles from Performance1 founder Jonathan Males:

• Question athlete: During training sessions I perform well and feel confident. How do I reproduce this during an important race?

Summer Job Postings! May through August

ASCK Newsletter - January/February 2012

Newsletter #1, 2012

Screen Shot

2012 Innisfail Polo Tournament

Check out Cottonwood Kayak Club's Polo Tournament!

Innisfail, Alberta - Saturday, February 4, 2012
Registration: 8am

Adult $35                 U18 $20 

Registration Form 

Snow Camp 2011

Ben Hayward won this year's Snow Camp with a staggering 220km in 4days. While he may have gone the furthest, everyone was on the trails for roughly the same amount of time, so for those who weren't technically proficient, they were still curshing the hours and improving their aerobic capacity. 7am runs followed by gruelling days at the Canmore Nordic Centre, Cascade Fireroad were the norm. Breakfast, lunch and dinner feasts, as well as a trip to the hot-springs alowed everyone to recover for the next session's push.  For our fun morning Mike Shaw took us caving to Rats Nest, east of Canmore. We managed to get un-lost and it will remain everyone's fondest memory of the camp.

Matt Frank and Ben Hayward on Cascade Fireroad after 15cm dump.

Early morning cheer

 Caving

Resistance Training

Paul Manning-Hunter compilation video

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