As most board viewers know, Whitewater Ontario is hosting the national Slalom Kayak Championships at the Gull next week. Playboaters have asked how this will effect them and their access to the river. The short answer is we will try and share the river.

Originally it was anticipated water levels may be limited due to low precipitation in winter and WO arranged for releases to support the event (paid by racer fees). As it turns out, due to heavy rain, water levels are up and instead of getting logs removed to increase flow, we will have to add logs to reduce flow - we need a predictable and consistent level for racing, and similar for training.

Commencing Monday July 26 thru sun Aug 1 there will be a managed release at 18 cms (about 8.3 on the gauge) from 8am-4pm daily except wednesday. After 4pm flows will revert to whatever the Trent Severn system needs - but discussion with Parks Canada indicate levels will probably go up.

So evening flows will be high and good. Some slalom racers may be on river, especially national team folks that like the bigger water, but we will try and make the river fully available to playboaters.

For training purposes we are hanging gates this weekend and they will remain in place all week through Aug 1st. We will move them to side around earls to enable freestyle in evenings. You might even want to try catching a few gates as you run down the river!

We are asking the slalom racers to respect play boaters and share the river and I would like to request the same from the playboaters.

Thanks for your cooperation, and hopefully you'll be out there for the WO rodeo and Boatercross event Sunday 25th

Steve Pomeroy
Race Director
Nationals 2010

Update from Marion Davidson, Junior Team Manager, Foix 2010 Junior World Championships:

After two days of racing at the Junior World Championships in Foix, France, four of the seven members of the Canadian slalom team have advanced to the semi-finals.  On the first day of qualification, current Junior and Senior National Champion, Jazmyne DenHollander of Chilliwack, BC placed 18th with a time of 122.37 just 11.67 seconds back from the leader Clara Giai Pron of Italy.  Marissa Dederer of Canmore, Alberta placed 27 with a time of 126.95.  The top thirty boats in the women's kayak advance to the semi finals.  Unfortunately Rachael Penman of Ottawa, Ontario ended up in 38th place with a time of 130.28 and will not advance.

On day two, Alexandra McGee, also from Ontario, uncorked an amazing run in the women's C1 and after first runs she was sitting in 4th place.  Her second run was not as good and she ended up ninth overall for the day with a time of 164.11.  Jess Fox of Australia came first with a time of 124.05.  All 19 of the women C1 paddlers will advance to the semi finals.  This is the first Junior World Championships which have included women's C1 and it will be exciting to see if Alexandra will put Canada on the podium at this historic race.

Michael Tayler of Ottawa laid down a scorching run in the men's kayak class, just 2.82 seconds back from the French paddler Quentin Burgi.  His former training partner Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic ended the day in fifth place.  Max-Emil Petitclerc of Quebec narrowly missed the semi final placing 42nd just two spots shy of the 40 who advanced.  Adrian Cole of Alberta ended the day in 61st place.  

Earlier today the team race qualifying runs took place. In the men's K1 Michael Tayler, Max-Emile Petit-clerc, and A.J. Cole finished a respectable 15th in a very tough field and did not make the final. Our K1W team of Rachael Penman, Jaz Dennhollander, and Marissa Dederer also did not qualify for the final but made a great effort again in a very tough field.

On Sunday the semi finals and finals will take place. Live results are available at:  http://www.123result.com/

Good luck to all our Canadian paddlers tomorrow.

After dramatic men’s final Molmenti happiest, Hastings 7th

Whitewater Ontario paddler John Hastings had a great day in Prague competing in the first World Cup race of the season. John won the semi-final and eventually settled for 7th place in a field filled with the world's best K1 paddlers. Congratulations John!  Well done!

From Canoe Slalom News:

Prague (CSN) – In men’s kayaks happened the same thing as in women’s K1, Michael Kurt from Switzerland, who was after semifinal at 10th place, got a bronze medal. His run was fast and only two other paddlers beat him. Silver medal won Luboš Hilgert from Czech Republic and gold medal won Italian Daniel Molmenti, who performed really fast run and he was the only one under 93 seconds.

John Hastings (CAN) describe his feelings after great Sunday: “It was fantastic, it was my first final ever. I finished seventh, I’m pleased with that, it’s all about gaining experience and if you don’t get what you want, which is gold obviously, you get the experience. We have two more World Cups left and one of my goals this year was to get on the podium so hopefully I can use what I’ve learnt here and get there.” About coming out top in the semi-final, he said, “It was brilliant, I was shocked. I’m sure I was as shocked as everybody who saw my name at the top of the leader board.” When asked if he felt the pressure building up while he waited for his final run, John said, “Surprisingly there was absolutely no pressure on me. This was my first final, my expectations were just to go out there and paddle as well as I could and I really didn’t feel any pressure.”

Full results:

http://www.results.cz/

More news:

www.canoeslalomnews.com

Hello Whitewater Ontario members:

Whitewater Ontario and the Ottawa Rivers Runners are pleased to host this year's Canadian Whitewater Slalom Championships on the Gull River July 31-August 1. This is great celebration of whitewater paddling and in order to make this event a success, we need your help as volunteers.

Racing will take place on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday race will be below the drop and will be for cadets, novices, and juniors. The Saturday race will serve not only as the Junior National Championship but also the Andrew Westlake Memorial Race. Team Runs will also take place  on Saturday in the early afternoon. The Sunday race will feature our finest senior Canadian paddlers including John Hastings, David Ford, and Sarah Boudens as well as our top juniors from Saturday.

We require Safety Boaters on both days but in particular Saturday with our youngest paddlers testing their racing skills.   Our Safety Boaters need to be very competent, confident, and quick in managing any upsets or swims.

If you are interested in learning how to judge, we will be hosting a training session prior to the start of the competition. We will have experienced judges at both races but we can always use additional support. We also need assistance in our results tent to ensure results are posted quickly and accurately.

We are in need of qualified First Aid staff who can provide assistance to either athletes or spectators.

We also need individuals who can help out at the Whitewater Ontario information table and assist with the banquet on Sunday evening including set up, serving, and clean up.

If you are interested send an email to both Doug Corkery ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )  and Jim Tayler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) indicating your area of interest. One of us will be in touch with you.

Thanks,

Jim Tayler
2010 Nationals Planning Committee