The team arrived home yesterday, very weary but buzzing from the fantastic experience of racing in Europe.
We left Roudnice around 11.30am after saying goodbye to Kidda , Tom and Luuka who were driving to Nottingham and a major packing session. The nice man at the Pizzeria gave me 2 bottles of Czech wine but as we were so worried about our weight , I thought I'd never be able to get it home. The restictions on carrying liquid on planes means no duty free either!! A slight border problem when the guard snatched our passports ( in contrast to the previous time when we were waved through) I had to pay a 40 Euro fine as didnt have the road tax sticker.
Returned the car and used the wine to get the Eurolease man to remove the roof racks and needed a special key that we didnt have.
We had no problems getting boats on in Munich- ecstatic about that especially as the plane was absolutely packed. Emirates good to fly with and all planes were on time so with brief stops in Dubai, Singapore and Brisbane we were home about 2pm.
Thanks again to all of you who have read our blog and sent messages.
Au revoir until 2008
Sue and team
CSNZ Junior & U23 Teams
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Finals day
Havent quite got all the details but a quick update.
Ella was off at approx 11am, really windy again but she started really well and was making good time until she caught the girl in front of her. Despite the judges whistle going, the girl failed to move and sat in the ups impeding Ella's run. We negotiated a re run and she virtually had to get straight up to the top of the course again. We were all really proud of her as she had a clean run with no major mistakes to finish in 29th.
Eric also did really well, with a few of yesterdays paddlers really busting out today it was alawys going to be tough to repeat his 13th position. He finished 27th so was happy with that.
Most races were dominated by Czechs, Slovenes, Slovaks and Russians although the Canadian K1M Ben Hayward was 3rd which was a great result.
The Aussie girls did pretty well, with Natasha Jones having a great semis run to finish in 11th with one touch , Roz Lawrence 13th , Asleigh Logan next, then Ali Burrows 21st ( she is still 14 ) Maddie Toms just behind Ella.
Ian Burrows from Oz was 17th in C1. Full results werent available when we left but will be online.
Only a small party tonight as most teams leaving- the Europeans all heading to Kracow for the European champs starting on Thursday. Lots of goodbyes and uniform swopping, the kids all have some awesome gear and the packing is starting now before dinner.
The challenge of getting the boats and bags on is ahead, plus returning the car.
Will enjoy sitting on the plane with someone else taking care of me.
Cheers for now
Sue
Ella was off at approx 11am, really windy again but she started really well and was making good time until she caught the girl in front of her. Despite the judges whistle going, the girl failed to move and sat in the ups impeding Ella's run. We negotiated a re run and she virtually had to get straight up to the top of the course again. We were all really proud of her as she had a clean run with no major mistakes to finish in 29th.
Eric also did really well, with a few of yesterdays paddlers really busting out today it was alawys going to be tough to repeat his 13th position. He finished 27th so was happy with that.
Most races were dominated by Czechs, Slovenes, Slovaks and Russians although the Canadian K1M Ben Hayward was 3rd which was a great result.
The Aussie girls did pretty well, with Natasha Jones having a great semis run to finish in 11th with one touch , Roz Lawrence 13th , Asleigh Logan next, then Ali Burrows 21st ( she is still 14 ) Maddie Toms just behind Ella.
Ian Burrows from Oz was 17th in C1. Full results werent available when we left but will be online.
Only a small party tonight as most teams leaving- the Europeans all heading to Kracow for the European champs starting on Thursday. Lots of goodbyes and uniform swopping, the kids all have some awesome gear and the packing is starting now before dinner.
The challenge of getting the boats and bags on is ahead, plus returning the car.
Will enjoy sitting on the plane with someone else taking care of me.
Cheers for now
Sue
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Junior Pre Worlds Qualifications
Well big day had finally arrived! Warm but very windy and then wind got worse at the day wore on. First up for our team was Ella, sixth off from the field. She had a great run, doing all the moves to plan, with a couple of touches. Her name was on the leader board for ages and we waited to count down the results of the others to see if she had done well.
She was in 28th after her first run ( 40 going to qualify), She managed to do the next run pretty well also, with just one touch and a quick recirc towards the bottom of the course. Again an agonizing wait for the next 52 paddlers to see how she had done. Her final result ( 261.24) 27th place and a semi final for her tommorrow. Everyone pretty excited for her. Kudejova of Czech won again with 209.67, Caroline Queen of USA 2nd with 221.47.
The Aussie girls all qualified with Roz Lawrence 16th, then Ashleigh Logan ahead of Ella.
the other Aussies, Maddie, Ali and Natasha were 30,31 & 38 respectively.
K1 boys Tom & Eric next. Tom hoping to repeat his form of yesterday and he was looking good at the top. In the up after the drop he lost a bit of time and with 2 touches left him in 55th.
His second run was going to need something special and he went for it but incurred a 50 as the pole wrapped around his head in gate 11. His result didnt reflect his paddling and was a shame after his stella performance the day before.
Eric up next really delivered ( as kidda would say) with a clean run 98.48secs and he was lying 12th after 1st runs. He rose to the challenge and repeated his first run performance with just 1 touch and finished with 201.29 in 13th place. An awesome result and we were all very proud of him ( and he was pretty chuffed himself) Top qualifyer was Lukas Mayr 190.70 from a well known Italian paddling family. The only Aussie to qualify was Josh Williams in 34th.
Brent and Shaun had a very long wait to start and paddled pretty well but had 10 seconds of penalties on their first run leaving them in 12th after run 1. ( from the field of 17, ten were to qualify) They went hard for the 2nd run, and nailed the top, down the drop and then a problem at gate 15, catching an edge and pushing them downstream. Things started to go wrong, with a tough paddle up to get the gate, catching an edge and over they went. Unfortunately they had to bail and their chances of qualifying were over. They were gutted and we all felt for them.
Ella, Maddie and Ali Burrows did the teams run again ( as Oceania) and finished 6th, 22.75 secs behind Czech A and ahead of Aussie A. (Maddie and Ali, the Aussie girls were pretty happy).
A day of racing with high emotions, tears in some camps and jubilation in others. The semis are at 10.15 am with the top 10 going through to the finals in the afternoon.
Two more sleeps then the long plane trip home.
Sue
She was in 28th after her first run ( 40 going to qualify), She managed to do the next run pretty well also, with just one touch and a quick recirc towards the bottom of the course. Again an agonizing wait for the next 52 paddlers to see how she had done. Her final result ( 261.24) 27th place and a semi final for her tommorrow. Everyone pretty excited for her. Kudejova of Czech won again with 209.67, Caroline Queen of USA 2nd with 221.47.
The Aussie girls all qualified with Roz Lawrence 16th, then Ashleigh Logan ahead of Ella.
the other Aussies, Maddie, Ali and Natasha were 30,31 & 38 respectively.
K1 boys Tom & Eric next. Tom hoping to repeat his form of yesterday and he was looking good at the top. In the up after the drop he lost a bit of time and with 2 touches left him in 55th.
His second run was going to need something special and he went for it but incurred a 50 as the pole wrapped around his head in gate 11. His result didnt reflect his paddling and was a shame after his stella performance the day before.
Eric up next really delivered ( as kidda would say) with a clean run 98.48secs and he was lying 12th after 1st runs. He rose to the challenge and repeated his first run performance with just 1 touch and finished with 201.29 in 13th place. An awesome result and we were all very proud of him ( and he was pretty chuffed himself) Top qualifyer was Lukas Mayr 190.70 from a well known Italian paddling family. The only Aussie to qualify was Josh Williams in 34th.
Brent and Shaun had a very long wait to start and paddled pretty well but had 10 seconds of penalties on their first run leaving them in 12th after run 1. ( from the field of 17, ten were to qualify) They went hard for the 2nd run, and nailed the top, down the drop and then a problem at gate 15, catching an edge and pushing them downstream. Things started to go wrong, with a tough paddle up to get the gate, catching an edge and over they went. Unfortunately they had to bail and their chances of qualifying were over. They were gutted and we all felt for them.
Ella, Maddie and Ali Burrows did the teams run again ( as Oceania) and finished 6th, 22.75 secs behind Czech A and ahead of Aussie A. (Maddie and Ali, the Aussie girls were pretty happy).
A day of racing with high emotions, tears in some camps and jubilation in others. The semis are at 10.15 am with the top 10 going through to the finals in the afternoon.
Two more sleeps then the long plane trip home.
Sue
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Racing
Friday- Race of Olympic Hopefuls
We met at the course at 8am. It was already very hot and the wind was a problem.
First off was Ella, who never quite paddled to her potential. There was a tricky, tight stagger from gates 7 to 9, that caught out many paddlers. Ella almost nailed the move but had to recirc and never quite recovered her composure. She finished 47th, with only the top 25 going into finals.
The final was won by the Czech paddler Kudejova in a time of 210.42, in fact 4 of the top 8 were Czechs.
Tom was the first of the K1 men and he had a run he was very happy about, with his name on the leader board in 2nd place for ages. He qualified 25th
Eric was a little slow to start, had a small mistake with a touch, but then got into a good rhythm and did well on the second half, but it was a little too late and he had a 103.07, missed the cut and finished 42nd.
Tom was consistent and finished with a 203.54 in 24th place. The K1 men won by Zazuki Yazawa from Japan at 181.91 with our Swiss friend who brings chocolate, Guillaume Bandelier, 2nd with 185.80.
The field of 17 C2’s , consisted of 4 Czechs pairs and was to be cut to 10 for the final. Brent and Shaun started well but also missed the tricky stagger and paddled back up for it. Further down the course another recirc and too many touches left them in 10th, sneaking into the final.
They finished 10th in the final on 331.68 with the winners Karlovsky & Jane from Czech having a time of 210.42.
Teams runs were lots of fun and Ella buddied up with Maddie Toms and Ali Burrows, from across the ditch, who had had similar runs to Ella. All three of them nailed the stagger and other tricky bits in the 2 teams runs wishing they had paddled like that for the first runs. The boys pulled out to save their energy for tomorrow. We arrived back at 7pm so a very long day.
Tommorrow is the main event with a new course, so here’s hoping everyone paddles to their best potential.It is hard to believe the trip is drawing to a close, but a great way to finish. It is a buzz at the course, with lots of noise and people. Heaps of Aussies are over here supporting and with our new friends there is always someone to watch or cheer for.
We met at the course at 8am. It was already very hot and the wind was a problem.
First off was Ella, who never quite paddled to her potential. There was a tricky, tight stagger from gates 7 to 9, that caught out many paddlers. Ella almost nailed the move but had to recirc and never quite recovered her composure. She finished 47th, with only the top 25 going into finals.
The final was won by the Czech paddler Kudejova in a time of 210.42, in fact 4 of the top 8 were Czechs.
Tom was the first of the K1 men and he had a run he was very happy about, with his name on the leader board in 2nd place for ages. He qualified 25th
Eric was a little slow to start, had a small mistake with a touch, but then got into a good rhythm and did well on the second half, but it was a little too late and he had a 103.07, missed the cut and finished 42nd.
Tom was consistent and finished with a 203.54 in 24th place. The K1 men won by Zazuki Yazawa from Japan at 181.91 with our Swiss friend who brings chocolate, Guillaume Bandelier, 2nd with 185.80.
The field of 17 C2’s , consisted of 4 Czechs pairs and was to be cut to 10 for the final. Brent and Shaun started well but also missed the tricky stagger and paddled back up for it. Further down the course another recirc and too many touches left them in 10th, sneaking into the final.
They finished 10th in the final on 331.68 with the winners Karlovsky & Jane from Czech having a time of 210.42.
Teams runs were lots of fun and Ella buddied up with Maddie Toms and Ali Burrows, from across the ditch, who had had similar runs to Ella. All three of them nailed the stagger and other tricky bits in the 2 teams runs wishing they had paddled like that for the first runs. The boys pulled out to save their energy for tomorrow. We arrived back at 7pm so a very long day.
Tommorrow is the main event with a new course, so here’s hoping everyone paddles to their best potential.It is hard to believe the trip is drawing to a close, but a great way to finish. It is a buzz at the course, with lots of noise and people. Heaps of Aussies are over here supporting and with our new friends there is always someone to watch or cheer for.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Race day prep
photos of course, teams getting boats scrutineered and one of the Iranian team
Team meeting today, bib allocation and the course set for tommorrow.
The first race is the Race of Olympic Hopefuls- 99 K1 M, 62 K1 W and 17 C2's
Ella will be the first off at 10.50am, after the C1 men category. Next Tom then Eric and then C2.
This first race is sudden death with only 30 K1 M, 25 K1 W, 10 C2 going through for a finals run.
There is a teams race which we hopefully have a boys team with Shaun racing with Tom and Eric. If accepted Ella will race with 2 Aussies girls.
Will be a good pre race before the main event. Team all feeling good, the sun shone all day and it was still 27 at 8pm tonight. Lucky we arent from Iran as their team girls have to be totally covered even with traditional head gear under their helmets.
race results should be available on http://www.results.cz/ as their van was parked there today.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Meeting other kiwis
The kiwi flatwater team of two plus their coach tracked us down at dinner last night.
Great to meet them and chat to fellow kiwis.
Weather
Hi all just to let you know that the very hot days seem to be over today, nice temp but a bit of a breeze swinging the gates around so that can stop. The team training slot is 11am, but we fitted an extra in last night and they were still paddling at 9.15pm.
Brent and Shaun missed it due to a boat repair not being dry so were up again at 6am training.
Trained with the Aussies today, so nice to catch up with them. If we can combine countries for teams Ella may race with 2 of their girls as they have 5 girls. Will find out at managers meeting tommorrow afternoon.
Just met the NZ flatwater team manager, Gavin, who is staying near our course as their World Champs are about 10km away in Racice. I thought they were a big team, but turns out to be Tom Yule from Mt Maunganui and Lisa Carrington from Whakatane. They race the same days as us so it is probably unlikely that we will see them race. They are in the fortunate position of having a stash of boats stored in Europe and Australia so dont have the boat transport hassles that we do. Lucky them!!!
cheers for now
Sue
Brent and Shaun missed it due to a boat repair not being dry so were up again at 6am training.
Trained with the Aussies today, so nice to catch up with them. If we can combine countries for teams Ella may race with 2 of their girls as they have 5 girls. Will find out at managers meeting tommorrow afternoon.
Just met the NZ flatwater team manager, Gavin, who is staying near our course as their World Champs are about 10km away in Racice. I thought they were a big team, but turns out to be Tom Yule from Mt Maunganui and Lisa Carrington from Whakatane. They race the same days as us so it is probably unlikely that we will see them race. They are in the fortunate position of having a stash of boats stored in Europe and Australia so dont have the boat transport hassles that we do. Lucky them!!!
cheers for now
Sue
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Ella is racing for the Cook Islands
Some of you may be wondering why Ella Nicholas will have Cook Islands next to her name on the results sheet. Well here is the answer....
"An opportunity has arisen for Ella Nicholas to represent the Cook Islands at the World Championships for Canoe Slalom in Brazil in September. This has been in the pipeline for several months, but could not be confirmed earlier as the ICF had to affiliate the Cook Islands. This affiliation has now been provisionally approved and the Cook Islands has become member number 142 of the ICF.
Ella has dual nationality as her father is a Cook Islander who grew up there and came to NZ for schooling.
For Ella this means paddling for the Cook Islands at the Junior Pre Worlds, which in effect changes nothing for her as she is under the New Zealand team umbrella. Both the NZ and Australian Canoe Federations have a commitment to support developing nations in Oceania.
After much consideration Ella has decided to accept this offer that will not only benefit her paddling but will also add another country to the mix for the Oceania Continental Qualifying event for the Beijing Olympics."
"An opportunity has arisen for Ella Nicholas to represent the Cook Islands at the World Championships for Canoe Slalom in Brazil in September. This has been in the pipeline for several months, but could not be confirmed earlier as the ICF had to affiliate the Cook Islands. This affiliation has now been provisionally approved and the Cook Islands has become member number 142 of the ICF.
Ella has dual nationality as her father is a Cook Islander who grew up there and came to NZ for schooling.
For Ella this means paddling for the Cook Islands at the Junior Pre Worlds, which in effect changes nothing for her as she is under the New Zealand team umbrella. Both the NZ and Australian Canoe Federations have a commitment to support developing nations in Oceania.
After much consideration Ella has decided to accept this offer that will not only benefit her paddling but will also add another country to the mix for the Oceania Continental Qualifying event for the Beijing Olympics."
More photos
Maddie Toms from Oz, C2 boys checking the water clarity and Eric in skins to show his guns.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Rest day
Today the team had a rest day- well away from the course. We went to Prague, which is only about 40 minutes away, the whole team, Kidda and Luuka came too.
We parked near the Prague course as it is a familiar tram ride into the middle of the city without the parking hassles. The trams run on an honesty system, but no one seems to check so is a very cost effective mode of transport.
We decided to visit an exhibition entitled ' Bodies' that Kidda had seen recently. It was quite amazing as there were over 20 real human bodies, that were from Chinese prisoners. A method of extracting all the water and replacing it with a synethetic polymer was used to preserve the soft tissue and muscles. Various systems and parts of the bosy were highlighted in different ways eg arteries, muscles, circulatory system. Hard to explain but if you google Bodies Exhibition Prague you will get a better idea. It was very educational and plus had a strong health message.
After a quick lunch we went our own ways with a meeting time back at the course. There was some pressure and urgency to buy gifts for loved ones at home so serious shopping was underway. Another very hot day and I arrived back at the course at the appropriate time, then Kidda and luuka but over an hour later still no sign of the others.
Eventually they arrived ( 90 minutes late) with a story... of course.... they got the tram in the wrong direction, had the scenic route to South Prague. the tram line finished, they got off and caught another back. All in all, 1 and a half hours on the tram, luckily it was a freebie!!!
Still smiling we went to another shopping centre and got glue for baot repair, more shopping and arrived back in Roudnice 8pm for another Pizzeria dinner.
Some new teams have arrived and we met the Italians and USA team at the Pizzeria.
The flat water world junior champs are about 10km away at Racice on the same dates so lots of flatwater paddlers staying at the same place as us.
Into nation training tommorrow and with are with the Aussies and Swedish teams at 11am. Hopefully we can squeeze another in at 7pm as it is not dark until 10pm. Very short night as it is daylight at 5am.
cheers to all in NZ, great getting messages and comments as to who is reading the blog. We really appreciate your support and interest.
Sue
We parked near the Prague course as it is a familiar tram ride into the middle of the city without the parking hassles. The trams run on an honesty system, but no one seems to check so is a very cost effective mode of transport.
We decided to visit an exhibition entitled ' Bodies' that Kidda had seen recently. It was quite amazing as there were over 20 real human bodies, that were from Chinese prisoners. A method of extracting all the water and replacing it with a synethetic polymer was used to preserve the soft tissue and muscles. Various systems and parts of the bosy were highlighted in different ways eg arteries, muscles, circulatory system. Hard to explain but if you google Bodies Exhibition Prague you will get a better idea. It was very educational and plus had a strong health message.
After a quick lunch we went our own ways with a meeting time back at the course. There was some pressure and urgency to buy gifts for loved ones at home so serious shopping was underway. Another very hot day and I arrived back at the course at the appropriate time, then Kidda and luuka but over an hour later still no sign of the others.
Eventually they arrived ( 90 minutes late) with a story... of course.... they got the tram in the wrong direction, had the scenic route to South Prague. the tram line finished, they got off and caught another back. All in all, 1 and a half hours on the tram, luckily it was a freebie!!!
Still smiling we went to another shopping centre and got glue for baot repair, more shopping and arrived back in Roudnice 8pm for another Pizzeria dinner.
Some new teams have arrived and we met the Italians and USA team at the Pizzeria.
The flat water world junior champs are about 10km away at Racice on the same dates so lots of flatwater paddlers staying at the same place as us.
Into nation training tommorrow and with are with the Aussies and Swedish teams at 11am. Hopefully we can squeeze another in at 7pm as it is not dark until 10pm. Very short night as it is daylight at 5am.
cheers to all in NZ, great getting messages and comments as to who is reading the blog. We really appreciate your support and interest.
Sue
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A story of water.....
Day Two a water story…
On the second day God created water, and thank goodness we found water in Roudnice today.
Yesterday Eric, Tom and Ella went to the supermarket to buy water as we are very wary of drinking the Czech water. They struggled, but came back with 12 litre bottles of some ghastly undrinkable stuff. In the 37 deg heat it was all they could find so we had to persevere and down it.
After training yesterday I ventured to another supermarket- Tesco, and tried a bottle to check that it was the non fizzy variety (big black mark to buy the wrong stuff as everyone hates the bubbles) I loaded the trolley with 36 litre bottles and headed to the car. Loaded it all in and thought “ I’ll quench my thirst and check again I have the right stuff. Yuk it was fizzy so back into the trolley it went and I headed back inside and tried to make someone understand my predicament. Eventually a customer who spoke Anglicky was found and she explained. Alas no water in Tesco, “coming tomorrow she said” She translated a refund for me and I headed back with the bad news to the team.
No problems we will just go back tomorrow and pick up heaps of water as with all the kayakers hitting town we will stock up. After training we drove to Tesco- had the team reinforcements to carry all the water, but alas the pallet was empty and the said water had not arrived. All bought a sticky cake and thought lets head to the other supermarket and bingo a huge stack of water. We loaded up 72 bottles plus some other goodies and queued to pay, feeling pretty smart that we had the lions share of the water in Roudnice.
The checkout operator rang it all up and I handed over the credit card to pay- ‘no credit cards she said ( in Czech )’ ( every other supermarket has taken credit cards)
As I didn’t have enough Czech korunas, and we couldn’t explain, putting the transaction on hold with arm waving and gesticulation, she sent for someone who had a vague knowledge of English.
To wind up this story, I left the team, headed to the money machine at the bank, returned with 2000 Koruna and we at last had our water.. ‘Great water’ was the team’s reaction and we are now tripping over bottles of water….. but at least we won’t be dehydrated.
Everyone could see the funny side and we did all crack up laughing as we returned to the hotel.
Think I’ll appreciate turning on the tap in NZ.
On the second day God created water, and thank goodness we found water in Roudnice today.
Yesterday Eric, Tom and Ella went to the supermarket to buy water as we are very wary of drinking the Czech water. They struggled, but came back with 12 litre bottles of some ghastly undrinkable stuff. In the 37 deg heat it was all they could find so we had to persevere and down it.
After training yesterday I ventured to another supermarket- Tesco, and tried a bottle to check that it was the non fizzy variety (big black mark to buy the wrong stuff as everyone hates the bubbles) I loaded the trolley with 36 litre bottles and headed to the car. Loaded it all in and thought “ I’ll quench my thirst and check again I have the right stuff. Yuk it was fizzy so back into the trolley it went and I headed back inside and tried to make someone understand my predicament. Eventually a customer who spoke Anglicky was found and she explained. Alas no water in Tesco, “coming tomorrow she said” She translated a refund for me and I headed back with the bad news to the team.
No problems we will just go back tomorrow and pick up heaps of water as with all the kayakers hitting town we will stock up. After training we drove to Tesco- had the team reinforcements to carry all the water, but alas the pallet was empty and the said water had not arrived. All bought a sticky cake and thought lets head to the other supermarket and bingo a huge stack of water. We loaded up 72 bottles plus some other goodies and queued to pay, feeling pretty smart that we had the lions share of the water in Roudnice.
The checkout operator rang it all up and I handed over the credit card to pay- ‘no credit cards she said ( in Czech )’ ( every other supermarket has taken credit cards)
As I didn’t have enough Czech korunas, and we couldn’t explain, putting the transaction on hold with arm waving and gesticulation, she sent for someone who had a vague knowledge of English.
To wind up this story, I left the team, headed to the money machine at the bank, returned with 2000 Koruna and we at last had our water.. ‘Great water’ was the team’s reaction and we are now tripping over bottles of water….. but at least we won’t be dehydrated.
Everyone could see the funny side and we did all crack up laughing as we returned to the hotel.
Think I’ll appreciate turning on the tap in NZ.
The boys decided to play a mean trick on Ella and hide all her Swiss Chocolate in our room which doubles as the team room for lunch, video etc
It was pretty funny watching her rip the place apart searching for her chocolate. It may have gone a tad too far when they boys ruled that she had 20 minutes to find all 6 bars or they would start eating it. They had the advantage of height ( mainly Erics) so she was unable to reach the top of the cupboard so lost the deal and some of her precious chocolate.
Once the chocolate was recovered and the boys forgiven we drove to Litomerice a small town north of Roudnice. Through small villages and lots of open country. Large plantings of wheat, redcurrants on wires, cabbages, caulis and corn filled every flat space. Litomerice is where some of the teams are staying and is 18km away from the course. It had a large cobbled square, with some amazing old buildings with a variety of gothic and baroque architecture. We went to the museum which was pretty cool for a small town, as it had a variety of things historic including scale models of the town, old maps of Ceske Slovenski, a book of hymns hand written from the 1500’s and human bones from 5000BC. The custodian was pretty excited to have some New Zealanders through- he said we were the first and he wanted NZ coins from us!!!.
After a huge icecream we explored the city and then headed back to Roudnice and the course. It is getting quite exciting as more nations arrive to train. We talked to the Swedish coach who had driven 27 hours to get there. The Italians arrived as we were watching also. There are more than 20 countries listed which is not as many as the Worlds, but as teams can bring six paddlers in each class there may be more people. The Germans and British are bringing their “B” teams and the French are not coming at all. This is all because the European U23 Champs are the following weekend in Kracow, Poland, so their top teams will be going to that instead. Others like the Swiss will leave after racing next Sunday and drive to Kracow for the racing. It is unfortunate that we can’t race in those races as well.
Just had dinner with the Swiss again at our hotel’s Pizzeria and heading to bed as a 6.30am start again tomorrow. Training early to beat the heat and the crowds on the river. The Aussie team arrives tommorrow night and will be in all our organised training slots from Monday with the Swedish team as well .
Great to read of the netball and rugby scores!
Take care
cheers
sue
Friday, July 20, 2007
roudnice
Arrived back in Roudnice after a very long trip. Made longer by the fact Tom had left his passport in his pack which was loaded into Kidda's van. We text kidda, who had Luuka with him, and arranged to meet him at the Czech border.... well not sure where he went but we waited at the border for 2 hours , dreaming up ways of smuggling Tom across. We thought about chancing it but we watched them checking cars and asking for passports, so we sat and waited.
When we finally got the passport and headed for border control, they waved us through. You can imagine the expletives used!!!
Arriving back in Roudnice was a familiar scene and we headed straight to the Pizzeria for dinner.
The Swiss juniors had checked in and tracked us down. Ella, who loves chocolate, had a big stash given to her by her new friend, Guilluame. Natalie, their coach also had some for us so all the hassles of the day were soon forgotten.
The best news of all is that in the week we were away they had wireless installed in their hotel foyer for us all to use so now there is a meeting place of people tapping away on their laptops.
We are working on the Swiss to bring a group to NZ. Wouldnt it be great to have a venue and a race circuit combined with the Australians for all these Europeans to come to in their off season.
Anyway we will keep in regular contact during this time with the new IT upgrade here.
Night to you all, team going training now so better get me skates on and get the food and water from the supermarket.
Cheers
sue
When we finally got the passport and headed for border control, they waved us through. You can imagine the expletives used!!!
Arriving back in Roudnice was a familiar scene and we headed straight to the Pizzeria for dinner.
The Swiss juniors had checked in and tracked us down. Ella, who loves chocolate, had a big stash given to her by her new friend, Guilluame. Natalie, their coach also had some for us so all the hassles of the day were soon forgotten.
The best news of all is that in the week we were away they had wireless installed in their hotel foyer for us all to use so now there is a meeting place of people tapping away on their laptops.
We are working on the Swiss to bring a group to NZ. Wouldnt it be great to have a venue and a race circuit combined with the Australians for all these Europeans to come to in their off season.
Anyway we will keep in regular contact during this time with the new IT upgrade here.
Night to you all, team going training now so better get me skates on and get the food and water from the supermarket.
Cheers
sue
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Last Augsburg session
Photos from our last session at Augsburg. Paddling with Germans, the Aussie juniors and the Scottish juniors.
Lovely day today sunny with a light breeze.
Lovely day today sunny with a light breeze.
Still in Augsburg
An early morning half run session this morning at the course with a cool breeze to relieve some of the intense heat. Everyone enjoying the fresh and clean Germany compared to the Czech conditions, although the costs are higher.
Augsburg is a lovely small city and I have enjoyed wandering around and now with this being my second trip I feel as though I am getting to know my way around quite well.
With the heat the team not so into sightseeing, and are very keen to relax and watch DVDs at the apartment in between training sessions. I did manage to get a few of them to the Fuggerei which is what this area is pretty well known for. It is the oldest known social settlement in the world, dating back to 1500s when a wealthy German, Joseph Fugger built a small walled city´compound to house those who had fallen on hard times. There are over 150 people living there today and they pay less than 1 Euro per annum for rent. Gorgeous old brick buildings dripping in ivy made it worth a quick wander through.
The summer window boxes of brightly coloured geraniums, and huge potted colour everywhere contast with the cobbled alleys and old buildings really make Augsburg picture postcard material.
Tonight we are meeting Luuka and Katherine, the German exchange student who all the kayakers know, plus the Scottish junior team in the platz in front of the town hall and will absorb the atmosphere with dinner at an outdoor cafe.
After an early training session of full runs we will head back to Czech and move into the hotel in Roudnice for the business end of the trip. There is a famous castle this side of Prague so hopefully we have time to detour for a look. Internet is not as convenient in Roudnice as we need to use the hotel recpetion computer, so the emails and blog reports may slow up.
Hope all is well in NZ.
For those who might be interested, Sunday night TV3 at 8.50pm there is a TV programme that will feature Ella, so hopefully that is a good promo for canoe slalom.
Cheers
sue
Augsburg is a lovely small city and I have enjoyed wandering around and now with this being my second trip I feel as though I am getting to know my way around quite well.
With the heat the team not so into sightseeing, and are very keen to relax and watch DVDs at the apartment in between training sessions. I did manage to get a few of them to the Fuggerei which is what this area is pretty well known for. It is the oldest known social settlement in the world, dating back to 1500s when a wealthy German, Joseph Fugger built a small walled city´compound to house those who had fallen on hard times. There are over 150 people living there today and they pay less than 1 Euro per annum for rent. Gorgeous old brick buildings dripping in ivy made it worth a quick wander through.
The summer window boxes of brightly coloured geraniums, and huge potted colour everywhere contast with the cobbled alleys and old buildings really make Augsburg picture postcard material.
Tonight we are meeting Luuka and Katherine, the German exchange student who all the kayakers know, plus the Scottish junior team in the platz in front of the town hall and will absorb the atmosphere with dinner at an outdoor cafe.
After an early training session of full runs we will head back to Czech and move into the hotel in Roudnice for the business end of the trip. There is a famous castle this side of Prague so hopefully we have time to detour for a look. Internet is not as convenient in Roudnice as we need to use the hotel recpetion computer, so the emails and blog reports may slow up.
Hope all is well in NZ.
For those who might be interested, Sunday night TV3 at 8.50pm there is a TV programme that will feature Ella, so hopefully that is a good promo for canoe slalom.
Cheers
sue
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
How did we get all this gear in . Packing outside A1 apartments Prague
Post your message to the team here
another stinker
stinking hot again today and Ella now unwell, with a milder form of the vommitting bug. We were up early moving from the Youth hostel to the apartment and James Dawson was there to greet us. The rest of the seniors had left, so Ella and I stayed back while James went to the course with the others. Eric doing some driving which gives me a bit more leeway. I left Ella with fluid and instructions to keep hydrated while I hit the market for gorgeous German pretzels, pastries , cold meats, German sausage and cheeses. It is very pleasant wandering from stall to stall gathering your goodies but is not a speedy exercise, especially trying to make youself understood. Im cooking dinner tonight as Germany definitely expensive cf to Czech.
Eric and Tom back at course for another session while the rest stay out of the heat.
Up around the late 30s again today.
Great news about rugby and netball.
take care in NZ cheers
sue
Eric and Tom back at course for another session while the rest stay out of the heat.
Up around the late 30s again today.
Great news about rugby and netball.
take care in NZ cheers
sue
Monday, July 16, 2007
Augsburg
What a contrast it has been over 35 the last two days and the perspiration is well and truly running off us. Racing was a mixed bag yesterday in Veltrusy. First up was Eric who had quite a good run to finish 4th after his first run. Tom was next and was having a blinder until he got into some trouble at gate 17 and he was unable to rectify his error and gained a 50 sec penalty. The C2 guys were next and they 50`d gate 8 which was quite a common problem on the day as Ella did the same in her run. It was a tricky tight stagger downstream with no options to paddle back cos of a wall . The team stayed postive enjoying the atmosphere with some sun at last and a friendly bunch of Canadian juniors to chat to. Most of the others were German club paddlers who had actually organised the race. We kept commenting about how young the kids were paddling and I guess that is why they are so good.
Second runs saw some better performances and the C2 team who were ahead of our boys had a 50 also giving Brent and Shaun 1st place which was a good result. Ella had a shocking second run which added to the damaging first run and finished 6th. Erics 2nd run not so good with 4 touches but he held 4th place and Tom was in the same position as Ella with too much ground to make up.
The team of Ella, Eric and Tom then had two runs to finish 3rd from 9 boys teams so was a postive to end the day. After a quick dinner we drove to Augsburg arriving at the Youth Hostel about 11pm . A very balmy night so we went for a walk for an icecream and were amazed at the people out that late at night in the platz either eating or drinking, or sitting in groups chatting. The youth hostel is quite nice and after a quick brekkie we went to the course for the World Cup finals of C1 and K1 women. An exciting days racing especially the C1 final when Robin Bell finished 2nd. It was a really happy festive atmosphere and very very hot. We went down the road to Friedburg to a festival of traditional German food and culture but it was too hot to hang around very long so we headed back to the Eiskanal ( course) for a swim. I went in in my clothes... it was registering 42 on the temp gauge in the car.
Met the senior team for dinner which was great, all went to a Mexican restaurant and was great food.
Getting late at the internet cafe so need to say goodnight
cheers
sue
Second runs saw some better performances and the C2 team who were ahead of our boys had a 50 also giving Brent and Shaun 1st place which was a good result. Ella had a shocking second run which added to the damaging first run and finished 6th. Erics 2nd run not so good with 4 touches but he held 4th place and Tom was in the same position as Ella with too much ground to make up.
The team of Ella, Eric and Tom then had two runs to finish 3rd from 9 boys teams so was a postive to end the day. After a quick dinner we drove to Augsburg arriving at the Youth Hostel about 11pm . A very balmy night so we went for a walk for an icecream and were amazed at the people out that late at night in the platz either eating or drinking, or sitting in groups chatting. The youth hostel is quite nice and after a quick brekkie we went to the course for the World Cup finals of C1 and K1 women. An exciting days racing especially the C1 final when Robin Bell finished 2nd. It was a really happy festive atmosphere and very very hot. We went down the road to Friedburg to a festival of traditional German food and culture but it was too hot to hang around very long so we headed back to the Eiskanal ( course) for a swim. I went in in my clothes... it was registering 42 on the temp gauge in the car.
Met the senior team for dinner which was great, all went to a Mexican restaurant and was great food.
Getting late at the internet cafe so need to say goodnight
cheers
sue
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Sun shiny day
The sun is shining so maybe the great European summer is here at last. Packing up in a mo and off to Veltrusy race. It is only 20 mins drive north of Prague. Start list is mostly Germans and Czechs with us and the Canadian juniors so should be fun for all.
Team phone working now and the number is 021102734873 . If your postcards from the team havent arrived it is not for lack of trying. Drove to a shopping centre yesterday to post them and no post office, hopefully in Augsburg on Monday and they make it home before we do.
Hope the netball and rugby produces positive results tonight.
cheers
sue
Team phone working now and the number is 021102734873 . If your postcards from the team havent arrived it is not for lack of trying. Drove to a shopping centre yesterday to post them and no post office, hopefully in Augsburg on Monday and they make it home before we do.
Hope the netball and rugby produces positive results tonight.
cheers
sue
Friday, July 13, 2007
Finally able to post some photos. Training at Veltrusy this arvo and have just returned from dinner in Prague. Went to the cheap cafe at the course but they were too busy so headed into the city. Kidda drove in but we left him looking for skpe and I had to navigate home. Luckily we made it back with driving not nearly as stressful this trip.
After the photos is posting for the last couple of days.
cheers
sue
After the photos is posting for the last couple of days.
cheers
sue
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Prague
In an internet cafe in Prague. Having some time just wandering the streets sans team, and it is very nice. Just checked out the inside of St Nicholas church near the big castle and it was OTT Baroque architecture, very ornate, gold and frescos on the domed ceilings. Simply awe inspiring.
In complete contrast I then ambled past the hordes of tourists at the end of Charles bridge, many following their leaders who look ridiculous waving a stick above their heads with a flag on , (so they dont lose their flock.) Through a gorgeous leafy green park and to where I had seen a sign the other night for an exhibition of modern art featuring Mondrian who Bryden had studied in Art History so looked at that. Have to say quite a contrast. Back over another bridge and again sensory overload with all the magnificent buildings everywhere you look.
On the training front the C2 boys and Ella had a session at Prague this morning, Eric sat out as he was feeling a bit iffy, Tom limiting his training cos of his shoulder. Caught up with some of the Aussie U23 team, Will, Kate M and 2 of the Lawrence girls, who are hanging out there, plus met the Scottish juniors and the Canadians there also.
The team resting ( and doing homework- Yeah right!!) before we head up to Veltrusy this arvo for a practice. Water only on 5-6.30pm so a bit limited as to what they can learn there before the race on Saturday.
We have the trams sussed in and out of the main city so all very easy.
Another cold day today and starting to rain again outside - I shouldnt complain as it sounds bad at home but even Kidda says the worst summer he has known in Europe.
Anyway cheers for now
sue
In complete contrast I then ambled past the hordes of tourists at the end of Charles bridge, many following their leaders who look ridiculous waving a stick above their heads with a flag on , (so they dont lose their flock.) Through a gorgeous leafy green park and to where I had seen a sign the other night for an exhibition of modern art featuring Mondrian who Bryden had studied in Art History so looked at that. Have to say quite a contrast. Back over another bridge and again sensory overload with all the magnificent buildings everywhere you look.
On the training front the C2 boys and Ella had a session at Prague this morning, Eric sat out as he was feeling a bit iffy, Tom limiting his training cos of his shoulder. Caught up with some of the Aussie U23 team, Will, Kate M and 2 of the Lawrence girls, who are hanging out there, plus met the Scottish juniors and the Canadians there also.
The team resting ( and doing homework- Yeah right!!) before we head up to Veltrusy this arvo for a practice. Water only on 5-6.30pm so a bit limited as to what they can learn there before the race on Saturday.
We have the trams sussed in and out of the main city so all very easy.
Another cold day today and starting to rain again outside - I shouldnt complain as it sounds bad at home but even Kidda says the worst summer he has known in Europe.
Anyway cheers for now
sue
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Must be part of the C2 thing as now Brent has the Ds and Vs, so Shaun is very keen to paddle and has gone to the river hoping to score a C1 or K1 from someone. I am keeping an eye on Brent but I think he is over the worst. Being very vigilant on the personal hygiene and making paddlers drink Coke after each session to give their gut a good cleanse. Hope we can contain it. On a more positive note, the sun has decided to shine this arvo and the team is doing a fun aerobic paddle session so should come back to our little hotel in good spirits.
There are boxes of fresh apricots, cherries and watermelon on the side of the road a few kilometres away so just thinking about springing into a bit of exercise and doing a bit of food gathering. Finished the one and only book yesterday, been too busy to knit my peggy squares that I bought with me, but have started teaching myself how to use the Adobe Pemier movie making programme I bought to make a team movie, so plenty to keep occupied with in the down times. The team watches movies on Brents laptop and have done a tiny bit of homework. There really isnt alot of down time as the days are pretty full of training and eating. Will head into Ceske B city centre after dinner tonight so the kids can send emails home if we can find a good internet cafe. My phone still not working here so if anyone needs to contact us urgently then use the emails or from the contact list of our accommodation.
Back to Prague tommorrow after a morning training session then a practice at Veltrusy from 5 to 7pm . Veltrusy is about half an hour north of Prague, so will stay in Prague for the racing there.
Cheers
for now
sue
There are boxes of fresh apricots, cherries and watermelon on the side of the road a few kilometres away so just thinking about springing into a bit of exercise and doing a bit of food gathering. Finished the one and only book yesterday, been too busy to knit my peggy squares that I bought with me, but have started teaching myself how to use the Adobe Pemier movie making programme I bought to make a team movie, so plenty to keep occupied with in the down times. The team watches movies on Brents laptop and have done a tiny bit of homework. There really isnt alot of down time as the days are pretty full of training and eating. Will head into Ceske B city centre after dinner tonight so the kids can send emails home if we can find a good internet cafe. My phone still not working here so if anyone needs to contact us urgently then use the emails or from the contact list of our accommodation.
Back to Prague tommorrow after a morning training session then a practice at Veltrusy from 5 to 7pm . Veltrusy is about half an hour north of Prague, so will stay in Prague for the racing there.
Cheers
for now
sue
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Ceske Budejovice
Saturday night the Swiss juniors joined us for pizza meal. Was great listening to the kids work out how to communicate with each other as the Swiss juniors spoke a mixture of languages including German and French. Our team were amazed at how many subjects they take at school and compared it to our system when we have to narrow down the subject choices so early.
the Swiss were equally amazed that we didnt have to learn another language.
We organised some full runs with them the next morning and we awoke to a gorgeous sunny day, one of the few so far.
Unfortunately for Shaun and Brent they missed out as Shaun had gone down with the Czech belly and had a bad case of the D's and V's.
After lunch then another training session while Shaun stayed in bed with Brent as nurse we packed up and started the drive to Ceske Budejovice. We were very pleased with the direction we were heading in as after a 4 day weekend the locals from Prague were streaming back into the city and the traffic was banked up for 100km's or more.
We passed hectares of wheat fields and sunflowers which looked an amazing sea of yellow ,all nodding their heads in the direction of the sun.
Arriving at La Tocna Pension was like returning home and we were made to feel very welcome. Our dinner was ready out in their garden restaurant and a cold pivo (beer ) to wash it down.
Shaun made the trip without the need for an urgent stop and I was pleased he seemed to have recovered.
Now Monday and a planned rest day for the team which is great timing after an intense 4 days at Roudnice. Kidda had them really getting to know all the moves on the course with some being pretty difficult. Needless to say that I have great footage of Ella's many rolls.
After a leisurely breakfast and a repair session of the C2 ( had bought stuff from the Galasport team in Prague) we decided to be tourists and visit the gorgeous town of Ceske Krumlov. The day is raining and a complete contrast to the heat wave when last years team was here.
There is a photo opportunity at every turn and is a must visit for anyone coming to the Czech republic.
We walked up to tour the castle and as luck would have it , castles in Czech are all closed on Mondays, so maybe next year will be third time lucky for a tour thru.
We wandered around the impressive gardens with old trees and fountains and then met again at the Torture Musuem. The team are checking that out, then the wax musuem before we meet again for an early dinner. Hopefully we can find the place we ate at last year with an open fire and tons of atmosphere, although with the heat wave we were sweltering. Today it will probably be very pleasant.
Ceske Krumlov is only abou 20 minutes from Ceske B so back for an early night and a few more chapters of the book I started today.
Great news for those seniors who got through to semis in Tacen. The team have decided they want to watch the World Cup finals in Augsburg so the free day sightseeing is under review.
Ausgburg is a very cool place so I am happy with that plan if we can find accommodation there.
We will train tommorrow and Wed morning at Ceske B then head to Prague to stay in A1 apartments again for the Veltrusy race. They will train in the mornings at Prague and then afternoons on the Veltrusy course as it is only open 5-7pm . The race is on Saturday and is a German club race so will be great for the team to have a race before the Junior Pre Worlds.
Anyway enough of a ramble
Cheers for now
Sue
the Swiss were equally amazed that we didnt have to learn another language.
We organised some full runs with them the next morning and we awoke to a gorgeous sunny day, one of the few so far.
Unfortunately for Shaun and Brent they missed out as Shaun had gone down with the Czech belly and had a bad case of the D's and V's.
After lunch then another training session while Shaun stayed in bed with Brent as nurse we packed up and started the drive to Ceske Budejovice. We were very pleased with the direction we were heading in as after a 4 day weekend the locals from Prague were streaming back into the city and the traffic was banked up for 100km's or more.
We passed hectares of wheat fields and sunflowers which looked an amazing sea of yellow ,all nodding their heads in the direction of the sun.
Arriving at La Tocna Pension was like returning home and we were made to feel very welcome. Our dinner was ready out in their garden restaurant and a cold pivo (beer ) to wash it down.
Shaun made the trip without the need for an urgent stop and I was pleased he seemed to have recovered.
Now Monday and a planned rest day for the team which is great timing after an intense 4 days at Roudnice. Kidda had them really getting to know all the moves on the course with some being pretty difficult. Needless to say that I have great footage of Ella's many rolls.
After a leisurely breakfast and a repair session of the C2 ( had bought stuff from the Galasport team in Prague) we decided to be tourists and visit the gorgeous town of Ceske Krumlov. The day is raining and a complete contrast to the heat wave when last years team was here.
There is a photo opportunity at every turn and is a must visit for anyone coming to the Czech republic.
We walked up to tour the castle and as luck would have it , castles in Czech are all closed on Mondays, so maybe next year will be third time lucky for a tour thru.
We wandered around the impressive gardens with old trees and fountains and then met again at the Torture Musuem. The team are checking that out, then the wax musuem before we meet again for an early dinner. Hopefully we can find the place we ate at last year with an open fire and tons of atmosphere, although with the heat wave we were sweltering. Today it will probably be very pleasant.
Ceske Krumlov is only abou 20 minutes from Ceske B so back for an early night and a few more chapters of the book I started today.
Great news for those seniors who got through to semis in Tacen. The team have decided they want to watch the World Cup finals in Augsburg so the free day sightseeing is under review.
Ausgburg is a very cool place so I am happy with that plan if we can find accommodation there.
We will train tommorrow and Wed morning at Ceske B then head to Prague to stay in A1 apartments again for the Veltrusy race. They will train in the mornings at Prague and then afternoons on the Veltrusy course as it is only open 5-7pm . The race is on Saturday and is a German club race so will be great for the team to have a race before the Junior Pre Worlds.
Anyway enough of a ramble
Cheers for now
Sue
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Saturday here and another windy day although the sun is shining. Good session this morning and came back to our hotel. We have a huge room overlooking the square with really old buldings around a cobblestone square . There are so many awesome buildings with many in a state of disrepair , probably something to do with the quantity of them and the lack of financial resources to do something about them. Today out our window we kept seeing bridal parties and we asked the hotel recpetionist why so many weddings? Apparently lucky since it is the 7-7-07, I wonder whether the kiwis are as superstitious.
All team going well, Tom back paddling and Kidda very pleased with everyone, both their attitute and committment to the training sessions.
I even have the boys doing hand washing.... well not quite by hand as kiwi ingenuity has won and Shaun filled the bath with clothes and washing powder and used his C1 paddle as the agitator. Cant beat that .... necessity is the mother of invention. Hopefully I can post some photos when we get back to somewhere with better internet access.
Have been eating in the Pizzeria by the hotel everynight= we can feed 7 of us with 2 drinks each for about 40 Euros ie 80 bucks so not worth me cooking. We bought cooked chickens with french sticks for lunch today= the chickens less than 6 dollars for lunch so everyone eating well.
Cheers for now and thanks for the comments and emails
Sue
All team going well, Tom back paddling and Kidda very pleased with everyone, both their attitute and committment to the training sessions.
I even have the boys doing hand washing.... well not quite by hand as kiwi ingenuity has won and Shaun filled the bath with clothes and washing powder and used his C1 paddle as the agitator. Cant beat that .... necessity is the mother of invention. Hopefully I can post some photos when we get back to somewhere with better internet access.
Have been eating in the Pizzeria by the hotel everynight= we can feed 7 of us with 2 drinks each for about 40 Euros ie 80 bucks so not worth me cooking. We bought cooked chickens with french sticks for lunch today= the chickens less than 6 dollars for lunch so everyone eating well.
Cheers for now and thanks for the comments and emails
Sue
Today another cold and windy day, not sure what has happened to the European summer but doing the videoing this morning was pretty freezing.
Another tech session on the middle of the course today which is the knarly bit with a big hole and drops =at least I think that is how you would describe it. A bit of trouble for Ella who had a couple of rolls but got it in the end and the C2 boys tipped up by a concrete wall, Shaun was stuck in the boat for a while and ended up with skinned knuckles, but all back out there again now after an afternoons rest. That is pretty much all we have done today as by the time we got back from the river, had lunch and did video review, the kids were tired so had a sleep. I caught up on a couple of things as no video required this arvo.
Hoping the weather comes right as apart from the first couple of days in Prague it has been more like a bad NZ summer.
Here in Roudnice for 2 more days and will have some full runs racing the Swiss juniors which will be no subsitute for real racing conditions but is the best we can do. Lots of workers at the course painting railings and cleaning up in preparation for the end of the month.
Everyone happy here hop the same in NZ
cheers
sue
Another tech session on the middle of the course today which is the knarly bit with a big hole and drops =at least I think that is how you would describe it. A bit of trouble for Ella who had a couple of rolls but got it in the end and the C2 boys tipped up by a concrete wall, Shaun was stuck in the boat for a while and ended up with skinned knuckles, but all back out there again now after an afternoons rest. That is pretty much all we have done today as by the time we got back from the river, had lunch and did video review, the kids were tired so had a sleep. I caught up on a couple of things as no video required this arvo.
Hoping the weather comes right as apart from the first couple of days in Prague it has been more like a bad NZ summer.
Here in Roudnice for 2 more days and will have some full runs racing the Swiss juniors which will be no subsitute for real racing conditions but is the best we can do. Lots of workers at the course painting railings and cleaning up in preparation for the end of the month.
Everyone happy here hop the same in NZ
cheers
sue
Friday, July 06, 2007
Terezin
After the mornings flatwater training session we headed north to Terezin to visit one of the Concentration camps. It was a cold bleak day matched by the buildings and ghetto museum we visited. I asked the team to come up with words to describe the day. Chilling, educational, sombre, sobering, unbelievable were some of them. Not a pleasant day but worth doing. Just back from the evening session and dinner is calling. Team did a technical session on the top of the course as the aim of the next few days is to get to know the course for Junior Pre worlds backwards.
It is a public holiday today and tommorrow so nothing much open except for the trusty TESCO.
Meals at the hotels Pizzeria are very cheap and luckily pretty good with lots of choice of pasta and old favs like spag bol.
cheers for now
sue
It is a public holiday today and tommorrow so nothing much open except for the trusty TESCO.
Meals at the hotels Pizzeria are very cheap and luckily pretty good with lots of choice of pasta and old favs like spag bol.
cheers for now
sue
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Messages
Thanks for all the messages, it is a great way to communicate as with the IT difficulties in Czech sending individual emails is too hard.
There is no internet cafe in Roudnice so I am relying on the goodwill of the hotel receptionists. Team gone for a flat water paddle with kidda in Toms boat as his shoulder is still too sore to paddle. He saw the Czech team physio and she thinks it will be OK with some rest. He had some Uv treatment and a massage , so fingers crossed he is back on the white water tommorrow.
The course at Roudnice closed this morning for some repairs so we are heading up to Terezin to visit a concentration camp. Excuse any typos as the Czech keyboard has some letters in a different place to us.
cheers for now
sue
There is no internet cafe in Roudnice so I am relying on the goodwill of the hotel receptionists. Team gone for a flat water paddle with kidda in Toms boat as his shoulder is still too sore to paddle. He saw the Czech team physio and she thinks it will be OK with some rest. He had some Uv treatment and a massage , so fingers crossed he is back on the white water tommorrow.
The course at Roudnice closed this morning for some repairs so we are heading up to Terezin to visit a concentration camp. Excuse any typos as the Czech keyboard has some letters in a different place to us.
cheers for now
sue
Roudnice nad labem
Arrived this evening at Roudnice after a session of full runs this morning at 8am with the Swiss juniors, Will Forsythe from Australia and an Irish guy. After a pretty hard training we headed into Prague centrum for a couple of hours. We split up and met again at the end of Charles Bridge. the boys arrived with shopping bags alamost outdoing Ella with the new T shirts and sweat shirts they had found.
Went to the Jewish quarter-museum and that was sobering for everyone with the Old Jewish cemetry being the most interesting- 100000 Jews buried in a very small area, 12 deep. Dating from the 17th Century when this was the only area that they could be buried in.
Drove to Roudnice and checked into our hotel which is quite nice although Ella and I had to change rooms after a blocked toilet. Training again at the Roudnice cousre with paddlers from Ubekistan and Kajastan. Scary first runs especially for Ella in the big drops but then everyone got used to it. Dinner out with 7 of us at the Italian restaurant at our hotel cost 41 Euros including 2 drinks for everyone = not worth cooking as the food was good.
Times up so goodnight from Roudnice
Cheers Sue and team
Went to the Jewish quarter-museum and that was sobering for everyone with the Old Jewish cemetry being the most interesting- 100000 Jews buried in a very small area, 12 deep. Dating from the 17th Century when this was the only area that they could be buried in.
Drove to Roudnice and checked into our hotel which is quite nice although Ella and I had to change rooms after a blocked toilet. Training again at the Roudnice cousre with paddlers from Ubekistan and Kajastan. Scary first runs especially for Ella in the big drops but then everyone got used to it. Dinner out with 7 of us at the Italian restaurant at our hotel cost 41 Euros including 2 drinks for everyone = not worth cooking as the food was good.
Times up so goodnight from Roudnice
Cheers Sue and team
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Prague
Great night of sensory overload last night as we caught the tram into the city for a wander and dinner. Heaps of oohs and aahs as we made our way through Wenceslas Square, past the awesome old buildings, across Charles Bridge and to a little restaurant for dinner.
Everyone took so many photos as at every step there is something amazing to see. After dinner the lights of Prague with the big castle lit up were magical. A tram ride home and very tired sleepy bodies.
Training going well, although we have just found out that both days races that we were heading to at Roudnice have been cancelled this weekend, so will need to re access the planning after the video review of todays sessions.
Take care
Cheers
sue
Tom's Boat
Epic trip to Munich this morning- left at 6am and got back at 3.30pm. Tom very happy to see his boat!!!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
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