We were up and off again for another early start to the "Eiskanal". The Augsburg course was the first artificial slalom course in the world constructed for the 1972 Olympic Games. For Gordon it was quite special to be here again seeing Otis paddling on the course because he was here to compete as a member of the New Zealand Team in 1979. The team only had one training session per day on the slalom course due to the large number of competitors racing.
Augsburg is a popular and central location for slalom kayaking attracting teams from all over Europe as well as further afield with Aussies, Americans and our Kiwi teams. The field was limited to 200 competitors. The course is in a beautiful setting with well established trees for shade, green grass incorporating terraced seating, other canals for grade 2 kayaking, and paved roads used by cyclists, walkers, skateboarders and inline skaters.
The team was joined by Claudia Paterson for 24 hours on her way from France back to New Zealand after suffering a dislocated shoulder on the slalom course at Bourg St Maurice a few days earlier. Unfortunately the injury forced Claudia to withdraw from the Junior World Championship tour.
After an early dinner at the hotel a select group of history & cultural affectionados set off through the old town to view landmarks associated with the Fuggers of Augsburg - a trading family from the 14th & 15th century who put Augsburg on the map and who endowed the city with numerous buildings, churches and monuments. A pleasant stroll through winding alleys and streets looking at the medieval townscape was enjoyed by the Fugger appreciators. The tour also took in an old part of town with canals of fast moving water taken from the Izar river and used to power flour mills and textile machinery. A heavy rainstorm and subsequent rainbow display added to the impressions of a memorable outing.
Another early start on Friday for the team for their second session on the course, which saw some good improvements from the rustier team members as they continued their European acclimatisation and coming to grips with the uniqueness of the Augsburg course.
Mary and Gordon left the group for most of the day delivering Claudia to Munich airport for her trip home.
The group had some more sightseeing in Augsburg old town and then returned to the Eiskanal for demonstration runs.
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