CHEERS AND TEARS

So, this happened today …..

“OMG, tears on the supporters side of the course”.

“Think that’s the first ever C1 men’s final on world level in any age.”

“I’m at the hotel and going to get an Uber as JACK JUST QUALIFIED FOR THE FINAL!! …..Oh, am I really the only one still at the hotel? … Wow that’s poor form …. Maybe I knew he was going to make it and just waiting for the final …”

After historic results already this year for Callum G in Lee Valley and Luuka in Bratislava, Jack Egan (Jegan) put his paddlesworth in to become the first New Zealand male to make a world-level C1 final across any age. Many congratulations Jack, to you and your parents who support you so much, and to whom the supporters’ tears likely belonged.

Rob's nerves would rather be judging his son than watching him race!

Jamie The Guru has kindly sent me the following list of NZL World Championships finalists to date:

• Open: Luuka Jones (K1: 4th, 2017), Donald Johnstone (K1: 5th, 1987), Mike Dawson (K1: 7th, 2017).
• U23: Finn Butcher (K1: 4th, 2018), Jane Nicholas/Haylee Dangen/Kelly Travers (C1 teams: 3rd 2014).
• U18: Jack Egan (C1: 9th 2019)Zack Mutton (K1: 5th, 2018), River Mutton (extreme: 3rd 2018), Zack Mutton (K1: 8th, 2017), Daniel Munro/Luke Robinson (C2: 2nd, 2014), Callum Gilbert (K1: 8th, 2014), Kelly Travers (C1: 6th, 2010), Andrew Robinson/Bryden Nicholas (C2: 9th, 2006), Mike Dawson (K1 9th, 2004).

I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Final quote above is Callum G preparing for his U23K1M finals day btw – where he will be joined by Jack D, then Hannah and Oliver in U18 C1W and K1M respectively. And while I’m at it, well done to Oli today also, placing 24^th in his first world semi-final with a couple of junior years remaining.

Who will be the next Kiwi in the kiss and cry zone?

While Jegan didn’t have his best run in the final, he certainly gave his all. And he contributed to what’s a bit of a resetting of the NZL performance bar. It’s been said to me by athletes and coaches alike this year that “making semi-finals shouldn’t be the goal”. Spoken from a former Olympian: “There are definitely signs of progress, but I feel we can still do better with getting our athletes to deliver to their best on the start line.”

My own observation (after 4 Olympics with different sports) is that canoe slalom is ruthless and demands precise execution under pressure. Starting the semi-final 17^th, Jack launched himself into 7^th on the leader board, then sat chewing his fingernails (or was that me?) as the next 13 paddlers failed to displace him – the spread from 5^th to 8^th being just 0.18 sec! Nerve jangling in a way unlike swimming, triathlon or rugby where I’ve been before, where everyone starts together and you know the result when you cross the line.

We’ve had a few such margins this week: Kensa sitting 10^th in the repechage for half a dozen runs, only to be displaced by the last paddler, who then suffered a delayed penalty while the score board flicked Kensa from 10^th to 11^th and back to 10^th in moments; Oli Puchner steeling himself for 2 repechages in a day – with the mental focus to execute within the top 10 on both occasions; and the other way of course for George flying in to the semi-final in both heats runs 1 and 2 before incurring narrow 50s.

The latter gives me lead to add something to yesterday’s insights behind the scenes, as we did of course lodge an enquiry into George’s repechage penalty, with our video angle being inconclusive. On a day like yesterday’s Junior day, the officials team are making something like 22,400 gate judgements, and with the systems they now have in place, the strong consensus is that the amount they get wrong is a handful if any: There are 3 to 4 skilled judges calling each gate, plus a live video judge, backed up by a synchronised multi-camera slow-mo review system; anything judged with variation or hesitation automatically goes for review; anything highly consequential goes for review; anything enquired goes for review; and the coaches are welcomed in to watch. This openness of process goes a long way to building trust, which in the end stands afore the technology itself. Thanks again to Jean Michel and his amazing team.

And so we turn to competition Day 4 – men’s K1 and women’s C1 for U23s and Juniors. Go well Team NZ – let’s make some more supporters cry!

BEHIND THE SCENES AHEAD OF 2021

So heats are behind us and we’re looking forward to 2 days of semi-finals and finals. Some highs and some disappointed. And some tight margins going for us (Kensa in then out then in again, Oli’s C1 repechage), and some against us (George’s two 50s). The team will rave the same number of semi-finals as last year (8), and aim to repeat some outstanding performances then.

That’s all on the water, and reported on the website or social.

Off the water, it’s been really fantastic to have parents arriving for support. I’ve said before that parental support is the primary way kids get on in sport, and not surprising when we see the cheers on the far bank. Many thanks and looking forward to hosting dinner on Saturday night.

The Kiwi Crowd on Tour

Thanks to Sue Clarke, today also presented a brilliant opportunity for parents and supporters to see behind the scenes of the World Champs – as a taster for our own version in 2021. Sue exercised her usual persuasive powers to get Jean Michel Prono and Sue Natoli to break from their duties and show us around the “OVR” (On Venue results), the enquiry desk, the teams’ video review tent, broadcast van …. and of course VIP area (free Magnums).

What an insight, it has to be said. The OVR is a calm nest of video feed, timing, editing, judging and reviewing. Next door, the teams’ video tent is less sedate, amassed with analysts and coaches, able to download and analyse video the instant a run has been finished. What a great service.

It’s fabulous to be able to get this behind the scenes insight, and on behalf of Sue and me, we are indebted to HPSNZ for Prime Minister’s Scholarships to support us here. It helps put in to tangible reality the thrill and challenge it will be to host this event in 2 years’ time.

The only wish would have been video review seeing Geroge’s head the other side of the pole – but that’s sport, and you win some and lose some. Best wishes to paddlers, parents, officials and volunteers and three more fabulous days of racing. Enjoy.

Jean Michel starts allocating roles for the 2021 Championships

KRAKOW VISITOR GUIDE

With family and friends now arriving in Krakow ahead of race-day-one tomorrow, there's one more blog to share (or I should say travelog). This one brought to you by New Zealand's own canoe slalom Krakovite (well nearly) and 2021 J&U23 WC Chair, Agnieszka Grudzinska.

For all the visitors, here's Agnieszka's top tips for exploring Krakow:

"Here are some suggestions of how to amuse yourselves in Krakow (not an exhaustive list, by any means). A note: ul. is just an abbreviation for street (st.); it's put in front of the street name, same deal with pl. which mean square; the number come last. Although I dare say google will help you find everything without such insights. Have fun! Agnieszka"

Centre of Town – lots to see and experience just strolling around.

• Main Square – Bazylika Mariacka (main church) – definitely worth a visit inside, but need to get a ticket in the first half of the day, I'd recommend including the climb of the tower to enjoy the view and to experience, first hand, the unique ‘hejnal mariacki’ (trumpet announcement of the hour, quite an ancient and quirky history there…).
• Main Square – City Museum (underground – an interesting perspective on medieval life and identity in Europe, pre-nation states of the last 500 years +) need to reserve tickets, at least a day in advance.
• Wavel Castle– just a walk around can be fun, and to get into the Cathedral is usually possible without pre-booking, but if you want to see some of the key inside areas such as the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments or Treasury & Armoury, you’d need to get the tickets, in advance.
• Krakow is full of culinary delights but the scene is pretty dynamic, with stars raising and falling constantly, so I’ll confine myself to just a couple of tried and true restaurants featuring Polish cuisine:
• Miod Malina ul. Grodzka 40
• Kogel Mogel ul. Sienna 12

Kazimierz – Jewish Quarter – again, just fun strolling around; the Old Synagogue is worth a visit, again may need to get tickets in advance though it used to be possible to get them for the same day.

A few must do:

• While strolling around town at night (very safe) stop by a vodka bar – many to pick from but Singer ul. Estery 20 in Kazimierz is one of the classics (make sure to order a herring for a chaser) and drop by the best bread bakery in Poland Piekarnia Mojego Taty (My Dad’s Bakery – ul. Mejsela 8) open every day until 2 am – the smell is heavenly
• For special ice cream in a quaint setting – Lody ul. Starowiślna 83 (a cult ‘hole in the wall’ place with limited selection; 6? flavours, all fab, but wild strawberry, if it’s available, is a must try, also, while in Poland consider trying ‘cream’ rather than vanilla flavour for something different, not found anywhere else that I’m aware of)
• Super special cakes (ask the Bell’s – I helped the grandparents order one for Josh’ b-day) Ciastkarnia (Vanilla) ul. Brzozowa 13

Pogorze (on the other side of the river, recommend taking the pedestrian bridge and strolling along the river) - Schindler’s Factory

For an inexpensive, no fuss traditional Polish obiad (main meal of the day traditionally eaten before 5 pm) stop at Jadłodajnia Wczoraj i Dziś - pl. Boh. Getta 10  - that’s on the way to Schindler’s.

OFFICIALLY OPEN

So, we are officially open – the 2019 ICF Junior & U23 World Championships were opened last night to a barrage of fireworks, fire-eating, acrobatics and amazingly clear skies after rumbling thunder and downpours most of the day. It was quite a bizarre mix of speeches and extremism, but certainly did grab attention!

Putting the Kiwi Team centre stage of course

Little phases our own Extreme Duo

We thank greatly the Polish Canoe Federation who have pulled this together a year ahead of schedule, having seen the intended venue in Rio de Janeiro cancelled just a handful of months ago. Nearly 50 nations and 450 competitors, this will be an exciting week. And in the 91^st year of the Polish Canoe Federation, it says we have a lot to look forward to in hosting the event ourselves in 2 years’ time!

I have to confess that, amid the speeches and fire-cracks, there was a pocket of kiwis glancing at phones following the cricket (and a few glances at Wimbledon). Notwithstanding the final result, what a match to conclude quite a tournament. Big shout out to the Black Cups – they’ll be gutted of course, but that’s sport and certainly the guts of why it’s inspiring.

Hopefully we can carry that inspiration in to the coming days. Training is all but done, the event schedule is out, and great to be seeing parents arrive. We’ve had drop-ins so far from the Gilberts, Puchners and Bells, and look forward to many more. Well played btw to Julie Harris and the Gilberts in raising the tone on Saturday, finding a Chopin recital in the town hall, and dragging along Callum and Lotte Rayner. Not quite to the same level, but we’ll open the hotel doors this Saturday for team dinner, and hope many can come and join.

When in Krakow ....

And a final toast before competition begins :)