The ICF finals this morning were a little disappointing for Ben and Bradyn, having a solid run but then rolled at gate 19 and the 10th place didnt reflect their run.
The kiwis got behind Jess Fox who finished a fantastic 3rd, and made me all goosey as she is still 14 ( 15 next week) . The Aussies headed to Marseille and we will catch up with them in Foix.
After a short break the junior races started with just two small changes to the course, at gate 5 and 11 to make it slightly easier.
Everyone raced better- the C2 had two clean runs of 122.29 and 123.80 which was great consistency. They take the first place trophies home, although they are rather large metal sculptures so will be a pain in the van for 5 weeks. They beat a Geramn crew from Augsberg by 9.74 seconds.
Shaun in C1 was heaps better too and moved from 3rd to 2nd after his second run, lamenting one touch too many that cost him 1st place behind Italian Matteo Tognetti.
Jane had trouble with the move from 10-11 and got a 50 in her first run but finally found her straps to have a clean second run to finish fourth with Slovakian Kristina Nevalova winning in 119.19 and she takes home a new K1.
The boys race for the other K1 was a fairly intense affair with 28 starters. Callum had an awesome clean first run 103.34 with 15 year old Jiri Prskavec from Czech Republic posting a time around 101. With Callum in 4th place he had to break out something special to be on the podium and although he raced faster he hit 1 gate to finish in 6th. Jiri the winner on 97.55. A good afternoons racing by all, the sun is out and we will head off after prizegiving in 15 minutes.
Seco
CSNZ Junior & U23 Teams
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Racing Merano
The fantastic weather left us as we awoke to thunder storms and rain. The racing started with C1 and Shaun our padder on the course. A very tricky course with almost no eddies, due to the rain, in a couple of upstreams and proved very challenging. Shaun did pretty well with a couple of recircs to avoid the 50's that seemed to be prevalent. His second run was heaps better but unfortunately a 50 on gate 11 spoiled his time.
Jane had a similiar fate on her first run with a 50 and a roll,and also improved in her second run.
Both missed the cut of top twenty for ICF race but still have the junior comp in the afternoon tommorrow, Sunday. The C2 looked great and had a very creditable 1st run with a time around 136 seconds finishing in 7th from the small, classy field of 11. They go through anyway tommorrow so second runs didnt have the same meaning and gave them a chance to work on a couple of ideas to go even better.
The afternoon was K1 men and Callum went pretty well to end up 28th after first runs from 44.
By second runs the river was even higher and I think more people got 50's than didnt so virtually no one improved their placing.
A pretty good effort overall in this race of heaps of top international paddlers. I keep reminding them that it is a mostly senior race and it is a great experience to be here at this level.
The C2 will race semis and hopefully get into finals (only 1 will miss). Then all will race the junior race in the afternoon where a brand new boat is up for grabs for the fastest... something to aim for. After that driving south to Savona for the night.
Still raining but fingers crossed for a sunny day tommorrow. Hope all well in NZ, cheers from us all website for results www.scm-kanu.org
Jane had a similiar fate on her first run with a 50 and a roll,and also improved in her second run.
Both missed the cut of top twenty for ICF race but still have the junior comp in the afternoon tommorrow, Sunday. The C2 looked great and had a very creditable 1st run with a time around 136 seconds finishing in 7th from the small, classy field of 11. They go through anyway tommorrow so second runs didnt have the same meaning and gave them a chance to work on a couple of ideas to go even better.
The afternoon was K1 men and Callum went pretty well to end up 28th after first runs from 44.
By second runs the river was even higher and I think more people got 50's than didnt so virtually no one improved their placing.
A pretty good effort overall in this race of heaps of top international paddlers. I keep reminding them that it is a mostly senior race and it is a great experience to be here at this level.
The C2 will race semis and hopefully get into finals (only 1 will miss). Then all will race the junior race in the afternoon where a brand new boat is up for grabs for the fastest... something to aim for. After that driving south to Savona for the night.
Still raining but fingers crossed for a sunny day tommorrow. Hope all well in NZ, cheers from us all website for results www.scm-kanu.org
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Thursday afternoon in Merano and I have just found the internet cafe as the one at the YH is out of order.
Yesterday we left Augsberg after driving back from Munich for a paddle and collected Shauns C1 which did arrive overnight, much to the relief of all especially Shaun.
Set the GPS and headed down towards Innsbruck then to Merano via Brenner pass, some great road engineering. It was an awesome drive with gorgeous little villages , castles and churches. The kids played games spotting castles and churches which was a strategy to get them to notice what was outside. We even had to resort to some oldies music on my ipod as all other batteries were flat. All in all a great drive and better than expected-nearly 5 hours without a stop but we were on a mission to get to Merano Youth hostel before 7pm as that was the last check in before they gave our rooms away.
Merano is a gorgeous spa town, looks like some serious money is spent here. Old buildings, churches, castle turrets,terraced plantings, the smells of spring, lots of star jasmine, roses and it all is lush and green. A smattering of snow is still on the mountains that create an amazing backdrop to the palacial old homes that line the riverbank. There is a promenade on either side and this morning I couldnt sleep so was out enjoying it before 6 and getting the lay of the town. Lucky the shops were all closed as I spotted some nice things but think a nice price too. The river runs through the town and the course is quite close to the centre so there are always people walking along the tracks either side.
The team had a paddle last night about 8 and then final touches to boats before a late pizza dinner in a cute narrow little street. Talking of narrow streets, they are all narrow and old ,it is hard to drive here and even harder to find a park but we can walk to the course (15mins) .
Bcak to YH which is actually quite good, beds comfy and we each have a bathroom. Jane and I together and the four boys in the other.
Today the kids made a trip to a hardware store, armed with a dictionary, for lead weights. With new boats they will all need extra. The language was a problem but after much hard waving and trying to explain jane wrote Pb on some paper and voila, a 6 kg sheet of lead.
Our training session was 1pm and was supposed to be with Austria and Swiss teams but they didnt arrive today so our 4 boats had the river to themselves, not something that would happen often 2 days before a race. I videoed and they are watching and analysing back at the hostel.
Will post some photos later but probably not until Foix.
May meet up with Aussies for dinner tonight. Tommorrow our training slot is 7pm with the race starting 9am Saturday. Will do some sightseeing, visit the morning market and encourage some homework to fill in the day.
Yesterday we left Augsberg after driving back from Munich for a paddle and collected Shauns C1 which did arrive overnight, much to the relief of all especially Shaun.
Set the GPS and headed down towards Innsbruck then to Merano via Brenner pass, some great road engineering. It was an awesome drive with gorgeous little villages , castles and churches. The kids played games spotting castles and churches which was a strategy to get them to notice what was outside. We even had to resort to some oldies music on my ipod as all other batteries were flat. All in all a great drive and better than expected-nearly 5 hours without a stop but we were on a mission to get to Merano Youth hostel before 7pm as that was the last check in before they gave our rooms away.
Merano is a gorgeous spa town, looks like some serious money is spent here. Old buildings, churches, castle turrets,terraced plantings, the smells of spring, lots of star jasmine, roses and it all is lush and green. A smattering of snow is still on the mountains that create an amazing backdrop to the palacial old homes that line the riverbank. There is a promenade on either side and this morning I couldnt sleep so was out enjoying it before 6 and getting the lay of the town. Lucky the shops were all closed as I spotted some nice things but think a nice price too. The river runs through the town and the course is quite close to the centre so there are always people walking along the tracks either side.
The team had a paddle last night about 8 and then final touches to boats before a late pizza dinner in a cute narrow little street. Talking of narrow streets, they are all narrow and old ,it is hard to drive here and even harder to find a park but we can walk to the course (15mins) .
Bcak to YH which is actually quite good, beds comfy and we each have a bathroom. Jane and I together and the four boys in the other.
Today the kids made a trip to a hardware store, armed with a dictionary, for lead weights. With new boats they will all need extra. The language was a problem but after much hard waving and trying to explain jane wrote Pb on some paper and voila, a 6 kg sheet of lead.
Our training session was 1pm and was supposed to be with Austria and Swiss teams but they didnt arrive today so our 4 boats had the river to themselves, not something that would happen often 2 days before a race. I videoed and they are watching and analysing back at the hostel.
Will post some photos later but probably not until Foix.
May meet up with Aussies for dinner tonight. Tommorrow our training slot is 7pm with the race starting 9am Saturday. Will do some sightseeing, visit the morning market and encourage some homework to fill in the day.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Safe and sound in Augsberg.
We arrived at 7.15am after an all night flight. Pretty good as most slept, although body clocks still out of kilter and at 3pm we all feel we should be asleep.
The time in Bangkok was fun, a bit of shopping and lunch and swims by the pool before a trip to MBK centre for more looking and dinner. We already have some classic stories, mostly around Callum who got pretty good at bargaining and was known to say “I only have 150 baht and once the deal is cemented he pulls out 1000 baht note. He also locked his padlock keys inside his suitcase so as well as any potential drug smugglers having no access, neither did he- Nothing a hacksaw blade this morning in Augsberg couldn’t fix.
Arrived at the course in Augsberg after collecting the van, some food and glue etc for boats.The first people we see were the Aussie juniors and some squealing and hugs allayed all fears that Jane would miss ‘girl’ company. Aussie seniors here as well, training and the juniors leave for Merano tomorrow also.
The normal boat dramas- took most of the day to track down the C2, in Peter M’s garage and then alas no C1. It is still in Bratislava so hope it can get a ride on a Slovak car to Merano. Vlada from Galasport has been fantastic and drove the boats down for Jane and Callum. Footpegs fitted, shared lunch with him and Daniel, his co worker , and now they are out there paddling. The C2 fit out taking awhile.
The plan for later is check into our hotel a much needed shower and then if we still have the stamina a trip into Munich for dinner. If we have boats sorted then Merano via Dachau in the morning.
The time in Bangkok was fun, a bit of shopping and lunch and swims by the pool before a trip to MBK centre for more looking and dinner. We already have some classic stories, mostly around Callum who got pretty good at bargaining and was known to say “I only have 150 baht and once the deal is cemented he pulls out 1000 baht note. He also locked his padlock keys inside his suitcase so as well as any potential drug smugglers having no access, neither did he- Nothing a hacksaw blade this morning in Augsberg couldn’t fix.
Arrived at the course in Augsberg after collecting the van, some food and glue etc for boats.The first people we see were the Aussie juniors and some squealing and hugs allayed all fears that Jane would miss ‘girl’ company. Aussie seniors here as well, training and the juniors leave for Merano tomorrow also.
The normal boat dramas- took most of the day to track down the C2, in Peter M’s garage and then alas no C1. It is still in Bratislava so hope it can get a ride on a Slovak car to Merano. Vlada from Galasport has been fantastic and drove the boats down for Jane and Callum. Footpegs fitted, shared lunch with him and Daniel, his co worker , and now they are out there paddling. The C2 fit out taking awhile.
The plan for later is check into our hotel a much needed shower and then if we still have the stamina a trip into Munich for dinner. If we have boats sorted then Merano via Dachau in the morning.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Only 2 more sleeps until we depart for the 2009 NZ Junior Europe Tour
Early dawn media shot at the Wairoa River this morning, from left to right...
Callum Gibb, Bradyn Church (back) Ben Gibb, Jane Nicholas and Shaun Travers
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Bangkok
Last day spent at Deutshes Museum and lunch at food market. Returned cars then got boats on with no extra charges which is always a relief!!! We had 11 boats, 14 pieces of luggage and 7 paddle bags. Long flight but we left Munich at 10pm after a one hour delay,so no problems sleeping and most woke at breakfast about 2 hours before Bangkok. Been to tailors and you wont recognize the kiwi lads in their new suits when they get to NZ. Lots of fun as we got coke and beers and the Thai guys all over us like a rash as we um'd and aah'd over what we were going to get made. Just had Thai buffet and kids watching movies before bed. Up at 6.30am for brekkie and being collected at 7.30am for Thai floating market and cycling tour.
Going to wear them out and make the most of our short stay here.
Hope the last of the rain is over before we get home as it sounds shocking.
Going to wear them out and make the most of our short stay here.
Hope the last of the rain is over before we get home as it sounds shocking.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Last few days
The finals are over and the kiwis partied in true NZ style. There was no official party so the NZers organised the teams to meet back at the river and then headed to a bar. All had a great time and swopped stories of the dramas of racing and email addresses. Monday morning Kidda and Nikki left at about 8.30am to face a 9 hour drive to Calais and the ferry to Dover. Nikki has an extra 10 days visiting relations in England.
The packing up went smoothly and we hit the road by about 10.15, purchased Czech motorway tax stickers as not prepared to risk a run in the with law.
Had a short stp at the boat house Troja ( Prague) as we had some Sandiline paddling gear to collect and drop Mike's boat and bag . A straight 4 hours to Munich with Lou and I driving a car each while everyone slept.
Mike D hitched a ride to Bratislava to collect a car to come back to Prague and train before heading to Switzerland for some racing prior to Uni Worlds.
Checked into the hotel, ( same one as the first night) and caught a trian to Munich centre. Quite a good deal with a concession of 11 Euro for 5 so not worth the hassle of driving and finding a park. Everyone starving so got a Radler (Shandy) and Wurst (German sausage) in the open air food market Virkutlnmarkt (sp??) near the Ratskeller. A wander around admiring some of the old buildings, amazing cars... Mercs for taxis and then found a big table at the famous Hofbrahaus. The Om Pa Pa band played and lots of groups having a good time. Had a large beer to finish off the trip in Bavarian style. I spotted a couple of cute frauleins and asked if they would have a photo with the boys. A little shy but soon were chatting and ended up going to Hard Rock Cafe with them. More email swopping then back on the train.
Today a little sight seeing while we fill in time until our 9pm flight to Bangkok. Without rubbing it in we are heading for another plus 30 day.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Semi finals
Semis is a whole new step up, with a tougher course and increased pressure as everyone is going hard for a top 10 place in the finals. Dramas unfold as paddling is pushed to the limit and we saw lots of mistakes and even top paddlers taking a swim.
Our NZ/ Cook Islands team have so far made us very proud and today was no exception.
Shaun up first and he had a few touches and dropped a bit low in a couple of gates. A good effort for him to finish 30th in his first year concentrating on C1.
Nikki next and had problems on the move that caught out alot of people. Up 11, surf a wave across to up 12 and then a tricky down 13 above the big drop. Unfortunately she caught an edge and rolled. She battled to paddle back up loosing valuable time and managed to pull the rest of the run together well. A great effort as she had been so sick all week. Her final place was 32nd.
Ella nailed the top of the course but had a recirc at the same tricky gate as Nikki had trouble with, loosing at lest 7 seconds. She put together the rest of her run really well to end up 24th.
In the K1 semis Callum Gibb had a brilliant clean run only 10 seconds separating 1st and his final placing of 26th.
With only 10 through in each class to the finals, the kiwis could only watch and enjoy the action and there was plenty as they pushed hard for the meadsl. It was an amazing atmosphere and something to really inspire all our paddlers.
The results were dominated by Czechs, Slovenians and Germans .
Our NZ/ Cook Islands team have so far made us very proud and today was no exception.
Shaun up first and he had a few touches and dropped a bit low in a couple of gates. A good effort for him to finish 30th in his first year concentrating on C1.
Nikki next and had problems on the move that caught out alot of people. Up 11, surf a wave across to up 12 and then a tricky down 13 above the big drop. Unfortunately she caught an edge and rolled. She battled to paddle back up loosing valuable time and managed to pull the rest of the run together well. A great effort as she had been so sick all week. Her final place was 32nd.
Ella nailed the top of the course but had a recirc at the same tricky gate as Nikki had trouble with, loosing at lest 7 seconds. She put together the rest of her run really well to end up 24th.
In the K1 semis Callum Gibb had a brilliant clean run only 10 seconds separating 1st and his final placing of 26th.
With only 10 through in each class to the finals, the kiwis could only watch and enjoy the action and there was plenty as they pushed hard for the meadsl. It was an amazing atmosphere and something to really inspire all our paddlers.
The results were dominated by Czechs, Slovenians and Germans .
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