All summer we have been fortunate to be able to host a series of Freestyle events for World Kayak here in the Seaway Valley. Each event turned up new paddlers willing to give competitive kayaking a chance and show what they could do on the features of the Riviere St-Charles. This Sunday was the best of the series!
23 paddlers joined us on the river for our last event of the season. 9 of the paddlers were kids under the age of 16 and 8 of the paddlers were girls (of all ages).

Registration took place at noon on what turned out to be a hot and humid sunny day. there were load of people on the water and many of them are still hesitate to participate. But that is OK too
At 1:00 PM we called an end to registration and rounded up the paddlers for the pre-competition chat. There were a lot of nervous paddlers particularly among the kids. We had 3 new paddlers who had not yet been on a wave to surf!! Sweet!
So the order of the day was Juniors and beginners first on Mini-wave, intermediate/advanced women on bob and then intermediate/advance men on Manic.

The kids:
What can we say, from new to seasoned we saw some great performances, smiles and courage!!!
Aaron, Alyssa (Both looking great in their pink Jackson boats) and Alex (Red Star) got on a wave for the first time ever and stood up to the stresses of trying a competition and surfing! Nicely done. And now your paddling experience will really turn up I expect to see some serious improvement from these 3 in the next months and through the winter. Pay attention and lets see how fast they improve for next season’s events!!!!
Andrew (Red Jackson Shooting Star) rocked it with great boat control, some old school paddle twirls and huge smiles!! Zachary and the others should watch for this kid next year.
Sam, in the black CReW Jackson Shooting star surfed and did spins. His improvement over the summer was incredible. Another one to watch!
Zachary Hakvoort, 13 years old and well over 6 feet in a my Jackson Super Star did a fine job at surfing and playing with the old school moves. Has a rockin’ hand roll too Well done Zachary.
Emily (my kid) is turning it up slowly and as she improves watch out. She rides and smiles and put an effort in there for some good points. Well done kiddo.
And then there is Maude: Maude got surfing and decided to sing us a song. The music form her voice and the smiles on her face got her a few extra points along with her excellent surfs.
Marika, our beginner paddler also put in good ride. Not sure if she was going to compete at first, she stepped up to the plate and got out for a couple good surfs and some huge smiles! well done.

All through their rides the parents, spectators, and judges yelled and encouraged the kids. A really excellent show of support.
Equally fun was the number of people who walked up to watch the next 2 events. The kids all came to cheer for their parents and friends while other local paddlers watched and encouraged too. we even saw some local folks from Williamstown, Ontario (CReW’s base) who had heard about the event). Thanks for cheering everyone on.

Intermediate/Advanced Women:
Cheryl, Sylvie and Patricia did a smoking job. Each paddling their own style and for their own reasons. Whether working to advance their skills, playing for fun and at times playing for the camera and judges, these ladies rocked!
Cheryl turned up the challenge with her first coordinated linking of moves. Awesome. Spin to a back deck (Zachary and her call it the spinning donkey ). Sylvie followed her lead stayed close behind her. Patrica was all about the smiles and the spins. She followed Maude’s lead and was singing to impress the judges. Nice.

Intermediate/Advanced Men:
The event was split into 2 heats and the competition was fun and exciting. (FYI: as I am getting older I start thinking that 1 ride per event might be easier than 2…)
Zachary rode first and wowed everyone with his aerial loop and back loop. He also pulled of a couple good cartwheels, spins and surfs. We call Zach a Junior but we make him work with the men. Alexandre (another junior did great spinning and throwing an end. Well done sir!
Francois impressed the crowd with his boat control in the C1. His boat is long and Manic likes to eat long boats but he kicked it and made everyone go “oohhhh”.
Aime-Jean gave us the best performance .He is a solid paddler who can stay in control and link his moves together. This guy is a local paddler who has been playing at this site since he was a kid. Well done A.J.Benoit, Jocelyn, Pierre-Luc, Alexandre, Gabriel, Jonathan and I did our best to push the rest of them and we got some good rides including a few loops, ends, cartwheels, a few good thrashings and some unexpected moves too.

After 3 hours of competition everyone was tired but smiling. The kids went back to swimming in the rapids while Sylvie and Cheryl counted the final points.
Here is how it ended:

Juniors:

Zachary Z.    99.5
Andrew    27
Alexandre L.    22
Samuel    20
Emily    11
Zach H.    10
Aaron    6
Maude    6
Alex   5
Alissa   4
Women:

Cheryl     25
Sylvie      24.5
Patrizia   20.5
Marika     7.5

Mens:

Aime-Jean   119
Francois      78.5
Benoit          45
Robert         40.5
Gabriel         38.5
Jocelyn         30
Alexandre     29
Pierre-Luc    17
Jonathan      16

Once the points were announced and thanks to the generosity of the World Kayak and Local Sponsors, we were able to hand out some awesome prizes for participation. As always the prizes were drawn by their peers and everyone walked away happy.

Loads of pictures and video clips for you to enjoy: CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES AND VIDEO CLIPS

The highlight for me was definitely having the privilege of standing in the water with the kids and helping them to experience the world of paddling.
This was followed closely by the joy of watching the families and friends cheer on their kids, siblings and buddies.

Thanks again to all the people who participated, World Kayak, World Kayak Sponsors and H2O Performance Paddles (our local sponsor) for making this possible for us. Thanks Cheryl for sticking it out with us all summer and helping us organize and manage the events (and providing superb competition for Sylvie).
And… also my wife, partner and best friend, Sylvie and our kids (Emily and Zachary) for supporting me and letting me share the passion with all of you. Could not do it without them

Hope to see you all on the Riviere St-Charles at one of our events in 2010.

Till then, See you on a river somewhere

Robert Zwanenburg.
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

The times were all very good and in the end we saw the C-1 kick it.

Here are the results:

Francois    0:01:52
Harry        0:01:55
Justin        0:01:56
Zach Z       0:02:00
Robert       0:02:00
Alexandre  0:02:02
Samuel       0:02:11
Sylvie         0:02:27
Zach H       0:02:36
Aime-Jean  0:02:37
Cheryl         0:02:39
Adam          0:02:41
Emily           0:02:56

Congrats to all the participants and thanks to our sponsors for allowing us to reward the efforts and desire to participate.

I will be the first to say that I was skeptical bout the potential success of the survivor series. I was wrong…. and happy to admit that Each event brought new people to us form all ages and boating styles. They are easy to organize, fun to watch and a blast to compete.

Next up: Our final Hometown Throwdown. August 23rd (Sunday) See you there.

Thanks to all for making this possible
See you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg

Hot Humid, chance of thunders showers. Ahh mid summer weather… The dog days of summer in the Seaway Valley

So the forecast was less than good but the water is warm and everyone in the province of Quebec is on Vacation.  The result: 12 competitors ready to give it their best on the Manic, Bob and mini wave! ?
It was goingto be another sweet World Kayak Hometown Throwdown in the Seaway Valley.

Each event has brought us a couple new paddlers and this was no exception. We welcomed Maude Chiasson, Stephanie Dupre and Pat Brayley (all 3 from Montreal) and Niek De Wildt (coming all the way from Amsterdam) for their first competitions!
That is right folks: We have an international flair now

It is great to see more and more girls competing with us. This ensures that Cheryl and Sylvie will have some harder competition! Stephanie did great playing on Bob, smiling and getting a reminder of why we always wear nose plugs! Nicely done Stephanie. Maude balled up her courage and got on briefly on mini wave. Sweet! I am expecting to see her improve a lot by the next competition in August!
Niek, who came out to race in the slalom survivor last week with his cousin Sean in a Tandem, did an awesome job too! His first ever ride in a hole was during our Throwdown He did great. Rolled till he could roll no more! Awesome job Niek! I believe that he might be hooked so watch out Dutch Water Dream. Here he comes! He will be tearing up their features in no time.
We were also joined by Pierre-Yves, a local school principal (My school Principal was not a cool paddler when I was a kid…..), Cheryl, Sylvie, Zachary, Emily, Sean, Adam and myself.

This go around we added the hand paddles! Anyone who wanted to complete a ride with hand paddles was awarded 5 extra points for each move done with hand paddles Does that sound generous? Give it a go. You might change your mind!
Sylvie, Cheryl, Zachary and Sean all took advantage of the paddles to bump up their score a bit So what did we see from our competitors? loads of spins and enders, loops (front and back), cartwheels and a few Donkey Flops (that is a flip that is mostly in the water ). We added points for effort, smiles, clowning around, thumpings and swims too !!!!

Here comes my favorite part!: We added a Duo surf comp! 2 rides and whoever could amuse the judges the most took it all! So we saw a lot of comedy on the water. (I shot my wife! Hee hee. Kinda weird but it got us the most laughs) you will have to watch the video clip

The event ended with a barbecue at our home.

A great event, awesome people, great sponsors and loads of fun.

The scores were as follows:

Duos:

Zach and Cheryl   9
Pat and Steph       13
Sean and Neik      22
Sylvie and Rob      24

Juniors:

Maude                 17
Emily                   31

Men (We included Zachary and Sean in this category)

Neik                    17
Adam                  33
Pierre-Yves          50
Robert                53
Pat                      89
Sean                   104
Zachary              219

Women:

Steph                 25
Sylvie                 84
Cheryl                136

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this possible.

For pics and videos of the day click here.

Our next Throwdown is August 23nd. We will have kids from the Boys and Girls Club there and hopefully a lot more locals (if the forecast is kind to us!)

Till next time: Paddle Hard and see you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg

www.cornwallwhitewater.com

Tonight we were once again graced by the weather gods. Rain for the most of the day followed by a friendly thunder storm. Then, in answer to my continuous sacrifices to the weather gods: Sunny and warm from 6:30 till the end of the event.

We had another great turnout in Valleyfield Quebec on the Riviere St-Charles. 11 people came out in spite of the forecast. We had a promise from 8 others but the forecast put an end to that. Oh well.

Cheryl, Maryse B, Maryse L, (not just the same name but they had the same type of car too ), Emily, Sylvie, Alexandre, Pascal, Lee, Adam, Sean and Neik all got in the gear and walked to the top of the course to give it their best. And they did.
Through the season I have made it a point to make each event a bit tougher than the previous one and this was no exception. Although we take into account the various skill levels we made sure that there were a few extra gates, an few must make eddies that are not quite so easy to catch (The last one on river right in the upper section is just above a lovely pour over that will toss you around just enough to make sure that you try hard to make the eddy:) ) and of course, the optional hand roll at the end of a bonus time adjustment.

Our participants did great! Pascal had never before run a race or even thought about pushing hard down a river. Sean and Neil paddled on of the CReW Club JK Duos. Neik was in a kayak for the first time and they were awesome. Maryse B did an awesome job and made all her lines. Her smiles definately were nice to see on the water! Cheryl upped her game and the times showed. Emily (all of 11 years old) made all the right moves and finished with a smashing hand roll. Sylvie helped with the time keeping and did the demo run for everyone at the beginning. Her run great too and came with loads of big smiles as well.
Yours truly did not race as I am down with a nasty ear infection that I am hoping to control by Saturday morning.

Lee is something of an enigma. He is a good paddler, a father and someone that we like to have around and is also legally blind. His vision is very limited and watching him paddle so well and with so much “get up and go” is awesome.

The race ended in smiles. Everyone got a chance to step up their game in one way or another and then we got a chance o reward them. The prizes from our sponsors were met with great excitement. Everyone walked away with something. Not to mention a good workout and great memories.
The scores were as follows:

Alexandre:  2:24
Cheryl:         2:27
Pascal:         2:30
Lee:             2:32
Maryse B:     2:37
Sylvie:          2:46
Adam:          2:50
Maryse L:     2:58
Sean/Neik:   3:04
Emily:          3:11

Our next event in the Seaway Valley is a Hometown Throwdown! 25 July 2009 at the Riviere St-Charles in Valleyfied Quebec.Hope we will see a lot of people there

Till then paddle safe and see you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

Valleyfield, Quebec: Wednesday June 17th – 6:30 PM – Riviere St-Charles.

World Kayak and CReW present another Slalom Survivor event: “Down River Madness part 2″.

Registration bean at 6:30 (a bit later than planned but construction on the Mon Seigneur Langlois bridge (into Valleyfield) slowed things down a bit. But by 7: we had 12 paddlers ready to go! The local slalom club was training kids so we even got a couple slalom boats into the mix. Way cool.

The course started above “bob”. The competitors had 3 must make eddies and 7 gates until the first of 2 obstacles. The first obstacle is a person with a ball. Catch the ball and throw it back in the persons hands and you are on you way. (The ease of the obstacle depends on who is holding the ball at the eddy..Oo.. If you were lucky it was my Daughter Emily but if he gods did not smile on you it was Aime-Jean….) From their it is a ferry and drop into the eddy at mini wave, ferry across mini wave then onto the last obstacle to stop the clock. This time we decided to appeal to the little kids and challenge the adults to find their inner child…. To stop the clock each paddler must get to a small bottle in the last eddy, open it, blow 2 bubbles (you guessed it… it is a bottle of bubbles and the bottle is pink… Mathiew asked if there was another color ) close the bottle and put it on the dock. The clock stops when the bottle is back on the dock. (sorry we did not get a picture of this.. it was a hoot!)
Sounds too easy?
We also award so many seconds off the time for those who want to try a hand roll – try and succeed = -5 seconds and try and fail = -2 seconds.

The first start was at 7:22 and the fun continued till the the last paddler finished up.

We had a variety of paddlers from Jean-Phillipe who just started paddling to our regulars like Cheryl and Zachary.

Here are the results: (scores are in time and some folks asked me to list the boat type and groups)

1. Maxime Leboeuf           (Cadet Slalom)          1:40
2. Aurelie Rondeau           (Cadet Slalom)          1:40
3. Aime-Jean Lavigne       (Men Play boat)         1:59
4. sylvie Lebel                  (Women Play boat)    2:00
5. Dany Ross                    (Men Creek)              2:11
6. Julie Aubin                   (Women Creek)         2:15
7. Robert Zwanenburg      (Men Play boat)        2:16
8. Zachary Zwanenburg    (Cadet Play boat)      2:18
9. Cheryl McGregor          (Women Play boat)    2:22
10. Emily Zwanenburg        (Cadet play boat)      2:40
11. Martin Naud                 (Men Play boat)         2:46
12. Jennifer Tytula              (Women Play boat)    2:52
13. Jean-Philippe Merrette  (Men Play boat)         2:55

Congrats go to Jean-Philippe, Martin Naud, Dany Ross and Jennifer Tytula for making a huge effort and having fun with us on their first timed race!

I was really happy to see the young slalom paddlers come out and play. Hopefully they will encourage some of their fellow club and team members to challenge us for the July 17th survivor!

When it was all over we got the group together for and announce the standings and also let them go with some sweet gifts from our sponsors. Julie did sweet little jig in her new Crocs!

Everyone who came this time said they will be back in July to take another go at it! How cool is that. Lots of smiles, and some awesome paddling by everyone.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and thank-you World Kayak and all the sponsors for making this possible.

Next Slalom Survivor: July 17th

Next Throwdown: July 25th
(For folks who want to come out to the throwdown – you can camp in my  backyard if you are coming from out of town.)

See you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

Our first regional throwdown took place on a beautiful summy day in Valleyfield.

The day started with a volunteer effort in conjunction with the Valleyfield Kayak Club (CEEVV). The section of river that we are all privileged to play in is unfortunately also subject to vandalism… So there are regular volunteer efforts to clean it up. All morning before the start of the throwdown, about 30 volunteers (mostly parents of kids and the kids who make up the CEEVV and 10 of the CReW members pulled sopping carts, bicycles, bike tires, TVs, tires and other lovely items out of the water. Not a fun way to spend time but worth the efforts. Thanks to all that helped.

At noon we were done and started taking registrations for the throwdown. 12 people signed up and the fun got under way.

The frist events was for kids, new paddlers and even a new C1 paddler. Held at mini wave the kids and newbies had a blast surfing spinning and even the occasional ender Most importantly it was a lot of big smiles. Sam (11-years old and hist first big surf on mini wave)), Max, Zachary (in a C-1 for the first time) Jennifer and Emily. Each doing what they could and having fun while encouraging each other.
The highlight here was definitely Sam. Sam came out with his mom and Dad to play around in Valleyfield. Sam’s dad Francois is a C-1 paddler his mom is a rafter and he and his brothers are all in Kayaks. Another paddling family! This little guy was nervous and when he got on Mini Wave he rode well for a bit then flushed. The judges followed him down to an even friendlier wave for his second ride and he rocked it! Thanks guys. Well done Sam!

The second event was the men’s and Junior K1-A and C1-A on Manic.
Here we had some local paddlers that could rip! Aime-Jean, James, Pierre-Yves, myself, Zachary (in a kayak), Francois (C-1) and Max (yup Max wanted to participate in every event he could. 12 years old and lots of enthusiasm)
Aime-Jean killed it in the men’s category with a few loops, cartwheels, a Space Godzilla and a bunch of spins. Every one was throwing loops and we even saw an “almost” McNasty from James. Good try sir. The feature is not well suited for that but it was good to see someone try to go big!
(Unfortunately for myself it ended with a pulled muscle and I di not finish the comp… Teach me for not stretching before I paddled)
Francois was the only C-1 in his class but it was great to watch. The boat was an old school Dagger and to see someone handle a long boat so well in Manic was inspiring. Spins, front enders and back enders. Nice
The Junior put Zachary and Max against each other. Again we saw some great loops, lots of spins and some great attitude form both kids. Max is a bit young than Zachary and brings some good slalom skills to the table. Zachary will have to watch himself throughout the rest of the season:)

It ended with the Women. Sylvie Cheryl and Jenn competing in a hole called Bob. All 3 ladies were about the smiles and fun. Enders were new to their repertoire and Cheryl threw her best donkey flip ever! Nicely done.

This year we actually had spectators. It was a really nice day so lots of people were out and about. A lot of other local paddlers came to watch as well.

When the points were announced and the prizes drawn we were blown away by the thanks with which we were rewarded. The biggest smiles and thanks came from Sam who won a Shred Ready Helmet in Camo colors. He says he will definitely come back again. The little guy makes the helmet look good

Here are the results of the day:

Juniors
Zachary Zwanenburg: 76
Maxime Leboeuf: 17
Emily Zwanenburg: 7
Samuel Lizotte: 4

Men’s K-1A
Aime-Jean Lavigne: 105
Pierre-Yves Lecompte: 66
James Golic: 60
Robert Zwanenburg: 9

C1
François Lizotte: 24
Zachary Zwanenburg: 14

Women’s K-1
Cheryl McGregor: 44
sylvie Lebel: 24
Jennifer Tytula: 16

So another World Kayak Throwdown goes off and the freestyle season has begun in Valleyfield.

Thanks to everyone who came out to participate, our volunteers who judge and help make this fun or the kids and to all the sponsors that make this all possible.

So the next Throwdown in July 25th. Sign up and I hope to see many people there!

The next Seaway Valley Slaom Survivor is June 17th! Come out and and run the course and have some fun!

See you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

I have got to be honest with you. At first I was skeptical. I did not think that a bunch of playboaters and river runners would enjoy gates.

Man was I wrong!!!!!!

At 6:30 this evening, with the help of my family and friends at CReW, we gathered up a group of paddlers at the Riviere St-Charles in Valleyfield. The race course that we set up involved punching a couple holes, running a series of 5 gate and carrying out a series of challenges along the way. (At one locations we had a volunteers sit with a basket ball and play catch with the paddlers. Spins (3 flat spins in an without getting dizzy…) were also the order of the day in an eddy after crossing through the gate. A must make front surf and ferry at the 3/4 mark and an optional hand roll at the end. The course would take from 2 to 4 minutes.

After the last registrations we had 10 paddlers sign up for this first event:) I was totally blown away at the end by the smiles and laughter of the participants and the cheers and encouragement from spectators and fellow competitors. It was awesome.

When the race was completed we invited the paddlers to run the race again but this time pick a partner and race in one of our Dynamic Duos. This too was a hit. Running gates and making eddy turns in the duo is a snap but it takes some getting used to at first. We had 2 entries and 2 others groups that wanted to demo the Duos but not race them. The next go around we might end up with a complete class for the Duos. I might need more boats!

The results were as follows:(all times are in minutes:seconds)

Zachary         02:07
Sebastien      02:12
Robert           02:25
Aime-Jean     02:30
Cheryl           02:32
Maxime         02:32
Sylvie            02:39
Emily            02:50
Julie              03:05

In the Duos:

Rob and Maude             02:37
Julie and Sebastien        02:55
Aime-Jean and Martin   No time counted
Sylvie and Cheryl          No time counted

All the participants walked away from the event with a nice prize from our sponsors too. Thanks guys.

At the end of the evening we touched base with the local slalom club (Some were watching) and we will be seeing them at the next event! The feedback was great the weather was great and the smiles on everyone involved has assured me that the Slalom Survivor Series will grow and is definitely here to stay. Who hoo!!!!!!

I am truly sorry, I had soo much fun putting on this event that I forgot to take pictures. (Will do better next time)

Our next event in the Seaway Valley will be our first Hometown Throwdown of the year. A freestyle event on Manic at the Riviere St-Charles in Valleyfield, Quebec. (June 6th 2009. The event may have to be moved to the 7th. More info on this shortly)

So we are off to a great start here in the Seaway Valley.

Thanks to all the participants from tonight and looking forward to seeing a whole lot more activity in the events planned throughout June, July and August.

See you on the river!

Robert Zwanenburg

So the competition began with the Ladies.
Cheryl wowed us with a donkey flip on Bob and everyone was surfing, backsurfing, spinning and smiling. The smiles are definitely contagious!
After 3 rides each the women’s scores were as follows:
56 points—–Cheryl McGregor in a red Jackson 06 AllStar (Alexandria, Ontario)
33 points—–Sylvie Lebel in a green Jackson Star (Williamstown, Ontario)
15 points—–Maryse Leblanc Red Jackson Star (Athelstan, Québec)
13 points—–Jennifer Tytula Red Jackson AllStar(Cornwall, Ontario)

Next we moved to the Men’s category:
The action and the variety was good. Loops and air loops (Aime-Jean and Fanch) were the order of the day along with a McNasty from James (wow!!!!), roundhouses, backstabs (yup, that would be me:)), spins, and smiles from some as well!

The final outcome for the men was as follows:
132 points—-Aimé-Jean Lavigne in a green AllStar(Valleyfield, Québec)
85 points—–Fanch Le Pabic in an orange Bliss Stick Rad (Montréal, Québec)
82 points—–Marc-André Goudreau in an orange Pyrhanna 4-Twenty (Valleyfield, Québec)
62 points—–Robert Zwanenburg in a green Jackson Super Star (Williamstown, Ontario)
55 points—–James Golic in an Orange Jackson Superstar (Montréal, Québec)
17 points—–Pièrre-Luc Hénauld in a wavesport Project 52 (Laval, Québec)
11 points—–Lee Finnie in an orange Jackson Super Star (Athelstan, Québec)
8 points——Martin Cayouette in an orange Dagger Crazy 88(Gatineau, Quebec)

And then the highlight of the day: The Juniors!!!!!!
The turnout for the juniors was amazing. 2 girls and 5 boys
We asked the kids where they wanted to compete and quickly sorted them into 2 groups. Those who wanted to compete on Manic and those who wished to do so on mini-wave.
We were delighted to see a variety of stuff from the kids. From loops to retendos, spins, stern stalls below the wave and my personal favorites: the guitar paddle, the tomahawk and even an ode to the guitar smashing from “guitar hero”. Sweet!

The results for the Junior A’s (playing on Manic) were as follows:
45 points—–Zachary Zwanenburg in a black Jackson Shooting Star (Williamstown, Ontario)
28 points—–Aurelie Rondeau in a yellow Wavesport Project 45 (Valleyfield, Québec)
23 points—–Sean Hakvoort in a PINK (who da man!!!!) Jackson AllStar (Avonmore, Ontario)
19 points—–Max Leboeuf in a yellow Jackson Fun11/2 (Montreal, Quebec)

The results for the Junior B’s (playing on Mini-Wave) were as follows:
13 points—–Zachary Hakvoort in a red Jackson 06 AllStar (Avonmore, Ontario)
12 points—–Adam Hakvoort in a blue Liquid Logic CR250 (Avonmore, Quebec)
11 points—–Emily Zwanenburg in an orange Jackson Shooting Star. (Williamstown, Ontario)

After the events we gathered everyone back at the parking lot for the announcement of points and the end of event participation prize.

Everyone who competed went home with something cool thanks to the generous donations from our WK sponsors, and local sponsors including, Base Camp (Pointe-Claire), Atmosphere (Sports Experts in Valleyfield), Jackson Kayaks, H2O Paddles, Level 6, Smith Optics, Kayak Session, Shred Ready, Predator, World Kayak and the Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club.

19 competitors!!! (Missing in the picture is Marc-Andre as he had to leave in a hurry)
The question of the day is who is the guy in the left hand corner (left side last row). He seems to have just slipped into the picture. Oh well. Welcome to the group dude!

Once everyone had a chance to grab extra stickers and magazines we offered everyone a bonus event: Boater Cross!!
12 people took their boats to the put in ABOVE (a very swirly eddy that keeps paddlers on their toes) manic and bob and when the whistle blew, they jockeyed for position and made their way down the best line, up through gate 6 (always guaranteed to provide a bit of carnage as the eddy is small the gate is tight and the hole below will hold you if you miss the boof.) and down the rest till gate 18)
At the finish line Zachary took first, Fanch second, Max third, Cheryl 4th.
The best carnage went to Martin who was nudged at gate 6 and spent the rest of the race having people boof over him and ride under him.
(After a few comments next years boater cross events will be done in heets of 6 and we will add several more slalom gates to make it more challenging)

The highlights for me:
1- So many kids on the water!
2- Watching parents come out and cheer on their kids. Mary-Jane, Nathalie, and Sylvain joined us from Shore to see how their kids were doing and make a bit of noise.
3- Seeing how much people in the area have progressed, and
4- Watching the community grow and the sport flourish!

So, another Seaway Valley event in Valleyfield Quebec on the Rivière St-Charles.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to our sponsors and volunteers who made it all happen.

See you all on the water soon,

Robert Zwanenburg
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

The turn out for this event was great.
24 Junior Men, 5 Junior Women, 3 Pro/Open Women and 16 Pro/Open Men with the support of Matt McGuire, Ryan Whetung and Cory Volt from Wilderness Tours put on a great show.

In spite of the level and the frustrating flushes down river the event went of really well. This was a one day event which means it is a long day. Fortunately the weather was great (lots of praying to the weather gods for that one), music was descent and kept everyone moving and the commentary from Ryan and Corey gave everyone a good idea of what was going on and also kept us laughing (I believe ther e were a few choice comments about how the youngest paddler, Emily, would not have to work to hard to bet her dad’s score ).
After a great day of paddling everyone headed off to Rafters at Wilderness tours for an excellent dinner and closing ceremonies.

The final standings for the Canada Cup were as follows:

Junior Mens Results:
1st— Devyn Scott
2nd—Isaac Holden
3rd—Kalob Grady

The remaining 21 did great as well: Kyle Allen Hull, Jamie Rosenberger,Cooper Lemkay, Josh Mills, Sebastien Scholl, Nate Garcia, Ben Stanistreet, Frank Jackson, Martin Norment, Erik Johnson, Stephen Fortster, David Gorski, Zachary Zwanenburg, Justin Fraser, Kevin Kelleher, Graham King, Jacob Regenstein, Jackson Conn, Quinn Connell and Sean Hakvoort.

Junior Women Results:
4 points—Katie Kowalski
3 points—Alex Shallhorn
1 point— Sara Daub
Hats of to Emily Zwanenburg and Jessica Droujko for steeping up and working hard!

Men Pro Results:
1st—Joel Kowalski
2nd– Moe Kelleher
3rd—Tino Specht
The rest of the men did great too with lots of good rides: Kent Bretzlaff, David Spiegel, Shawn Byron, Dave Zinn, Ivan Stiefic, Alex Perret, Brendan Ginter, Chris Sorfleet, Ben Fraser, Barry Picket and Robert Zwanenburg.

The final Standings for the 2008 Junior CanAm Freestyle Competition (combined Canada Cup and Blackwater Challenge):

Junior Women Results:
1st–Alex Shallhorn
2nd–Sara Daub
3rd–Emily Zwanenburg

Junior Men Results:
1st–Devyn Scott
2nd–Kyle Allen Hull
3rd–Kalob Grady

The Canada Cup was another great example of what freestyle kayaking is and where it is going. Seeing so many new young paddlers competing is something that makes this writer really happy. Kayaking (in all its forms) is an amazing sport that is still far from being main stream. Thanks to the efforts of so many volunteers, supportive parents and companies like Wilderness Tours and so many others, we are seeing an increase in young people paddling. What’s more, we are seeing more and more women on the rivers and competing.

Until the next event, Play Safe and Paddle Hard,

Robert Zwanenburg (aka: Emily’s dad)

Photos are courtesy of Colin Moneypenny.

Day 2: Kayak Instruction, The Sozo Teen Center and the Junior Freestyle Prelims.
After breakfast and the always necessary coffee, I had time to head up to a flatwater section of the river to witness the future of our sport: Wilderness Tours / Ottawa Kayak School, from Beachburg, Ontario, sent up some very talented instructors to bring kayaking to the kids from the Sozo Teen Center in Watertown. Tony Gullo, the director of the center, brought 10 kids out for their first ever kayak experience. Phil Quinn and Brenna Kelly, from OKS, did a great job at introducing the teens to kayaking. When I showed up they were getting them into the boats and there were still a lot of smiles and a whole lot of attitude. And then, one at a time, Phil and Brenna slid them into the water, snug in their boats and got them wet! Uhuh, flippin’ and getting out of a boat is something we all take for granted and don’t really want to do, but think back on your first wet exit (for some of us that is a long long time ago…). The faces on shore were suddenly filled with all anxiety.
Good times☺.
By the end of the lesson, the kids were having a blast. When I met up with the kids at lunch time, they were all more than happy to tell me how much fun it was and how they couldn’t wait to get in again!
Hats of to Phil and Brenna, who did a great job keeping it fun for them.

In the afternoon it was time to get the competition underway:
The event was held at Hole Brothers. The feature is located in town just below the office of the Hudson River Rafting Company. Mike Duggan from Hudson River Rafting, explained that they were more than happy to help with the event by providing access through their put-in, showers and washroom facilities and a raft for the judges.
The turn out for the Junior Competition was amazing:
18 Junior men (ages of 12 and 18) and 7 Junior Women (ages 10 to 18) turned up to take a shot at making the cut in the first day of competition.
To see so many young people competing and so many young women in the competition is really something. The sport has been dominated by men for a long time and it is great t o see this change.
The higher than usual water levels made for a somewhat flushy feature but the kids who competed put on a great show, throwing, blunts, roundhouses, spins and even the occasional donkey flip.
By the end of the day 1 the standings were as follows:

Junior Mens Prelim Results:
48 points—Devon Scott
47 points—Kyle Allen Hull
43 points—Quinn Connell
23 points—Josh Mills
19 points—Jamie Rosenberger
19 points—Kalob Grady
11 points—Jackson Conn
11 points—Zachary Zwanenburg
10 points—Duncan Marsh
8 points—Justin Fraser
The remaining 8 did great as well: Willie Underwood, Jonathan Harris, Aidaw Conn, Kevin Kelleher, Peter Semehen, Jacob Regenstein, Graham King, and Leighton Kunz and I am certain we will see them all again at other events soon!

Junior Women Prelim Results:
3 points—Alex Shallhorn
2 points—Nicole Dube
1 point— Morgan Fuller
1 point— Emily Zwanenburg
0 points—Umeko Laird
0 points—Tamara Semehen
0 points—Jessica Droinjko

The weather was incredible and the hot sun beat down on the paddlers, judges (Moe Kelleher had a lot to say about that ☺.) and spectators alike. After 3 hours of competition every one was done and it was time for a good meal and some well deserved down time.

The event drew an interesting crowd and I was fortunate to be able to spend some time listening to and learning from Art Miller. Art is the Director of the USACK Junior Olympic Development Center. His experience as an instructor and coach is beyond definition and his enthusiasm for all whitewater sports is contagious. During the competition he watched the paddlers and their techniques. At dinner he shared with me what he saw. “The importance of the basic forward stroke is so important…… A vertical paddle makes all the difference ”. This was a message that kept coming through as he talked about the skills of the paddlers that he watched.
More importantly was “Learning to kayak has to be fun”. Throughout his teaching it has been so important for the kids (and adults) to have fun while they learn. A bit of teaching followed by fun is the key to keeping everyone interested and bringing new paddlers into our sport.
His message for instructors: “We (instructors) do not know everything……Spend time with other instructors and learn from other instructors…” .
Thanks Art for teaching so many and reminding us to keep it real.

Day 3: More Teen clinics, training, semi-finals and finals.
After another great breakfast from Tommy and Sarah and their volunteers, the morning was split into groups.
Brenna and Phil took the Teens from the Sozo Teen Center for the next step in their learning and adventure. Another successful lesson and more smiling faces!
Joel Kowalski and Moe Kelleher (from OKS) taught a small group of adults who wanted to improve their skills and the competitors gathered at Hole Brothers to hone their skills.
Overnight the water level dropped almost a foot and the results were an even more flushy wave.
Retentive moves had to made to the left. Right spins and blunts would have to be super fast to avoid flushing of the side.
In the afternoon, it was time to compete.
The conditions made it a bit more challenging and we could clearly define the line between the more experienced paddlers and the others. Each paddler had 3 rides but the wave was “not attainable” meaning that once you flush you could not get back on.

The first event consisted of the 3 junior girls who tied for 5th place the day before. Umeko, Tamara and Jessica gave it their all and in the end Jessica came out on top to move on to the finals.
Each one of them should be very proud. The feature was not easy and getting flushed off was the issue for many competitors in all the categories that day.

The Junior Men stepped up the level and we saw some excellent blunts (mostly to the left), back stabs, roundhouses, clean spins, a donkey flips and the occasional shot at a McNasty.
This is where we could see the difference in the more experienced paddlers and the newer paddlers. The top ten were cut to the top 5 and then they were sorted in the finals as follows:
Junior Men’s:
1st Place: Devon Scott
2nd Place: Kyle Allen Hull
3rd Place: Quinn Connell
4th Place: Josh Mills
5th Place: Kalob Grady.

The Junior Women’s Finals were also a lot of fun to watch. The wide range of age and paddle skill made for an entertaining event. The message from the water was Spins and Sportsmanship. Each girl cheered and encouraged the other and in the end the standings came out as follows:
Junior Women’s:
1st Place: Alex Shallhorn
2nd Place: Nicole Dube
3rd Place: Jessica Droinjko
4th Place: Tie: Morgan Fuller and Emily Zwanenburg

The last events of the day included the Women’s and Men’s Pro (Open Category).
In the Women’s Category Brenna Kelly was challenged by Alex Shalhorn, Sylvie Lebel and Cheryl McGregor. After 3 rides each and some good moves and unfortunate flushes the standings were as follows:
Women’s Pro /Open:
1st Place: Brenna Kelly
2nd Place: Cheryl McGregor
3rd Place: Sylvie Lebel
4th Place: Alex Shallhorn

For Freestyle enthusiasts, the Men’s Pro Finals is always great to watch and this was no exception.
Remember I said that the feature was tough? Well, it is. I spent some time out on the water both days and enjoyed it a lot (even through a couple blunts despite a shoulder injury.. not to bad for an older dude…) but rest assured it is not the easiest feature.
These guys (Joel Kowalski, Phil Quinn, Alex Parrette and Moe Kelleher) made it look like just another fun day at the park!
Everyone was going big. Huge blunts, air blunts, back stabs, donkey flips, and McNastys were the recipe for success. Not one of them held back. Now, we have come to expect this from Joel and Moe but my hat goes of to Alex and Phil who both put it all out there and showed us what can be done.

The final results for the Men’s Pro / Open were as follows:
1st Place: Joel Kowalski
2nd Place: Moe Kelleher
3rd Place: Alex Parrette
4th Place: Phillip Quinn

After another grueling day of competition everyone headed in for the closing ceremonies and dinner and then it was time to head home.
Tommy, Sarah Merryn, Colleen and Valarie did an awesome job at hosting this event and making sure that everyone was happy, comfortable and well fed.
Thanks guys, your efforts were definitely appreciated.

Memorable moments: Kids encouraging kids. On the water and off the water, the kayak community and it’s kids continue to make me smile. T o one degree or another, they all look out for each other. They may be competing but they are also helping out and learning. This can not get enough mention. I am truly proud to be able to watch them all and be part of it as well.

The Driving Force:

Behind each one of these kids is a driving force (driving can often be a key word here too) and that is their parents.
In this day and age there are so many parents that, whether by choice or by circumstance, are not involved with their children and for this we are thankful for Teen Centers and Youth Programs.
But for all those parents who make long drives across the country, get in the water with their kids in spite of their own fears or make large financial sacrifices so that their young one can be part of something special this short column is for you:
On Saturday morning, after a cup or 3 of coffee I sat and watched the vehicles come and go at the event. The varied license plates caught my eye. Ontario, New York, New Hampshire and even California!
Well there must be something interesting behind all this… On Sunday morning, while watching the kids train at Hole Brothers I met the parents of our athletes.
Karen Savage and Karin Coon. 2 great ladies from Moultonboro, New Hampshire came all the way up to support their kids and bring them home. Karen’s 2 daughters were competing for the first time and she was there to cheer them on. Karin was up to cheer on her 2 sons who were also competing for the first time. These ladies are not paddlers but they are definitely involved with their kids. They can recognize the moves on the water and understand their kids passion for the sport. This is what their kids will remember in years to come.
Brenda Mills came up from Packingham, Ontario to support her son Josh. Josh is going to the 2009 Worlds and this is not a small thing. Not only is it a huge event but it is in Switzerland (that would be the other side of the pond…) and that is a serious commitment from the family. Josh’s parent can always be seen at events to cheer him on and this will help him go far in the sport and in life!
Linda and Scott Shallhorn are always around when their daughter Alexandra competes and this was no exception. Hailing from Oshawa Ontario, Alex is on her way to Switzerland next year to represent the Junior Canadian Women and her folks continued support and enthusiasm plays a big part in her success.
Zachary and Emily Zwanenburg have been paddling for a long time and have started competing recently. Although I am an avid paddler and love spending time with my kids on and off the water, the special mentions go to my wife, best friend and favorite kayak instructor Sylvie.
Sylvie Lebel (who also competed this weekend) is their teacher and is always present at their events. I am a very lucky kayaker indeed and so are my children.
And then there was Mary. Mary Hull took the long trek from Crescent City California, leaving her husband Gary to fend for himself, so that she could pick up her son, Kyle, after his stay at the Keener Program on the Ottawa River. California to Ottawa, to Watertown, and more! The drive alone is a commitment as is the stay with the Keeners. Kyle is an excellent paddler with great technique (which I suspect is in part a result of having a family that paddles too!) and I have no doubt that he appreciates the effort that his mom (and his dad) put in for him. The fact that he rode back to “keenerville” with his mom instead of his friends is a testament to that fact. Looks good on you Kyle ☺

There are an endless line-up of parents that stand behind the kids and I am honored to have met some of them this past weekend and listed to their experiences. It really is an amazing community.

Looking forward to the next event, meeting more people and who knows, maybe even competing myself….

CLick on the links below to see more action photos from the Blackwater Challenge:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmnypny/sets/72157606962259080/?page=2
and
http://www.micksgraphics.com/

thanks Colin and thank-you Mick. We appreciate the effort that you make to do this for us.

See you all on the river soon,

Robert Zwanenburg