Junior Development Tour 2006

JDT 2006: Final Words

Coach Dita Pahl, Alison Gifford (Ont), Thomas Boisvert-Weber (Que), Kathleen Tayler (Ont), Ian Williams (Ont), Michael Tayler (Ont), Francois St. Aubin Migneault (Que), Thea Froelich (Ont).

The Junior Development Tour 2006 is now over for the Ontario and Quebec paddlers who competed in the first three U. S. Cups, Junior Olympics, and the North American Championships. The tour was an overall success with representation from Canada, the U.S., China - and of course Australia. Our paddlers did very well throughout the tour and each race brought together a high level of competition on challenging but manageable courses.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support in making this tour happen. Marion and Toby did a great job of organizing the west coast races. Greg Hunter and the team from Alberta put together a really enjoyable series of events on the Kan. Our support team made up of Jacques, Claire, Christine and Glen helped the kids to have a very positive experience and also contributed to each race as officials and judges.

I would also like to thank coach Dita Pahl for an outstanding job of coaching our kids for the three week tour. We were very fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable and committed as Dita and all the paddlers benefitted from her expertise.

Thanks also to all the parents who supported the tour and followed our progress on the blog. Your support was much appreciated.

And finally to the paddlers - Thomas, Michael, Thea, Alison, J.P., Kathleen, Ian, and Francois - a paddle salute to you all for pursuing your goals and pushing your limits as racers. You have all made progess and should be proud of your accomplishments.

The Junior Development Tour is establishing itself as an important event on our paddling schedule. Plans are already underway for next year and it may include additional countries being represented. Locations and venues for JDT 2007 are being discussed and Canadian sites will hopefully be considered.

I hope you have enjoyed the blog. In spite of occasional technological problems, we were able to keep it updated as much as possible. Please remember to support public libraries as we relied on them in each location.

That would be it for JDT 2006.

Signing off from Ottawa.

Jim Tayler

Additional Photos

Some additional photos from Kananaskis including the Chinese team, an action shot of National Team coach Kurt Broenlich showing his peddling prowess, Coach Dita Pahl and her team, and the boys' newest hero, Liu Fei, seen giving Michael and Ian a lift.

Awards Ceremony

Photos from the U.S. Cup #3 awards ceremony. The organizers provided some well-deserved recognition for race volunteers.

U.S. Cup #3 Photos

Photos from U.S. Cup # 3. Results are available are at www.wsaa.ca.

Kananaskis Photos

Boater Cross action on the Kananaskis.

July 31st Update

We’ve had some difficulty getting connected to the internet but this update comes to you courtesy of the Canmore Public Library.

On Saturday, the Super Slalom Sprint was held on the Kananaskis River. The race consisted of 3-4 runs for each paddler on a shortened 13 gate course with 3 upstreams. The best run for each paddler counted towards the final standings. The event was a lot of fun and something perhaps to consider in the future.

With many of the Alberta volunteers away at the Alberta Summer Games in Red Deer, our team of Glen Gifford, Jacques Migneault, Claire St-Aubin, Christine Tayler, and yours truly helped to make this event a success. With close to 70 boats entered the event was much larger than originally expected but was enjoyed by the paddlers and spectators. Claire did a magnificent job of maintaining the most complicated scoreboard ever seen while Christine and I served as section judges and timers. Glen and Jacques looked after the finish and communicating times to Claire via walkie-talkie. Race organizer Greg Hunter was very appreciative of the support received from our team.

Team Ontario and L’Equipe du Quebec had a solid day with some impressive results. The day was a great warm-up forTuesday’s slalom race..

On Sunday evening we attended a pot-luck supper at the campground with the teams from Colorado and China. The Chinese delegation remains a very important part of the tour and it was a great chance to enjoy their company and socialize in spite of their limited English skills. We took lots of pictures and hope to post some of them.

Results from the Super Sprint Race are as follows (there was a mix-up on A.G.’s time but placement is correct):

Junior KI -16
1. Francois St-Aubin (61.5)
2. J.P. Blanchette (63.5)
4. Thomas Weber-Boisvert (66.7)
5. Ian Williams (71.7)

Junior KIW
2. Kathleen Tayler (72.3)

Junior KIW-16
4. Thea Froelich (80.0)
5. Alison Gifford

KI Cadet
1. Michael Tayler (65.7)

Paul Manning Hunter recorded the fastest time of the day at 57.2 with U.S. National team member Rick Powell a close second at 57.4.

US. Cup #3

Sunday was a great day for Team Ontario and L’Equipe du Quebec at the U. S. Cup Race #3 held on the Kananaskis River. The Junior 16 boys did exceptionally well with J.P. Blanchette taking first place, paddling partner Francois Saint-Aubin Migneault finishing second, and Ian Williams, with a very strong second run, placing third. Thomas Weber-Boisvert finished 7th. In the KIJW, Kathleen Tayler finished third just behind Jessica Groenveld with Chinese paddler Wang Wen taking first. Thea Froelich finished 4th in the JW 16 and Alison Gifford was 7th. Michael Tayler had two very fast runs and won the KI Cadet. His combined time was very competitive with the top Junior 16’s. Coach Dita Pahl won the Open Women class. Paul Manning Hunter won the Junior men’s with Ben Hayward finishing second. Full results should be on the Whitewater Slalom Association of Alberta website.

The race was very well organized and again supported by Ontario and Quebec volunteers Christine, Glen, Jacques, and Claire serving as judges. Everyone enjoyed a pizza dinner prior to awards, and then many of the assembled began preparations for departure. The large Colorado and Chinese contingent were leaving for Yellowstone National Park. Our kids spent a lot of time with this group and became good friends over the course of the tour.

As we fly home later this afternoon, this final report from the field is brought to you from the Calgary Public Library. Additional news and photos will be posted once we return from Calgary.

Upcoming events

We arrived at the river this morning to discover that the water was not on until late afternoon so we are heading into Canmore and Banff for a rest day. Tomorrow the Super Sprint Race takes place in the afternoon. Each paddler gets 4 runs on a ten gate course with the best run counting. It should be an interesting time. On Sunday, the kids can enter both the rodeo and boater cross. The US Cup #3 and North American Championship race is on Tuesday. Last night we had a video session at the townhouse with the full Ontario and Quebec team enjoying barbecued hamburgers and some great whitewater action. The weather today is a cool 14 degrees.

More Training on the Kananaskis

Today was a full day of training. We began at 8am with a joint workout with the team from Colorado. The one hour session included step-ups, push-ups, stair climbing, and sit-ups done in a continuous loop with about 20 paddlers. The workout was followed by a whitewater session which was also intense. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recuperating from the morning. On Tuesday the kids went with Dita

and Glen on a hike which provided some great scenery and an excellent workout. The afternoon paddle was quite a sight as 25 boats were all doing a short course in a continuous loop - lots of near misses but very poetic to watch. Training continues on Thursday with a morning session starting at 10am local time.

Photos from Tamihi

We had a great time at Tamihi and here are a few photos of some of the action.

U.S. Cup #2

U.S. Cup #2

On Sunday, July 23, close to 110 boats competed in the U.S. Cup #2 on the Chilliwack River. Unlike the previous day, this race was open to all and featured cadets, juniors, seniors, masters, and ultra masters including 74 year old Dave Kurtz from Pennsylvania. It was a hot day on the Chilliwack with the temperature pushing 37 degrees.

The results for this race were based on traditional categories and again we’re very proud of the effort made by everyone to race well and compete at a high level. Our junior men paddled well in a very tough field with top ranked boats from both Canada and the US competing. It was a tough day for Ben Hayward whose skirt popped open on his second run and couldn’t quite manage to get it back on in time to salvage his run. J.P., Francois, Ian, and Thomas all had very good runs for the most part althoughThomas missed a gate. Michael had an excellent first run but unexpectedly flipped and rolled just before a downstream gate which he then missed. Kathleen, Thea, and Alison all did well in again a very competitive field including a junior paddler from China.

Results:

KIJ
J.P. Blanchette 7th
Francois St-Aubin 9th
Ian Williams 11th
Thomas Weber-Boisvert 22nd

KI Cadet
Michael Tayler 4th

KIJW
Kathleen Tayler 4th
Thea Froelich 7th
Alison Gifford 9th

This race concluded the Chilliwack segment of the tour and we left for Kananaskis the next day.

The volunteers who organized the race did an outstanding job and orchestrated a very successful event.

JDT Update

Hello from Three Sister’s Village just outside of Canmore, Alberta. We have settled into the townhouse which we have rented for the next week. As much as we have enjoyed the camping experience, a hot shower, laundry facilities, and a plasma tv will make the next few days very comfortable for our team. Now to the updates.

Junior Olympics

Last Saturday’s Junior Olympic race on the Chilliwack River showcased some of the top juniors and cadets from both Canada and the United States with a number of Junior National team members racing. With a full slate of 77 boats the race was very well organized.

For our Ontario paddlers and members of L’Equipe du Quebec, it was a day that was an overall success with some excellent results but as is the nature of the sport, it held some surprises and a few tough moments.

Kathleen has joined the team after safely returning from the World Junior Championships in Solkan. She arrived without boat or gear but managed to race well using equipment from a variety of sources.

The race was organized in the same manner as North Bend’s U.S. Cup #1 with sub-categories in each division. Our junior boys raced very well and dominated the podium for the 15-16 year olds and compared very favourably to the older juniors who also competed. Thea and Alison are getting a lot of race experience and both did well in a very competitive field. Michael had a tough first run where he had to loop back to get a gate. He bounced back with a solid and very fast second run.

KI 15-16
Francois Migneault 1st
J.P. Blanchette 2nd
Ian Williams 4th
Thomas Weber-Boisvert 5th

KI Cadet
Michael Tayler 4th

KIW
Kathleen Tayler 1st

KIW 15-16
Thea Froelich 4th
Alison Gifford 5th

Full results can be found at http://www.kayakrdc.org/JO2006/Results.htm

Training on the Kan

Today was the first day training on the Kan. We will have better internet access by Wednesday and an update from last weekend will be posted.

Arrival in Canmore

We have arrived safely in Canmore after leaving Chilliwack early Monday morning.

Results and details from the weekend will be posted tomorrow.