Race Day!

It was a beautiful day for racing in north-west Washington. Blue skies and easily the best weather we've seen.

The race today was officially the US Cup #1 and the US Age Group Nationals. Juniors were divided into two categories - ages 15-16 and 17-18. Cadets were 13-14 and cub cadets 11-12. It made for interesting but at times confusing results.

Junior K-1 (15-16)

Francois St. Aubin 1st.
Jean Patrick Blanchette 2nd
Thomas Weber 5th
Ian Williams 7th

Junior K1W (15-16)

Thea Froelich 4th
Alison Gifford 8th

Cadet K1 (13-14)

Michael Tayler 1st

K1W
Dita Pahl (Aus) 1st

The results can be found on the Whitewater Slalom Association of Alberta website probably by tomorrow.

All of our Ontario and Quebec paddlers raced very well (the coach did too!) and were impressive not only with fast runs but also in persistence and determination. Thanks also to parent volunteers Glen, Jacques, and Claire for volunteering as judges and helping with the race.
Last night we had a wonderful barbecue at the residence of John Day the paddler who hosted the whole event. Kids got together for a lengthy game of football which we later learned was played with 3.5 downs as a compromise.

The large contingent of paddlers here for this race move to Chilliwack in the coming days. We will be paddling early Sunday morning and then heading to Seattle for a half day of sight-seeing. We'll probably check out the Space Needle if it is sunny and possilby the aquarium. Pike's Market and the original Starbucks are also planned destinations.

We plan to be at Tamihi on Monday by 11a.m. after spending Sunday night at two different locations through the hospitality of friends and family.

The water at Tamihi is apparently higher than usual for this time of year and the race organizers are quite excited as the conditions will be excellent for next weekend's races. More on those later.

A very successful day for our kids.They are off to experience some local culture at the movie theatre this evening.

Signing off near the North Bend Public Libary on a clear, quiet Saturday night.