Junior Development Tour 2006

JDT 2006: Final Words

2006-08-04T22:05:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-04T14:59:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

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

U.S. Cup #3 Photos

2006-08-04T13:44:00.000-04:00

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

Kananaskis Photos

2006-08-04T13:29:00.000-04:00

Boater Cross action on the Kananaskis.

July 31st Update

2006-08-02T16:33:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-28T13:45:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-26T22:59:00.000-04:00

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

U.S. Cup #2

2006-07-26T22:44:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

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

2006-07-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

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

Results and details from the weekend will be posted tomorrow.

Junior Development Tour 2006

2006-07-20T19:35:00.000-04:00

The results from the North Bend race and the upcoming Junior Olympics and US Cup #2 races can be found at:

http://www.kayakrdc.org/

More Training at Tamihi!

2006-07-19T18:52:00.001-04:00

Day three at Tamihi consisted of a late morning session, an early lunch, a haircut for Michael, a trip to the library, and the boat measuring/lasagna supper in the evening. The forecast for the coming days calls for temperatures in the mid-thirties so we will replenish our water supply on the way back to the campsite. The campite is about a 20 minute drive from Chilliwack so we only go in to town once a day. Everyone looked good on the water this morning. More photos for your enjoyment.

Assorted Photos

2006-07-18T17:24:00.000-04:00

Site of the barbecue in North Bend, WA

Michael and Thomas at Tamihi
Outside the Seattle Aquarium

Alison at Tamihi

The Team & JP at Tamihi

Training at Tamihi

2006-07-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

Hello from the Chilliwack River. We arrived yesterday at the Tamihi campsite located near the race site and the kids had the river to themselves for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The water level is higher than what we remember from the 03 Nationals but still lots of exposed rocks. Boat control and river reading skills are definitely tested on each run.

Most of the paddlers who were with us in North Bend have arrived. The Chinese team are part of Chris Weigand’s Front Range Paddling Association out of Colorado and were out this morning on their team run at 6:45a.m. However, Team Ontario and l’Equipe du Quebec hit the gravel road at 7a.m. for a 30 minute run which got everyone warmed up for a good breakfast.

The Tuesday morning session went well as Dita had the kids doing brokens. The river was a little busier as the groups from North Carolina and Pennsylvania have also arrived. The weather remains excellent – cool but sunny with no bugs or humidity.

Marion expects around 100 competitors this weekend. The Junior Olympics race is Saturday and only cadets and juniors will be racing. Sunday’s is U.S. Cup #2 and a full race program is expected.

We’re camping across the road in the Tamihi campsite. It’s clean, well cared for and constantly supervised. We continue to bring boats back to the campsite at night.

On Wednesday, the organizers have planned a lasagne supper combined with boat measuring (perhaps a motivational approach we should consider).

Everyone is well and starting to really show the benefits of daily training, high calibre coaching, access to a great stretch of whitewater, and a superb support staff.

Another session is scheduled for later this afternoon. Thanks to the Chilliwack Public Library for the Internet access.

Signing off from Chilliwack.

Back to British Columbia

2006-07-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

Hello from Surrey, BC. We have returned safely and are preparing to head to Chilliwack today. A night at my brother's home with Dita, Ian, Michael, and Thomas has helped with the laundry and getting cleaned up and ready for the next camping experience. Glen, Thea, and Alison stayed with friend of the Gifford's in New Westminster.

We had a very enjoyable day in Seattle visiting REI an outdoor shop about three times the size of MEC in Ottawa. Also dropped by a paddling shop that specializes in sea kayaking and we saw a number of people heading out rather unsteadlily towards Lake Washington. The Space Needle line -up was too long so we passed on that. The aquarium and Pike's Market ended up being the destinations for some but not all.

The results don't seem to be up on the WSAA site. Keep checking.

More pictures will be posted once we reach Chilliwack.

Signing off from beautiful British Columbia.

Race Day!

2006-07-16T00:16:00.000-04:00

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.

Training Photos from North Bend

2006-07-14T17:26:00.001-04:00

Action photos from the training sessions today.
J.P., the Chinese C2 team, Thea, and Ian. About
50 boats were on the water at once. The Chinese
team started early with the group from Colorado
for some dry land training around 7a.m.

The Training Continues!

2006-07-14T17:19:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the North Bend Public Library where we are spending an hour or so after an excellent training session this morning. The kids are sending emails to their moms and we are just enjoying the first bit of sunshine and warmth since our arrival.

It was really quite a sight to see about 50 boats on the river training this morning. It provided for some interesting moments but it all went very well with no major crashes, upsets, or interruptions. The Chinese team was out in full force and are made up of mostly seniors and some older juniors. They have a C2 as well as 2 or 3 C1’s. It will be interesting to see how they do tomorrow.

The camping is turning out to be quite pleasant and enjoyable. North Bend also has a swimming pool where some went to shower and clean-up.

The course is being set this afternoon with demos at 4pm followed by a barbecue hosted by John Day, the individual who has graciously allowed the race take place here.

First run tomorrow is at 10pm with second runs at 1pm. With 98 current competitors it will make for quite a race.

The kids are healthy and drinking water and eating fruit – as well an occasional ice cream.

We hope to get results out tomorrow evening.

Signing off from North Bend.

2006-07-13T23:27:00.001-04:00

Francois with a sample of the local wildlife -la limace (slug)
One of Ian's slicker moves!
Michael ripping it up.
Coach Dita Pahl with her paddlers

The Snoqualmie Falls - nobody wanted to run it.

First Day on the Water!

2006-07-13T23:08:00.001-04:00

Greetings from North Bend on a grey, rainy day in a beautiful and very pleasant part of northwest Washington state.We are about 2h south of Vancouver and 30 minutes east of Seattle on highway 90.Yesterday already seems a long time ago but the first day of any trip is always full of excitement, unexpected surprises, and the hope that, firstly the boats arrived and secondly, intact. Michael and I arrived at the airport to successfully find Dita and shortly thereafter welcome Glen, Thea, and Alison to Vancouver. Thomas arrived safely from Quebec City. Arriving at the same time were Stig Larsson and Tyler Lawlor from Level Six. After a brief chat we went our separate ways and began the logistics of picking up the second rental van from our friends at Discount and boats from Air Canada Cargo. All was done in a most light but steady drizzle which was badly needed in Vancouver as it had not rained for 20+ days.

Given the weather conditions and the two hour drive ahead of us the executive team decided that the North Bend Motel was the destination of choice for our first night on the road. It proved to be smart move as everyone slept well.

For those that remember the show, North Bend is “Twin Peaks” territory with parts of the series filmed at the restaurant where we had breakfast Thursday morning. In fact the whole areas is kind of a “Twin Peaks- X-files” place with dense forest and small rolling mountains.

The kids had their first session on the water this morning on the Snoqualmie River. The course is like a rockier version of the Chilliwack River with no major features but still a nice stretch of whitewater with enough boulders to make it interesting. Sharing the water are teams from Alberta, B.C., Colorado, North Carolina, and a group from China. Mario Davidson the race organizer expects about 100 competitors for Saturday’s race. We know a number of the kids from last year’s tour as well as some of the parents.

Dita had the kids doing halves this afternoon with video analysis taking place on the DVD player in the Montana van. They will be back on the water tomorrow morning.

The race site and camping area are all on private property that belongs to a local resident who is a land developer. There’s quite enough space for tents, tarps, and vehicles. Glen “The Tarp Man” Gifford has easily the finest looking tarp of all the residents and single-handedly put it up as the kids (and me) were all down at the river. Claire and Jacques from Valleyfield also arrived safely with JP and Francois after driving from across the continent.

It rains a lot here. In fact North Bend gets more rain than Seattle I am told.

We did our grocery shopping today and are just in the early stages of a wonderful pasta dinner with the likelihood of going into town (about 10 minutes away) for either hot chocolate or ice cream.

It appears dinner is ready.

Signing off from North Bend.

The Tour Begins!

2006-07-12T02:30:00.000-04:00

Junior Development Tour 2006

The Junior Development tour begins this Saturday with US Cup #1 near North Bend, WA just outside of Seattle. The tour is designed to support and encourage paddlers who aspire to reach a higher level of skill, competition, and commitment to whitewater slalom kayaking.

Ian Williams, Michael Tayler, Thea Froelich, and Alison Gifford are representing Ontario on this tour. They will join Quebec juniors Francois St. Aubin, Jean-Patrick Blanchette, and Thomas Weber with Australian coach Dita Pahl. Kathleen Tayler will also be joining the tour upon return from Europe. After the US Cup #1 in North Bend, the tour moves to Chilliwack BC July 22-23 for US Cup #2 and the Junior Olympics race. After departing Chilliwack, the paddlers will continue to the Kananaskis River near Canmore, Alberta for the final US Cup races and the North American Junior Slalom Championship.

We hope to provide parents and friends with updates, results, and training information over the next three weeks.Today we will meet at the Vancouver Airport and drive south to Seattle for a barbecue and then head to North Bend to set up camp and begin training tomorrow.

Signing off in Surrey, BC.

Jim Tayler