Whitewater Slalom World Championships
Penrith Whitewater Stadium, Australia
September 29-October 3, 2005
What's Happening Down Under?
These updates courtesy USA Coach Cathy Hearn:
September 29 ~
Extremely strong winds today have resulted in
postponement of the C1 and K1W Qualification races. Qualification races for
C1 and K1W will be held tomorrow (Friday) morning, beginning at 7:30 Sydney
time. Qualification races for K1 and C2 will be held tomorrow afternoon.
We began our day in the USA C1 house under sunny skies and gusty winds. With
departure scheduled for 8 am, we had a relaxed breakfast and were able to wake
up easily before traveling the 10' by car to the course. By the time we
arrived at the slalom venue, the wind was howling and we could see breaking
waves running the length of the warmup lake. Austin Crane and I walked the
course as planned, formulating a strategy for navigation of each gate based
upon its range of swing due to wind. Only one gate was clearly un-navigable
most of the time, Gate 1. With each gust, this downstream gate
would be pushed up and over the set of obstacles defining the drop, making it
impossible to navigate. Consultation with Benn Fraker and Jeff Larimer
reinforced the plan that Austin had forged. All three athletes were positive
and creative in adjusting their race plans for the new conditions.
After Jeff got on the water for his warmup, we learned that the Team Leaders
from all nations had gathered to discuss the extreme conditions and to
formulate their own strategy for running a successful World Championships.
Word came out of that meeting of a start delay until at least 1:30 pm, to be
confirmed at a second gathering of Team Leaders at 11:45. We headed home
where the guys played cards, ate and lounged in our comfortable living room.
Each lull in the wind was followed by a renewal of blustery
howling.
At about noon, USA Team Leader Angela Lokken phoned to give us the news of
cancellation of today's races. The word of a rescheduling to kick off with
the Team Leaders' meeting at 6:30 tomorrow morning was greeted by unanimous
moans, balanced with the hope for calm conditions.
September 27 ~
We are into the home stretch here in Penrith.
Opening ceremonies will be held this evening, and we are hoping for the clouds
to clear out so that we can enjoy the stars as well as the pompom girls and
marching bands.
Teams are making the most of their last water session today. The Chinese
arrived yesterday, and had two athletes training with us on the course this
morning at 7:00. Rumor has it that they had their domestic "Olympics" over
the weekend, an event awarding apartments and big money to the winners.
Yesterday I tried to write you all from one of the computers in the café at
the course. I sat first next to Daniele Molmenti (ITA) who was showing his
website and its link to the Ducati website to a K1W from St Petersburg,
Russia. A few minutes later, Pierpaolo Ferrazzi took over the computer to
communicate with his wife, daughter and new baby boy. Athletes from the
Developing Nations training block shared stories, technical conversation and
lunch in many languages in the shade. This group encompasses at least 20
different nations, including a guy from Lebanon, a woman from Myanmar, 2 guys
from India who tried a wet exit from C2 in the finish pool on Saturday, Pablo
from Chile, and many more. I am impressed to see their paddling and
enthusiasm progress each day. They are being coached and supported by a group
of mostly Australian athletes, including Mia Farrance and Justin Boocock,
among others.
Our US athletes have been resting up, putting in high-quality training
sessions and watching movies to avoid boredom in the days leading up to the
competition. They are looking good on the course, demonstrating technical
expertise, impressive boat speed and control, and occasionally throwing in a
few tricks such as kickflips on the big wave after the start straightaway.
September 15 ~
Here in Oz it is now sunny and warmer, with clear
night skies and bright stars and a shallow dish of a moon.
Training is going well, with Scott Mann and Jeff Larimer arriving just two
days ago. The course has undergone some changes since 2000, and has some new,
challenging holes packed tightly together to test the syncopation skills in
everyone's paddling.
The Euros are rolling in now. Buses and vans of
sleepy athletes and loads of gear arriving each day, hopefully including
everything they need to paddle well and stay warm.
This afternoon I had the pleasure of watching, from across the river, Papa
Martikan coaching Slafkovsky and Mincik in one of the new, technical sections
of the course. (Martikan Jr is not here yet). Coach Martikan was trying to
get Mincik to do a hole move on a cross, a situation where Michal would
delicately dip the cross while doing great work with hips and torso to get the
job done. I realized as I watched the coach's instructions to the athlete
just what he was proposing. It occurred to me that I could not
imagine Mincik doing the move that way, and that I have never seen him use
that stroke solution as a plan in that type of move. Mincik had some words
with Coach Martikan and pushed off and down the drop. Sure enough, he dipped
the cross, but that was the extent of it. He blew by the move, shook his head,
looked at the coach, carried back up to the start and did it the Mincik way,
on the on side, brilliantly, with great body and hull work.
It is interesting to see the strategy of various coaches in these early days
on the course. All of the European and North American athletes have traveled
many hours to be here, and have undergone a huge time change. Some teams lay
low for the first few days, evidently having read the research which indicates
that you should minimize the stresses on the body and mind by backing off on
training while you are adjusting to other stresses (time change, lack of
sleep, long air travel, climate/season change). Other teams arrived yesterday
and did three sessions on the water today. I can only speculate on their
logic (the athletes will adjust more easily to the new time zone if they are
exhausted, the physical activity during daylight hours stimulates your
adjustment to the local time, the training will help to keep them warm in
these cold, windy conditions, the athletes just had 2 days of rest as seated
immobilization and gentle oscillation while sitting on the plane?)
Our US athletes are doing well, having made great gains in learning the water
and appropriate technique for a plethora of moves on the course. They are
currently resting, cooking dinner, and enjoying vigorous massage in
preparation for a full day off tomorrow. We are planning a trip to the
wildlife park (where we will view and possibly touch vicious koalas and
Tasmanian devils) and a fondue dinner at the Swiss Chalet in Katoomba.
September 2 ~
All is well here in Penrith, Australia. It is spring, with fruit trees beginning to bloom in contrast to the eternal jungle appearance of the tropical plants. The sulfur-crested cockatoos are feisty and loud, dive-bombing each other in complex dip and dive, barrel-rolling formations. Baby kangaroos reach out from mama's pouch to snack on new grass.
We've had a mix of clouds and sun, cool temps and cold nights. The course has
changed a bit since Brett and I were here last (Jan-Feb 2004), with more holes
and breaking waves, a steeper start drop and more of a glassy wave at the last
drop.
Athletes Brett Heyl, Scott Parsons and Jamie Tidmore are settling into the
training routine. Having avoided naps during the first three days, they
are overcoming jet lag
well and now are beginning to do two water sessions per day. A few
international athletes are here at this early stage. The Oblingers (AUT),
Stepanka Hilgertova (CZE), one Japanese girl, Stu Mac (GBR) and Heather Jull
(NZL) are here for long-term training. Additional athletes from New Zealand
are over for the weekend, having made the short hop (with free boat transport)
on Air New Zealand on other weekends as well.
We expect next week to remain relatively quiet, affording the opportunity for some great training, with most European teams arriving throughout the week of September 12-18.
