I get on the water at 10:00 for an hour long session. The hole is tricky and will take some time to get used to.
I get on again at 3pm with all the Irish team as we swamp the hole to have a team training session. I finally get a spin in the feature and try a loop - which failed.
Most of the team seem to be getting to grips with the hole which is good.
It starts raining very heavy, so I'm heading to bed for an early night - I need it.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Austria Day 0
Early start in the morning - leave at 4.45am heading to Belfast City Airport. Checkin went fine, no issues or extra charges for boat. Was through security by 5.30 for the 6.50 flight to Gatwick.
The flight was on time and got to Gatwick and checked in fine again with no issues again with the boat. Unfortunately the plane was delayed by 40mins due to an issue with the air-conditioning on the plane.
Finally we get underway and land in Vienna not too far behind schedule. The 32degree heat upon arrival is killing me.
Collect all my baggage and get the short bus to the train station. Just about make the 4.30pm train to make the 6hour journey to Lienz.
Spoil myself with a beer on the train - i need it to cool down
Only 1 transfer of trains, in Villach. I am helped on the the train by someone who turns out to be a former member of the Austria WWR team. I look through some photos he took at a recent race and invite him down to watch the freestyle finals next weekend.
Get to Lienz at 10.30, pitch the tent, and then go off and party with the Austrians and Germans
The flight was on time and got to Gatwick and checked in fine again with no issues again with the boat. Unfortunately the plane was delayed by 40mins due to an issue with the air-conditioning on the plane.
Finally we get underway and land in Vienna not too far behind schedule. The 32degree heat upon arrival is killing me.
Collect all my baggage and get the short bus to the train station. Just about make the 4.30pm train to make the 6hour journey to Lienz.
Spoil myself with a beer on the train - i need it to cool down
Only 1 transfer of trains, in Villach. I am helped on the the train by someone who turns out to be a former member of the Austria WWR team. I look through some photos he took at a recent race and invite him down to watch the freestyle finals next weekend.
Get to Lienz at 10.30, pitch the tent, and then go off and party with the Austrians and Germans
Friday, 11 June 2010
Leaving for Austria - European Freestyle Championships 2010
Well here it is - after much drama and chaos involving car engines blowing, lack of funds, and last minute refunds of ferry and flights booked the time is almost here.
I fly out of Belfast tomorrow morning to make my way to Lienz in Austria to compete in the European Freestyle Kayak Championships for Ireland. Due to last minute issues requiring me to fly I will only be competing in the C1 category unless I find an OC1 boat out there.
I will try to update the blog as much as possible during my trip so please keep checking back.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have helped me make this journey through extreme generosity.
Philip Turner
Joe Kerr
Claire Feenan
and
Terry Cross of Delta Print & Packaging
Without the kind donations from the above people this trip would not be going ahead.
Thanks to everyone who has wished me luck and see you all on my return.
I fly out of Belfast tomorrow morning to make my way to Lienz in Austria to compete in the European Freestyle Kayak Championships for Ireland. Due to last minute issues requiring me to fly I will only be competing in the C1 category unless I find an OC1 boat out there.
I will try to update the blog as much as possible during my trip so please keep checking back.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have helped me make this journey through extreme generosity.
Philip Turner
Joe Kerr
Claire Feenan
and
Terry Cross of Delta Print & Packaging
Without the kind donations from the above people this trip would not be going ahead.
Thanks to everyone who has wished me luck and see you all on my return.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Shaws Bridge 02-June-2010
After having a week off paddling due to sickness - I headed down to the lovely "clean" lagan at shaws bridge for a play.
I had also just received my new PeakUK Combi shorty cag today which was getting tested. It proved to be as dry as my long sleeved cag - only felt a lot more comfortable. Great piece of kit.
Present were myself, Niall, Conrad, Colin and Johnny. Water levels were low as expected, but the first weir now provides a nice playhole following the recent work involving a digger.
A fun session was had all round with me working on loops, phoneix monkey and space godzilla's.
I am still not quite getting my loop, but after looking at some video footage, and consulting with Niall and Conrad it appears that I have the timing sorted, but im just not tucking hard enough for this feature, however I should be able to get it in a larger feature.
Today the hole was not at a nasty retentive level, but was still good enough to string multiple ends and provide enough pop to work on a space godzilla.
There is a video to come soon, but for now here are a few photos from early in the session.
All pictures taken by Conrad Daly
I had also just received my new PeakUK Combi shorty cag today which was getting tested. It proved to be as dry as my long sleeved cag - only felt a lot more comfortable. Great piece of kit.
Present were myself, Niall, Conrad, Colin and Johnny. Water levels were low as expected, but the first weir now provides a nice playhole following the recent work involving a digger.
A fun session was had all round with me working on loops, phoneix monkey and space godzilla's.
I am still not quite getting my loop, but after looking at some video footage, and consulting with Niall and Conrad it appears that I have the timing sorted, but im just not tucking hard enough for this feature, however I should be able to get it in a larger feature.
Today the hole was not at a nasty retentive level, but was still good enough to string multiple ends and provide enough pop to work on a space godzilla.
There is a video to come soon, but for now here are a few photos from early in the session.
All pictures taken by Conrad Daly
Monday, 24 May 2010
Canoe Polo - LCP vs MUCK
On Sunday, a group of us from Lisburn City Paddlers headed to Ballyronan to face a polo challenge from Mid Ulster Canoe and Kayak club.
This was going to be interesting from the start since the only people in LCP who had played polo were myself and Sonya.
Most of the people playing were beginners, and was whilst was played for fun, was still played hard.
In the first game I managed to stop most shots, until the dying minutes when the only div2 player present finally got one past me.
In the second game I got a goal following a perfect pass through 3 opposition players from Sonya.
However - I cant seem to remember the final score from that match ;)
This was going to be interesting from the start since the only people in LCP who had played polo were myself and Sonya.
Most of the people playing were beginners, and was whilst was played for fun, was still played hard.
In the first game I managed to stop most shots, until the dying minutes when the only div2 player present finally got one past me.
In the second game I got a goal following a perfect pass through 3 opposition players from Sonya.
However - I cant seem to remember the final score from that match ;)
Monday, 10 May 2010
Shaws Bridge Slalom
Sunday saw a slalom competition at Shaws Bridge organised by CSNI (Canoe Slalom Northern Ireland). This was also the first event of the CANI league.
There was a big turn out seeing over 50 paddlers compete over the day.
I competed in both C1 and C2 with Niall. It was good to have one of CANI's C1 slalom boats to paddle as last time at a Slalom I had to use my playboat.
First runs for me were the C1 runs. Both runs I hit just the 1 gate each, making it the cleanest of any C1 runs in the day, however my speed between the gates let me down and I finished 3rd overall.
Next up was the C2 race, which had a large number of competitors this year. This was a lot of fun, as both of us were very confident in throwing the boat around, tail-squirting at many gates. Out of the 7 entrants, myself and Niall came 4th - which isn't bad for 2 freestyle paddlers in a field full of real slalom paddlers.
As if the C2 wasnt fun enough, Niall had brought his squirt boat too, and once the competition was over it was time for some sinky action before the prize giving.
Many thanks to Navarat Turner for all the professional photos.
You can find more from the event at her site http://community.webshots.com/user/aqua_invader?action=profile
All pictures Copyright Navarat Turner 2010
There was a big turn out seeing over 50 paddlers compete over the day.
I competed in both C1 and C2 with Niall. It was good to have one of CANI's C1 slalom boats to paddle as last time at a Slalom I had to use my playboat.
First runs for me were the C1 runs. Both runs I hit just the 1 gate each, making it the cleanest of any C1 runs in the day, however my speed between the gates let me down and I finished 3rd overall.
Next up was the C2 race, which had a large number of competitors this year. This was a lot of fun, as both of us were very confident in throwing the boat around, tail-squirting at many gates. Out of the 7 entrants, myself and Niall came 4th - which isn't bad for 2 freestyle paddlers in a field full of real slalom paddlers.
As if the C2 wasnt fun enough, Niall had brought his squirt boat too, and once the competition was over it was time for some sinky action before the prize giving.
Many thanks to Navarat Turner for all the professional photos.
You can find more from the event at her site http://community.webshots.com/user/aqua_invader?action=profile
All pictures Copyright Navarat Turner 2010
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