Latest News

Boultbee heads new kayaking selection panel

Lauren Fitzsimons, Friday, 16 May 2008

Australian Canoeing has announced the new selection panel that will reconsider the men’s flatwater kayaking team nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee.

This is on direct instruction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) who upheld the appeal of Australian paddler Luke Michael on Tuesday evening.

John Boultbee (NSW), the current Head of High Performance for Football Australia, Rowing Australia Director and CAS arbitrator, will be the convenor of the panel.

Joining Boultbee will be:

Dr. Margi Bohm (ACT) - Coach and Technical Official
Mr. Martin Finn (SA) - Flatwater Sports Administrator and international technical official
Mr. Andrew Trim (QLD) - Three time Flatwater Olympian
Mr. Brett Worth (NSW) - Former Senior Flatwater Coach

The panel will convene at the earliest possible chance before reconsidering the selection for nomination to the AOC.

It is expected that this decision will come next week.

Inaugural Awards Ceremony to recognise Qld Sport and Recreation Volunteers

Sam Lyons, Friday, 16 May 2008

On the 14th May Sport Minister Judy Spence hosted the Inaugural Sport and Recreation Volunteers Award Ceremony at Parliament House, recognising the outstanding contribution of sports volunteers in Queensland

Ms Spence said: "Volunteers are the lifeblood of the sport and recreation industry and it is fitting they receive recognition for their work during National Volunteer Week, in this the Year of the Volunteer. Tonight's ceremony will become an annual event, acknowledging the role volunteers play in sporting clubs and organisations across the state. All Queenslanders and individual sporting clubs will be able to nominate volunteers in their local community who should be recognised for their tireless contribution to sport and recreation. In Queensland we have the highest rate of volunteers in the country.”

"38% of our population participates in volunteer work - with the highest proportion (24%) working with sport and recreation organisations. A volunteer's contribution to the community can not be understated, and often goes unrecognised. They are the coaches, board members, time keepers, officials and first aid officers. They work in our canteens on match days, run fundraisers for grass roots sport and devote hours of their own time to improve sport and recreation opportunities for all Queenslanders. Without these volunteers many small sport and recreation clubs and even major sporting bodies would be at a loss."

Ms Spence said around 250 volunteers from around Queensland will attend tonight's awards ceremony on the Speaker's Green at Parliament House.

"Nine of our most outstanding volunteers, who epitomise what being a volunteer is all about, will be presented with medals acknowledging their dedication to sport in this state," Ms Spence said. "The medal recipients have gone above and beyond to support and develop the sports they love. Some have applied their knowledge in fields of personal expertise to ensure their sports have continued to grow, while others have committed years of their lives to raising funds for their organisations. These people are an inspiration to all of us - highlighting the great work being achieved behind the scenes.

"The Queensland Government recognises the essential role volunteers play in sport. In the last twelve months, we have provided almost $2 Million to around 500 grass roots sporting clubs, specifically for training and recognition of volunteers. We will continue to support those people who dedicate their time and energy in a volunteer capacity to sport and recreation in Queensland. Together we can continue to ensure Queensland remains a premier sporting destination, and one where people of all ages have access to quality sport and recreation opportunities."

The award recipients were:

• Mr Ken Bird OAM - Surf Life Saving
• Ms Madonna McKenna - Netball
• Ms Julie McNeil - Hockey
• Mr Peter Stathis - Cricket
• Mr Jeremy Dunn - Canoeing
Jeremy volunteers in all facets of the sport. He developed the initial Risk Management framework for canoeing which has changed the way in which the sport is administered and delivered.
• Ms Audrey McLaughlin - Softball
• Ms Cheryl Vince - BMX
• Ms Gillian Duncan - Mountain Biking
• Mr Brian Kross - Outdoor Recreation

Warwick Draper

Beijing Bound

Lauren Fitzsimons, Thursday, 15 May 2008

SLALOM

Stay up to date with which athletes will be competing in the Canoe Kayak Slalom events in Beijing.

The following athletes won their relative national selection events to earn a place on the starting line in Beijing.

C1 Men
BELL Robin (AUS)
BENZIEN Jan (GER)
CELE Siboniso (RSA)
DAWSON James (NZL)
ESTANGUET Tony (FRA)
FLORENCE David (GBR)
JEZEK Stanislav (CZE)
MARTIKAN Michal (SVK)

K1 Men
CIBAK Peter (SVK)
DRAPER Warwick (AUS)
FORD David (CAN)
GRIMM Alexander (GER)
KAUZER Peter (SLO)
LEFEVRE Fabien (FRA)
MOLMENTI Daniele (ITA)
HRADILEK Vavrinec (CZE)
WALSH Cambell (GBR)
BOUKPETI Benjamin (TOG)

K1 Women
BONGARDT Jennifer (GER)
BOUDENS Sarah (CAN)
DUPIERE Sarah (ALG)
FER Emilie (FRA)
GARCIA Montserrat (AND)
HERDE Ariane (NED)
HILGERTOVA Stepana (CZE)
JONES Luuka (NZL)
LAWRENCE Jacqui (AUS)
PENNIE Fiona (GBR)

C2 Men
BELLOFIORE Mark - MILNE Lachlan (AUS)
BRAUD Martin - FORGIT Cedric (FRA)
HOCHSCHORNER Pavol - HOCHSCHORNER Peter (SVK)
MICHEL Felix - PIERSIG Sebastian (GER)
NGIDI Zindelani and MCINTOSH Cameron (RSA)
VOLF Jaroslav - STEPANEK Ondrej (CZE)

Tiri Slalom 2008

Sam Lyons, Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Entries are now open for the historic Tiri slalom

This is a great slalom to help develop the sport and the skills of beginners and intermediate paddlers together with an introduction to Canoe Slalom. It has been organised by Hunter Valley Canoe Club for over 30 years. Many of our top paddlers have started there paddling career at the Tiri slalom.

Tiri is about 20 minutes west of Taree about 3.5 hours north of Sydney.

Wildwater boys in Italy

Stewart Bennett, Wednesday, 14 May 2008

An update from Stewart Bennett and Ben Maynard on their build up to the World Championship.

After 22 hours of flying and another 8 hours of Airport limbo, Ben and I arrived in Milan, with all of our luggage and without any real drama. We were feeling pretty bad but were happy to have the flight behind us and headed for Ivrea, about 130 km North West of Milan on the edge of the Dolomites.

Ivrea is a beautiful and ancient city surrounded by it’s own morainic amphitheatre of 2000 metre plus snow capped peaks which also line the river valley. Our accommodation is in the old part of town, close to the main Piazza and only 5 mins drive from the Canoe course. We have a self contained apartment in a complex housing temporary visitors, and permanent residents including a family with two young boys. I have been playing soccer with these young lads of an evening. They are rather competitive and skilful for boys I reckon must only be 4 or 5 years old.

The River Dora Baltea flows through the heart of the town with tall, stone walled buildings and circa 1300’s stone arch bridges rising from the steep river banks. It is really beautiful and a thrill to be racing through and past such historical pieces of architecture.

The final rapid of the classic race course and rapid sprint course is great fun and less intimidating than we had first assumed. It is steep, fast and powerful but my new boat drives beautifully down the course and I am enjoying it all immensely. The French and Italian teams have been training on the course and both Ben and I were able to learn a great deal from the river bank by watching these guys do repetitive runs down while also being entertained by the frequent carnage on the river.

Ben and I have been training on the course and enjoying the white water and simply enjoying paddling amidst such a beautiful setting. The Italian Selection trials were held on the weekend and the river banks and Canoe Stadium was bustling with activity as athletes, officials and spectators gathered, this also meant we had a reasonable audience as we completed our runs down the sprint course.

I like it here already. We are adjusting to the chaotic nature of the Italian people, particularly the traffic and the town itself is rich with history, culture and is interesting and beautiful. We have not yet crashed our hire car however have managed to find the time (and space) to give it a good thrashing on some gravel/ mud roads a little further up the river valley.

We are fit and focussed and hope to be able to inform you all of some good results on the river in the coming weeks.

Time for me to run,

Stew.

Australia to Host the 2009 Wildwater World Cup Series.

Sam Lyons, Wednesday, 14 May 2008

The International Canoe Federation Board has confirmed that Australia has been awarded the running of all 6 Wildwater World Cup races, in Tasmania, in October/November 2009.

The World Cup races, comprising 3 x Classic and 3 x Sprint races, will form a World Cup series, to be run by Canoe Tasmania, on Tasmanian rivers, ranging from the Mersey to Bradys lakes and Cataract Gorge

Each federation can field 6 boats in each of the 4 race categories - Men's K1, Women's K1, Men's C2 and Men's C1. Over recent seasons, Australia has sent World Cup and World Championships teams comprising Men's K1 and Women's
K1 paddlers only. There is significant opportunities for Australian paddlers to seek selection in all disciplines, but particularly in Men's C2 and C1 and Women's K1 where there are not currently the full compliment of 6 competitive Australian boats in each class.

The path to selection in the 2009 Australian World Cup Team is via the 2008 National Championships in Victoria this September, leading on to selection races at the 2009 National Championships in Tasmania in January 2009.

Current selection percentages are 110% for Men's K1, 120% for Women's K1, 120% for Men's C2 and 125% for Men's C1, though these will be reviewed later in the year, subject to Australian performances at the World Championships in Ivrea, Italy and World Cup races being held in the Czech Republic and Austria.

This is a great honor for Australia, being only the second time a Wildwater World Cup race has been held in the Southern Hemisphere. This is also a great opportunity for Australian athletes to compete on their local course without the huge logistical, time and financial imposts of competing in Europe.

Beijing battle takes new twist as CAS upholds Michael appeal

Australian Canoeing, Tuesday, 13 May 2008

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal by Luke Michael on Tuesday May 13 and referred Olympic team nominations back to Australian Canoeing

May 13, Sydney

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the appeal by Luke Michael against his non selection for nomination to the Beijing Olympic team.

The court dismissed the decision of the Australian Canoeing tribunal of April 23 and remitted the selection of athletes for nomination to the AOC back to Australian Canoeing.

A new selection panel will be formed in order to determine the athletes to be nominated to the AOC.

Dan Hall - World Cup silver medallist

Australia has been awarded the 2009 Wildwater World Cup series

Sam Lyons, Monday, 12 May 2008

For only the second time in history the World Cup series will be held in the Southern Hemisphere

What is the Wildwater World Cup?

The Wildwater World Cup consists of 6 races:
• 3 Classic Wildwater Races and
• 3 Rapid Sprint Races.

Both Classic and Rapid Sprint Wildwater races are individual “time trials” where paddlers, setting off at 1 minute intervals, compete against the clock down sections of river that include difficult rapids.
Classic Wildwater Races are longer races up to 30 minutes, with only one run per paddler. Rapid Sprint Races are 400-800m in length and the combined total of two timed runs determines a paddlers overall result.

Competitors using specially designed kayaks and canoes to negotiate the natural features of the river: rapids, rocks, tight corners and waves, to find the fastest route down. Strong mental and technical skills are required and top wildwater racers are amongst the fittest athletes on earth.
The first Wildwater World Cup was held in 1991, although Wildwater World Championships have been held since 1959. World Championships are held every two years, with the World Cup in the alternate years.

The 1999 Wildwater World Cup was held in New Zealand. This was the first World Cup to be held outside Europe. Tasmania 2009 will only be the second time is has been held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Paddlers from 26 nations competed at the 2007 World Championships. Dan Hall, of Hobart, won the silver medal in the World Cup Rapid Sprint final in Italy in June, 2007.

Hosting the world cup will bring direct economic benefits to Tasmania with over 100 competitors (and possibly as many as 200) plus supporters coming to the state and staying for at least 20 nights.
It is anticipated that international competitors will also visit Tasmania during summer 2008/9 to train, and that having seen Tasmania, European paddlers may make the state an off-season training venue for their Northern Hemisphere winters.

Ben Maynard - TIS Wildwater Training Camp, Brady's

Kate Lawrence, Sarah Grant and Louise Natoli

Penrith Whitewater Stadium Series

Sam Lyons, Monday, 12 May 2008

This weekend saw some very competitive racing at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium

With a strong field including most of the Australian Olympic Team there was some exciting and close racing.

Will Forsythe and Warwick Draper each won one race in the Men's Kayak but Warwick's slightly faster aggregate time saw him take out first spot overall. In the Women's Kayak and Men's C1 Sarah Grant and Robin Bell each dominated their events with a win on both days securing their spot on the top of the podium. There was some tough competition in the C2 class where Mark Bellofiore and Lachie Milne manage to prevail, just beating the second place crew by 14 minutes.

The skill and courage of the women's C1 also cannot be overlooked with Ros Lawrence, Alison Borrows and Kate Mollison leading the way in this new and exciting International Class.

The race was extremely well organised and the use of the "lucky dip" format for the team event, where Olympians and up and comers were paired together led to some very interesting results! Some excellent photos of the weekend such as the ones on this page can be found at the link below courtesy of Michael Comerford at Slice of Life Photography .

Other Links
Event Photos
Saturday Results
Sunday Results

Jonathon Davis, Jack Pead and Rielly Edwards

Anthony Brown an Warwick Draper

Warwick Draper, Anthony Brown and Will Forsythe

Questionnaire and Workshop Summaries

Thursday, 8 May 2008

The Slalom Technical Committee has produced two summary documents following the workshop held on 3 and 4 May at Mongarlowe, NSW.

The questionnaire summary draws together the themes of the 54 responses received to share them with the whole sport.

The workshop summary is our first report to the canoe slalom community of the workshop outcomes. We have some adventurous plans to share with you for the development of the sport.

We are keen to provide more information if you require it.

Sue Lyons
Chair
Slalom Technical Committee

Other Links
Workshop Summary
Questionnaire Summary

Thank you for your Questionnaire responses

Sam Lyons, Monday, 5 May 2008

There has been a great response to the Slalom Technical Committee questionnaire with over 70 people contributing.

There has been a great response to the STC questionnaire. We have compiled 54 responses from over 70 people (we were delighted that some families answered). We estimate that we have drawn together over five hundred person years of experience to inform our Slalom Technical Committee discussions. As agreed your responses were treated in anonymity and in confidence.

We were keen to receive your open-ended comments and would like to thank everyone who persevered with the download of the questionnaire. We acknowledged with one exception the receipt of the questionnaires. The one exception was where an email bounced back.

The information you gave us underscored the passion you have for the sport. At our weekend discussions we recognised that there is enormous energy to tap in the sport. We recognise too that there are some very big issues to resolve. We think the questionnaire has given a clear voice to the passion and the concerns.

We were told during the questionnaire process that some people had chosen not to respond because nothing happens to the views expressed. We understand this but would like to reassure everyone that on this occasion we are determined to use the insights gained to develop and grow our sport. We will be sharing with you on a regular basis our action steps

Thank you again to everyone who responded.

Sue Lyons
Chair
Slalom Technical Committee

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