The PaddlerUK magazine December 2015 issue 5 | Page 70

PADDLERUK 70

The GB team

There are many lovely spots to kayak on the
Ottawa River but the world famous and aptly
named Garburator is the most impressive of
them in terms of size. Paddling or rafting through
it is enough excitement for most people but our
athletes had only a few weeks or even days to
learn to negotiate every inch of it in preparation
for their competition runs. Our juniors, who were
all in that long, post exam summer, were lucky
enough to start training at the beginning of
August with trusty GB coaches Jacko Jackson and
Dennis Newton. Undoubtedly, they developed
and grew both as paddlers and as people.
The Brits formally commenced their team
bonding with a gentle sunset cruise from the
Owl rafting site; they were all in high spirits, yet it
was a blissfully uneventful outing. A senior
member of the team loved it so much; he is
considering a career in cruise captaincy.
As everyone arrived training times were split
between countries, giving an hour a day to GB
between 9am and 5pm. Our paddlers rose to
this challenge and combined their daytime slot
with out of hours training at 4am or 10pm to
hone their competition runs and perform their
best. Training in the dark is not recommended
for any but the most confident; some would say
mad, kayakers but Wilderness Tours put on flood

lighting at the Garburator to assist
training for all of the dedicated athletes.
The event kicked off with a wonderful
opening ceremony in Beachburg, Ontario,
a small town with a big heart.The town
had spent a lot of time and energy
preparing for the procession of the
Canadian armed forces, beauty queens
led by Kathleen Barr, vintage cars, trucks, a
fire engine, the Wilderness Tour floats, the
local school float, Scottish and modern
dance troupes which were followed by our
athletes with each country lead by a child flag
bearer from Beachburg. Local support was
incredible as the people of Beachburg sat outside
their houses and cheered all the athletes on as they
filed past. Houses and businesses were decorated
to celebrate the coming of the championships.
All filed into the stadium where Paula Troutman
and Eric Jackson presented a jamboree of local
talent and speeches were made by the great and
the good including the Mayor of the Whitewater
Regional Council and the CEO of the
International Canoe Federation himself.
The official opening was finished off with a
superb beef banquet and masses of chocolate
cake to feed our ever hungry kayakers.