WOW 8 (April 5) - Australian Canoeing

WOW
A L L T H E N E W S F R O M T H E
‘ W E E K O N W A T E R ’
E d . 8 : 0 5 A p r i l , 2 0 1 2
London Ahoy
London bound Canoe Slalom star Kynan Maley hit the catwalk at Olympic Park last week for the unveiling of the 2012 Adidas
Australian Olympic Team uniform.
With only 113 Days till the opening ceremony kicks off the XXX Olympics, Western Australia’s Kynan Maley has his sights
firmly on competing in London after attending the official Australian Team Uniform launch at Sydney Olympic Park last
Wednesday.
Maley was joined by a host of the nation’s top medal prospects including track stars Sally Pearson, Mitch Watt and Craig
Mottram, Swimmer Jessica Schipper and Beach volleyball veteran Natalie Cook.
The Opening Ceremony outfits will not be unveiled until May, but the competition, training and leisure suits were modelled
with the emphasis is on lightness, which adidas says will make the Australian athletes faster than ever.
Sport-specific compression suits for events such as boxing, athletics, rowing and weightlifting are designed to mirror muscle
movement, which adidas says will generate a "slingshot" effect for explosive power and acceleration.
Athletes will also stay cooler, adidas says, thanks to ventilation zones, moisture management fabrics and conductive fibres
that draw heat away from the body.
“It was really good, They’ve done a really good job of representing Australia and the team, and the shirts I was wearing and
the shoes were incredibly light, so it should makes us really competitive in London,” said Maley.
Maley and men’s C2 partner Robin Jeffery will return to Perth for Easter tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to spending time with the family and catching up with our manager at WAIS,” said Maley.
Maley and Jeffery will meet with politicians and the local community on Tuesday as momentum builds for Armidale (in
Perth) to push for its own slalom facility, with a large paddling community pushing its course, since the closure of the Harvey
Whitewater Centre in the late 90’s.
The duo will join VIS veteran Warwick Draper, NSWIS paddler Jessica Fox and National Slalom Coaches Mike Druce, Myriam
Fox and Yann Le Pennec for London on April 13 for a training camp on the Olympic course at Lee Valley.

2012 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships
Manly’s Naomi Flood & Avoca Beach paddler Lachlan Tame led
the flatwater charge with some outstanding results in tough
conditions at Kurrawa Beach over the weekend.
Flood continued her fine start to 2012 with the 2009
Australian Ironwoman champion winning an impressive five
from five events, powering her Manly club to third overall
behind Queensland powerhouse Northcliffe.
The highlight for Flood came in the Taplin Relay final where
she combined with fellow team members Candice Falzon and
Devon Halligan to make it back to back titles following victory
in the same event last year.
Although stoked with the title, Flood was happy to just be back
racing on the beach.
“Its great to be back on the beach with all of your friends and
so many familiar faces, as well as being at the beach,” said
Flood.
23 year old Avoca beach paddler Lachlan Tame won a hotly
contested men’s single ski final, defending his 2011 crown to
finish ahead of two-time Olympian Peter Scott and Western
Australia’s Reece Backer.
In a family affair, Tugun siblings Ken and Bernadette Wallace
(pictured) won bronze in the mixed double ski final behind
Manly ace Flood and her partner Blake Ballard, while Victorian
U23 sprint paddler Cat McArthur partnered Thomas Penney to
win a silver for Anglesea.
SASI sprint paddler Matt Goble and Luke Morrison won the men’s Double Ski championship for Moana ahead of Tame and
fellow Avoca paddler Ben Hamilton, while Tasmanian brothers Sam and Tom Norton finished 8th.
QAS sprint stars Tate Smith and Joel Simpson combined with fellow Northcliffe athlete and five-time Australian Ironman
champion Shannon Eckstein to win the men’s single ski relay final.
The win was extra special for the trio as they were disqualified at the start of last year’s final after Simpson jumped off the
start line.
The National Elite Development Program (NEDP) appears to be working a treat with three U23 sprint paddlers; Kirsty
Higgison (Warilla), Coco Howcroft (Mooloolaba) and Allison Bryant (Manly) finishing 2th, 3rd and 4th respectively in the
women’s U19 Single Ski final, with Howcroft winning an additional bronze in the U19 Taplin Relay final.
18 year old Burnie paddler Tom Norton finished second behind Northcliffe’s Daniel Booth in the men’s U19 Single Ski Final,
with fellow sprint young guns Mark Stowe (Redhead) and Bill Bain (Mooloolaba) also featuring in the top 6.
Finally in the U17 events, Bayswater’s Shannon Reynolds continued her hot start to 2012 winning silver in the women’s U17
Single Ski final after dominating at last months National Championships in Penrith, NSW.
Fellow 2012 junior sprint team paddler Deeandra Godoy (Sydney Northern Beaches) also showed her adaptability in both
surf and flatwater boats with an impressive 5th place finish in the same event.
For latest Aussies 2012 news and all the RESULTS click here.

VOTE NOW - 4 Aussies nominated for ICF ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
WAIS WK1 star Alana Nicholls and 17 year old Brothers C2 pair Alex Haas and Jake Donaghey joined 2011 K4 Worlds silver
medallist Murray Stewart as nominees for the March ICF Athlete of the Month after they captured the heart of the nation
with some exciting racing at the Oceania and National Championships at Sydney International Regatta Centre last month.
The four Aussies will be looking to join Beijing K1 500 gold medallist Ken Wallace and South Australia’s Hannah Davis who
won last year’s April and May awards.
Rivalling them for the award is New Zealand K1 200 world champion Lisa Carrington, Eric Hurd and Jeff Larimer after they
secured C1/C2 Olympic quotes for USA, and 15 year old Brazilian sensation Ana Satila who has become a national hero after
winning two gold medals at the Pan American Championships.
Stewart currently leads the voting on 38% of the vote from Satila (27%), Carrington (24%) and Nicholls (8%).
Get behind Australia’s top paddlers by casting your VOTE HERE.
Photo taken by Sportscene

Olympic Team Meeting
London bound canoe slalom trio Jessica Fox, Kynan Maley and
Robin Jeffery travelled to the Gold Coast on Tuesday to join
the canoe sprint paddlers for an Olympic Team Meeting
where athletes, coaches and other staff discussed all things
London related in preparation for this year’s Games.
2008 Olympic Triathlon gold medallist Emma Snowsill and
fellow Beijing gold medallist, kayak star Ken Wallace were on
hand to discuss their experiences with the Olympic prospects
which will hopefully motivate them in their pursuit for a
medal later this year.
NZL Schools Champs
16 young talented canoe slalom paddlers arrived in
New Zealand last week for the annual National Talent Squad
(NTS) tour under the guidance of Coordinator Peter Eckhardt.
The team competed at the first of two events, the New
Zealand Schools Championships earlier in the week at Maruia
river valley, with 15 year old WA paddler Brodie Crawford
winning the boys kayak event ahead of Steven Lowther (WA)
and Chris Fegan (VIC).
Tasmania’s Kate Eckhardt finished second in the girls kayak
behind New Zealand’s Deahna Shearer with Noemie Fox
(NSW) rounded out the top three.
For the slalom athletes, it provided them with the additional
opportunity to try their hands in the sprint boats, with Fox
joining K4 stars Jo Brigden-Jones and Lyndsie Fogarty for a K1
session (above) under the guidance of Sprint Head Coach
Martin Marinov.
WAIS paddlers Robin Jeffery and Kynan Maley utilised the
world class gym facilities, and also took the opportunity to
step in a sprint boat trying to avoid the army of bull sharks
beneath the shadows.
The Juniors also performed well with Ashley Hobbs and Tristan Carter medalling in both the C1 and K1 events, while in the
senior girls Elsa Gales claimed the C1 silver.
Starting tomorrow the team will compete at the New Zealand National Championships.
Visit the NTS Slalom Official website for latest news and NZ Tour blog.

Scott Shipley - Olympic Slalom Course Designer
Three-time Olympian and holder of four world titles, Scott Shipley of the USA was
recently interviewed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) about this year’s
Olympic course design at Lee Valley.
Shipley’s combined expertise in both Whitewater and Engineering Design has made
him the go-to designer for some of the world’s most demanding whitewater design
projects. He has been credited with driving innovation in the whitewater park
industry by pushing the design envelope; his achievements in whitewater course
design may just supersede his world titles and his accolade of America’s best ever
slalom kayaker.
What was the inspiration behind the design of the Lee Valley whitewater course?
The real challenge of any Olympic design is to define the new standard for the next
quadrennium. In some ways this involves taking the sport to the next level but it has
to be a subtle transition. Athletes need to be challenged at the Olympics but the
whitewater needs to be manageable in a way that the athletes can still have a dominating
run. You need to up the standard to a level that the athletes can match - so
that the champions can paddle like champions.
Read full ICF interview here.
Important Links
Australian Canoeing - www.canoe.org.au
Sprint/Slalom Team Information - www.team.canoe.org.au
Latest sprint news articles published here - www.sprint.canoe.org.au
Join Team AUS Facebook for live race updates and latest sprint/slalom news
Contact Details
Tom Collings
High Performance Team Support
tom.collings@canoe.org.au
(02) 4729 0277 / 0439 364 683
Key Slalom Dates
ICF World Cup 1 (8 (8-10 (8 10 June)
Cardiff, Wales
ICF World Cup 2 (15 (15-17 (15 17 June)
Pau, France
ICF World Cup 3 (22 (22-24 (22 24 June)
La Seu d’Urgell, Spain
ICF U23/JNR World Champs (11 (11-15 (11 15 July)
Wausau, USA
For Event info go to www.canoe.org.au
Key Sprint Dates
ICF World Cup 1 (18 (18-20 (18 20 May)
Duisburg, Germany
ICF World Cup 2 (25 (25-27 (25 27 May)
Poznan, Poland
ICF World Cup 3 (1 (1-3 (1 3 June)
Moscow, Russia
Olympic Games (6 (6-11 (6 11 August)
London, United Kingdom