The stage is now set for redemption.

On Sunday, 10 ladies from the Kelowna Paddle Centre (KPC) travelled to the Canadian Outrigger Racing Association’s National Team Time Trials to see how they stacked up against the rest of the country and qualify for World Sprints in Australia May 2016.  It was a beautiful day with sun shining and blue sky.

The V1 races were up first for the women and OC1 for the guys.  I felt good going into the day. It was great to see all kinds of friends as people warmed up and were getting ready for their heats. I mistimed my warm-up so didn’t quite get as much as I had planned on but once I hit the water it was game time. I was relaxed but focused. I knew that the boats for the trials were easier to steer than ours at KPC.

Going into this weekend I knew that my biggest competition was going to be the clock. Early this year I set some goal times that I wanted to achieve.  Coming down the course I felt fast, strong but didn’t even notice how close the finish was and missed part of my race plan.  Clocked in with a 2:30.18, second fastest V1 time of the day (only beaten by a guy).

I had the chance to cheer on the rest of my KPC girls before paddling again in the OC1. I think I had more fun cheering them on then I did my own paddling! With hitting my goal time in the V1 I was ready to lay it down on the OC1. I knew that I’d have company at the front as our KPC manager and former National Team Marathon K1 paddler Tamlyn Bohm was in my heat. The cockpit C-Lions were uncomfortable with inconsistent steering but I paddled the race according to my race plan and even had some fun opening the throttle for  a sprint into the finish line for a time of 2:33.17.

Overall the Kelowna women dominated! Open women – KPC ladies were 6 of the top 7 times and only 2 of us were actually open age!  Masters women – KPC had 7 of the top 11. And our Senior Masters gals made up 3 of the top 6. I can’t begin to express how proud I am of every single one of these girls. They worked hard, put in the time on the water and it paid off!  Now they have benchmarks and the experience to take into the trials for Tahiti 2018.

As for me, it’s time to find some funding to help with my expenses for Australia 2016. If you can help a girl reach her dream of being the fastest paddler in the world, contact me 🙂

What a day for Kelowna Paddle Centre, with 42 paddlers and lots of family and friends there to cheer and support! All crews raced hard, challenged themselves and for many, conquered their first race!
I am so proud of how each of the Kelowna Girls crew! They stepped up to the challenge. Some of these gals are seasoned race veterans and for a couple this was their longest race yet.
An aggressive pace was set right from the start and we maintained contact with the strong Kelowna Master’s crew throughout the race. At 7km we were about 1:30 behind and came across the line (16.5km) just 2:36 behind. Each of gals dug deep, I could see, feel (and hear) the effort that they were putting in every time I called a push. These girls are hungry for more racing, I love it!