DARTMOUTH — Canadian paddles are a few weeks away from knowing if they will represent their country at the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships on Lake Banook in August.
After a grueling but extremely successful Europe racing schedule, the Canadian paddlers are back home preparing for National Team Trials #2, June 27 and 28 on Dartmouth’s Lake Banook. The trials will go a long way to determining which paddlers will be named to Canada’s team for the Worlds, and with this year’s event being held on home water, from August 12 to 16, the stakes are high.
“I just imagine myself racing down the lake in front of the home crowd cheering for me,” says Connor Taras, a local kayaker trying to make World Championships in K2 1000 meters with his partner Lyall Hatton. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Taras adds that while most paddlers are close to earning a spot in the world competition, there is still plenty to be done.
In the coming weeks, Lake Banook will host Canada’s fastest paddlers. Some will arrive early to train and test the race course, while local athletes will enjoy the comforts of home and the familiar feel of the course they have grown up on.
For kayaker Una Lounder, returning Lake Banook after several weeks of training in Europe is refreshing.
“It’s nice to be on home water again, seeing familiar sights and being used to the groups you see on the water,” says Lounder. “It’s easier to get ready for racing here.”
For the athletes, usually training twice a day on the water, the visit home will be brief. Those battling for berths in crew boats will convene at a national training camp in Ottawa and Montreal next week. National Team Trials #2 is the first of two trials and a training camp that will be used to select Canada’s World Championship team. The team will be officially announced after National Team Trials #3 in Montreal on July 17 to 19.
-30-
For more information contact:
Stacey Jones-Oxner
Communications Chair
902-424-4163
soxner@canoe09.ca
