standing waves the 2003 CanadianTEAM TRIALS by Scott MacGregor
In June 2003, there was to be a single national Canadian whitewater freestyle team trials held at Sturgeon Falls, Manitoba, smack dab in the middle of one big-mother country. No more rich kids getting two shots at making the team by flying out to Easterns or Westerns if they geeked at their local competition. No unfair home-turf advantage of the event being held on the Ottawa River (again). We were going to be paddling in the Prairies where the hottest local move is the “flat” spin.
What seemed too good to be true for the Canadian Freestyle Kayak Committee, the loosely organized governing body, turned out that it was. After almost a year of planning, organizer Brent Bourne of Adventure Junkie Tours pulled the plug and called the whole thing off on May 15, barely a month before the event. The Winnipeg River was down to 12,000 cfs from the seasonal norm of 50,000. The CKFC scrabbled. Proposals for alternative locations were submitted. And much like a day in Parliament, after much debate the committee settled once again for two locations with reliable water levels, one in the West and one in the East— the recently upgraded Kananaskis River and McCoy’s on the Ottawa, the site of the 1997 world championships. By luck rather than political will, the events ran concur- rently September 6 and 7, forcing athletes to choose their event. With two team tri- als events, once again, no once can claim to be the national champion—except for Scott Rookes, the only Canadian competitor in OC1.
Did I do good Tiff? Did I?
Not a 7-foot boat in sight. Horseshoe Ottawa River.
Shawn “Flex” Cottrill, 3rd place. Eastern Trials
Originally from Kapuskasing, Ontario, moose hunter and Ottawa River guide Shawn “Flex” Cottrill nailed a spot for Pyranha on the Canadian team. In ’94 he was dared to run Peterborough’s Lock 19 dam in a Paluski recreational kayak and nylon skirt. The story goes that he swam the dam all day and then went out and bought a Dagger Crossfire. Ten years later, he still ain’t no “pretty boy” but the man can paddle.
all photos this spread by Rob Faubert/
holeriders.com 8
www.rapidmag.com
Billy Harris and Tiffany Manchester, Team Necky paddlers and Canada’s favourite couple, now engaged, once again made the Canadian Team. Tiffany placed first in women’s pro. She has now won three national titles, more than any other Canadian woman, and is the current North American Champion. A dual citizenship allowed her the top spot on the U.S. team, which she graciously declined. Her hubby-to-be took third spot in the men’s pro behind tricky whu master Brendan Mark and U.S. superstar Eric Jackson. Billy was moved to the second seat in the east.
Trophy fisherman Brendan Mark hooks 1st place.
Five years ago, Brendan Mark was Rapid’s first cover boy—150 pounds, ProTec helmet, cartwheeling a Wave Sport X in this very spot. Now a Team D veter- an, Mark says the challenge of freestyle competition is always keeping the right frame of mind: “Instead of sit- ting on the rocks, I took off downstream and for two hours did something completely non-paddling-related. Paddling legend Paul Harwood taught me my first fly- fishing lesson.” A clear head and endless hours play- ing on this feature paid off with a first-place finish. Billy Harris: “No one ever expected Brendan, who owns all the bass and pike fishing records on the Ottawa River, to paddle well at all. But he was amazing. Tricky whus being busted out everywhere.”
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