Left of the camera guy? Right.
Canoes flooded the banks.
Right of the camera guy? No, left!
tasy land. The few kayakers who still remained were dosed with questioning and sometimes accusing looks from open boaters—“what the hell are you still doing here?”—as they tried surfing a wave conveniently positioned between two of the gates. One clearly bewildered and slightly uneasy kayak instructor com- mented to me,“This is a couple more open boats than I’ve seen here before.”
The open boaters,now behaving with the audacity and assertive- ness of Ottawa River raft guides,were now kings and queens of the river.
Diversity was another distinctive quality of this
race.Competitors
ranged in age from six years old to over 70,and ranged in skill level from near-novice to open boat slalom veterans of 20 years or more. Far from the monoculture of muscular men and women who fre- quent the more serious closed boat races, this event features a cast of characters that truly breaks the mold of athleticism. The fact that open boat slalom enthusiasts do not harbour the illusion that their favourite pastime will ever become an Olympic sport could have something to do with this. The result is racers such as Pablo, 6-year-old son of Canadian
paddler James Vermeulen, sitting on his dad’s footpegs with a small beavertail paddle competing in the OC-2 junior/ senior class. Pablo’s skills and dedication to the sport were evident as he mas-
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As one America racer said later: “I love this country; you can paddle like shit, and still get a medal!”
terfully pulled his blade inside the boat every time they passed through a gate.On the flipside of this,U.S. sensation Casey Eichfeld, 12, placed first or second against the adults in almost every class he entered. Don’t be misled, however, by the friendly atmosphere— there’s still a decent collection of muscle-bound, highly skilled and competitive boaters at these events.
The Politics: O say can you C…. It didn’t take long for most of those attending the race to cotton on that even amateur races can be fraught with
politics.Despite the lack of Olympic ambition,the ACA and other organizers managed to inject controversy into the proceedings. On the second night of the race, I realized that there were really
two races going on. Because the race was being held in Canada this year, it was called the North American Open Canoe Slalom Championships. However, it was also the ACA U.S. National Open Canoe Slalom Championships. Surely just one of the two would be sufficient? Apparently not. In order to maintain the integrity of the U.S. championships, the
ACA made the decision to have a second award presented for each class.
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