Canoe Kayak Freestyle League

 

On Friday it was the final event of the canoe kayak freestyle league. The same format was run as usual with a jam session of 3/4 people and between 12-15 minutes per jam and then a 45 second run each to finish.  After winning the first 3 comps I felt pretty confident but knew my main rival Ed Weeks had been training hard and it would have been nice for me to take the last win in my last year of junior.
In the Jam I didn’t paddle my just about getting a mcnasty and scraping together I few other moves but I managed to just pull ahead of Ed to take the final win of the ...more 

Also posted on playak.com

Parkway Central junior kayaks to the finish line

 

This is not the average teen’s schedule. But for Parkway Central Junior and United Hebrew congregant Danielle Sartori, it is simply a routine. Monday through Friday, she sits in a classroom,  but on Saturday and Sunday Danielle can be found in her kayak. In her sport, there is no coach, no whistle, no referee; it is a fight to the finish against the unruly white water rapids.
 Growing up, Danielle would go to local pools to practice basic skills. She also competed in races designed for young kayakers. In those races, she often placed very high, which gave her a promising outlook for her future in kayaking. She started paddling in small play boats as a beginner. She bobbed in shallow water while receiving lessons from her father, who is also an avid kayaker. Calm water was ideal for practicing, but Danielle was ready for a challenge once she ...more

Kayak gold medallist faces doping probe

 

Australian Canoeing says London Olympics kayak gold medallist Tate Smith has been provisionally suspended pending an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

Chief executive Greg Doyle issued a statement saying Australian Canoeing is aware of media reports about Smith, who was a member of the Australian team that won the K4 event in London in 2012.

If Smith is found guilty of breaching the World Anti-Doping Agency code, he would reportedly become the first Australian gold medallist to be banned for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper said the 32-year-old Smith tested positive for a banned substance during a training camp in Hungary in July. The newspaper said Smith could lose his London medal and faces a two-year ban which would prevent him defending his title in Rio de Janiero.

The Courier Mail quoted a spokesperson as saying the Australian Olympic Committee is "aware of the investigation and we are following it closely."

The newspaper said Smith had not returned its phone calls and ASADA had issued a statement saying it was unable to discuss operational matters.

Doyle said Australian Canoeing "is unable to make any comment in ...more

Grandmother kayaking to Guatemala to aid kids

 

What could inspire a 63-year-old grandmother to paddle a kayak 2,500 miles on a yearlong trip from Maine to Guatemala?

For Deb Walters, the motivation came from her experiences with residents of a gritty neighborhood perched at the edge of a festering garbage dump in the heart of Guatemala City.

Nearly 10,000 people, including about 1,000 children, live alongside the dump, where they scavenge and recycle trash for a living, and sleep in huts made of scavenged metal, bits of cloth and plastic tarps. They are called guajeros, or ...more

Tampa's Mary Mangiapia aims for kayaking history

 

"I had no choice," said the 28-year-old from Tampa who hopes to be the first woman to complete the 1,500-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail. "But they were stranded and needed help."

The man and the woman told Mangiapia, who started her expedition Sept. 6 near the Alabama border, that their personal watercraft broke down Monday afternoon. They spent the night on a sandbar and tried to flag down passing boaters all day Tuesday off of Tarpon Springs.

"When I found them that evening they were trying to swim for it," Mangiapia said. "So I helped get ...more

Racer Spotlight: Carter Johnson - surfer, kayaker, record-holder

 
Name: Carter Johnson
Age: 39 on Sunday, Oct. 6

City/State: Sausalito, CA.

Boat: Huki Surf Ski 21 ft.

Race: Extreme Unlimited

Business: Manages a team of software developers for a Wells Fargo Bank.

Family: Single

Race wins/races: 2014 US and Canadian Surf Ski World Cup  

Like to Kayak: Very big waves at some tropical place. I would like to do a tour a week, and spend each week at a different Caribbean Island.

Race Strategy: I haven’t been able to train like I want to for this race. At my age I have to acknowledge I can go as good as I can go, without breaking myself, and know it was the hardest I could have gone.  

How/When, Why did you get started kayaking? First I was a gymnast at Purdue University. I participated in triathlons and road biking and I found that these sports had the adventure I was seeking but not the endurance and strength level. I found all the other sports had one or two but not all three. At the age of 28, I started kayaking and found it to have all three and it ...more

Body of male kayaker pulled from Credit River

 

Peel Regional Police are investigating after a body was pulled from the Credit River in Mississauga on Wednesday.

Officers received calls from two passersby who reported they had seen a body in the river at about 2 p.m.

Police confirmed the body of an adult male kayaker was pulled from the river near Front St. N. and Lakeshore Rd. E. after an overturned kayak was discovered partially floating along the shore.

Police are not releasing the man’s name, but said he was in his 40s. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

According to police, a forensic identification unit, the criminal investigation bureau and a marine unit were at the scene, and officers were actively looking for any surveillance footage that might help the investigation and give officers a timeline of events.

Officers are also urging any witnesses to ...more