Pan Am Championships and Return To The Great Nova Scotia, Home of Clear Skies, Beautiful Lakes, and Great People!

The atmosphere on the team is simply awesome right now. This weekend was the Pan American Championship qualifier for the Olympic Games, and the Canadians who raced did not disappoint. The Women’s Kayak Discipline started things off on Saturday morning with a dominant performance in the K-4 500m with an impressive victory. They looked awesome, and it was evident that their win really inspired the rest of the team. For the first time ever Canada has qualified every single event for the 2008 Olympic Games. This is definitely quite an accomplishment given the amazing teams our country has fielded in the past. Gabriel and I knew the importance of our race going in, but made a firm decision to try and stay as relaxed as possible. We reminded ourselves that it was just another race, and in order to race our best we needed to enjoy it and that would help us to have our best race. It was especially exciting to be able to race in front of a Canadian crowd and to have so many family members and friends in attendance. I was especially happy to have my mother and father, brother Ben (who also raced the C-1 200m race), my uncles Bruce and Kenny, cousins Natasha and Quincy, and Banook coach and teammate Greg Murphy, to name a few… needless to say it was great.

When Gab and I lined up to race the 1000m C-2 I felt pretty confident, we had had a strong week of training leading up to the races and had been moving the boat well. When the race started we moved to the front very quickly, after a really strong first 100m. We hit our travel speed and felt pretty comfortable. The field closed the gap about 400m into the race, but I felt as though making a strong move at the 500m mark would open things back up. After a pick-up Gab and I pulled back and ahead by around a boat length and never surrendered that margin again. However, I will definitely say the Mexican C-2 (which featured the 2006 C-1 1000m champion Everardo Cristobal) pushed us all the way to the end. I noticed throughout the weekend how much the level of the sport has risen throughout the Americas over the past few years.

After the race I was asked by a reporter with CBC radio what it felt like when the boat was moving really well. I paused thinking of how to put it into words properly, lameness echoed in the words I did manage, but the corny metaphor I made I think captured the feeling. I described the overall connection as similar to machinery that is working in great rhythm. Each stroke churning in parallel motion with your partner; simply put in order to move the boat you need to work well together. While I have and will never be accused of having the prettiest stroke on the water, I think in C-2 we’ve begun to find that parallel drive that is needed to go fast.

When the first day of races came to an end, Gab and I were able to relax a lot as the pressure of qualifying Canada’s C-2 for the Olympics was already done. We went back to the hotel and ate a terrific dinner and talked about the great results that were had. One of the results I found most exciting was the victory by the men’s K-4. Two words for you, Chris Pellini! The next day Gab and I were able to line up for the C-2 500m only thinking about enjoying ourselves and throwing down a good hard race. We blasted off the line very quickly, moved to the front and stayed in control all the way. Gab handled a stiff left’s cross wind exceptionally well and didn’t miss a stroke the whole way. This is not an easy task, as I believe we were stroking no lower than 70 strokes per minute the entire way.

Anyway, that’s about all I have for you on the weekend’s races. After a fun night with the other countries on Sunday, I caught a flight Monday morning back home to Nova Scotia. It had really been far too long since I had been home. Gabriel and I will train here for the rest of this week, and then we will take off for Europe where we will continue the Olympic selection process overseas at world cup competitions in Szeged and Duisburg. We will look to build on the strong performances we have already had at the first set of trials and at the Pan American Championships. Also, I would like to thank all of the people that have sent me such encouraging messages over the past few weeks; it has been such an exciting experience thus far. I am looking forward to working very hard these next few weeks to ensure we are ready for Europe. I think Pisquali said it best, “you get as much from the training as from the competition, if not more,” he couldn’t have been more right.

Cheers and keep it real,
Andrew

It’s been a while since I last entered a few words. Right now I find myself looking out over Montreal from a hotel room looking forward to the upcoming continental Olympic qualifier, but first how we got here. Gab and I are coming off two victories at the first set of national team trials in Gainesville, Georgia, and by virtue of those wins have been selected to represent Canada at the hugely important qualifier. Leading up to those crucial first I was beginning to have nervous energy and just wanted to get out there and race. As soon as we arrived and began training in Gainesville though I calmed down and reminded myself that if I needed to enjoy the experience in order to compete to my best possible potential. With the exception of a broken shaft suffered during a 15 second sprint, the week’s training leading up to the competition was exactly what I had hoped for. Gab and I got along great and were really finding the boat speed on the water.

I felt as though we had peaked pretty well and were ready to go come Saturday. At the starting line for the 1000m I reminded myself how important it would be to follow our race plan and execute. After all we were lined up against some other great Canadian crews, among which was the Buday brothers who have been phenomenal throughout their career in C-2 racing for Canada. When the gun went Gab and I had a great start and pushed to the front of the pack. We gained just about a boat length lead by 500m and were feeling strong. After feeling a push from the field halfway, Gab and I switched gears and managed to hold everyone off. It was an amazing feeling to cross the line first. The next day Gab and I planned to build on the success of the first day’s win and keep to the same tactics; utilize a race plan that worked to our strengths and execute. Lining up I felt very ready and when the gun went we once again pushed to the front after a great start. However, the 500m event is always a painful race, and halfway through we had to dig to find another gear to ward off a push from the field lead by Ian Mortimer and Kyle Jeffery. We crossed the line again in first place and ecstatic.

I would like to stop and say a few words though about the other competitors in the C-2 races. Firstly, the Buday brothers who finished second and third in the 1000 and 500 have been to three Olympic Games. Over the past three years I have had the pleasure of training and racing with them and I can’t say enough about what these guys bring to the table. Beyond the obvious amount of talent they have, they are also tremendous ambassadors for the sport. Since I have been a member of the national team I have always known them to be quick to lend advice and help with all of the other athletes on the team. I know they have certainly helped me out a lot with technique and training, not to mention opening my eyes to the joys of the game of golf. When we finished the races in Gainesville each day they were quick to shake our hands and congratulate us. It is an awesome feeling to have such great camaraderie amongst athletes competing for the same spot on a team. Also, Ian Mortimer and Kyle Jeffery are two amazing canoe athletes that really raced hard this weekend. In my first year back, I had the thrill of racing with Kyle to a silver medal in the C-4 1000m at the 2006 world championships. As Mark already mentioned in his blog, I can’t say enough about the resolve Morty has shown coming back from an injury the way he has. Having had a shoulder injury myself, I know how difficult it is to do and I couldn’t be happier to see Ian paddling so strong again. Lastly, my brother Ben and partner Richard Dalton were very strong, and having been the only C-2 to also compete in the C-1 finals I was really impressed with how they raced. The C-2 500m was not their main focus, as they both concentrated on the C-1 events, but nonetheless they were very strong and close.

Now with all that said about how great the competition is in Canada alone, I expect extremely challenging races in Europe. First things first though we need to qualify Canada at the upcoming Pan Am regatta, and we are very focused on making that happen. I will have my mother and father cheering us on, as they are back in Canada having flown from New Zealand to be here, and it is definitely a good feeling to have them around. I would also like to say thank you to my family and my girlfriend Katie for all their support over the past 3 months, as well as everyone else that has helped along the way.

Cheers and keep it real,
Andrew