It's the first of July! Canada's Birthday and the first day of the second half of the year! It seems crazy that we're this far into 2009, but I guess a lot of things have happened so far and it's been pretty busy. Gab and I arrived in Ottawa Monday afternoon after some delays at the airport in Halifax. We seemed to bring the weather with us, as they say, because upon arriving we were welcomed with a heavy downpour. Luckily Ian and Jenna had made a great dinner and we were able to just sit inside and enjoy the food and the sound of the rain outside. It was then time for a much needed sleep to help recover from the weekend. I took yesterday to rest as well, as I know I have a lot of hard work coming up in the next month and need to be ready for it. The Canoe Team training camp will start this Thursday here in Ottawa. A big team has been invited, and they will try to decide who is going to race with who in C4 1000 at the next set of Trials, and ultimately at the Worlds in Dartmouth. With so many guys trying to make the boats, I hope it will push everybody to be their best, and make Canada's C4 at worlds that much better. I'm also excited that there will be such a big team around to train C1 with me, as training alone is not my specialty. It should be a fun camp, as our team usually gets along really well even when there is tough selection going on.

Today is the annual Canada Day Regatta, hosted by the Rideau Canoe Club on Mooney's Bay. It is a great regatta that is usually well attended by people from all over the country, and continent. People come decked out in all red and white with maple leafs flying, showing their national pride. The racing is very exciting, most notably the famous Rideau 100, a hundred metre sprint that is known by many as the world championship of this distance. I am the defending champ (no big deal), but am still deciding whether I'm going to race or not. It will be a last minute decision, depending on how I feel later in the day. After the races, the festivities really begin, with BBQs, parties, and of course the annual trip downtown to see the firework display. I'm looking forward to a fun day, and wish everyone out there a happy Canada Day! Thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water.

Mark, Rich, Cory, Paul. Photo by Bernie Irvin