New Zealand Open

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:44:37 -0500

I am happy to report that I finished 3rd at the 2012 New Zealand Open. I am really pleased with this result, but more importantly, I am pleased with my ability to execute my race strategy/plan to a ‘T’. The Mangahao course is not the biggest whitewater, which means that there are many opportunities to try and shave some seconds off your time by cutting lines (ducking and weaving around poles) or to the layman, taking shortcuts. However, like taking a shortcut for the first time, the risk of making a mistake (....and getting lost...) is high, and you can actually go slower than if you had just gone the normal tried tested and true way. In the qualifiers and semifinal I got pulled into the trap and tried to cut these lines and take shortcuts...the result, I was slower. Finally, in the Finals I made a conscience effort to not cut lines and just do things normally....and it worked pretty well! You can check out results somewhere on the Canoe Slalom NZ website. Anyways, there is still some time to be made - I didn’t have a particularly fast running time - but this will come as my on-water training increases and my confidence to execute these “shortcut” tactics increases. Mike Kurt (SUI) won the race, and Fabian Dorfler (GER) was a close second.

So, I am now in Penrith, Australia....and it is wet and busy. Firstly, that 10-year drought the entire state of NSW has endured is now over; the rain has rolled in hot and heavy. Although this is great for moderating the heat, I am concerned I about the up keep of my tan! Secondly, I went to the course this morning, and there are nearly ten slalom sessions/day, which is a lot considering there used to only be 4 or 5! The whole world is here....be here, or be square!

Anyways, the course is good and I am looking forward to the short 2.5 week stint I will spend here....roll in, roll out....fresh.

Ciao.

John

New Zealand

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:47:47 -0500

I am currently in Foxton Beach, NZL, sitting in my beach-front house overlooking the ocean. It’s surreal and beautiful, and it’s times like these where I truly love being a kayaker and the opportunities it continues to provide me.

So a quick update. I arrived in Auckland, NZL January 14th where I met up with the legendary Mike Kurt (SUI), Eoin Rheinisch (IRL), and Hermann Husslein (THA). The four of us, otherwise known as the 72-crew, will be training and travelling together for my entire 5-week tour down under. From Auckland we travelled to Rotorua, otherwise known by the locals as Rotovegas. Rotorua is a stone-throw away from the Kaituna river, which boasts one of the best training sites in NZL. Heavy rains down here in NZL summer have brought rivers all around the country to all-time highs. The downside is that the Kaituna wasn’t the best for slalom training this year; however, it did make it possible for us to run the entire river in a slalom boat! For those of you unfamiliar with the Kaituna, let me try and describe. Think paddling down a narrow, winding river that is deep in this gorge and surrounded by lush vegetation....throw in a 7-meter waterfall half-way down, and boom, you have the Kaituna. In fact, NZL local Mike Dawson and Vavra Hradrileck (CZE) took advantage of the high river to do some cool video that incorporates Okere Falls (the 7m falls I mentioned earlier) with some slalom gates...evolution, ladies and gentleman, evolution. Anyways, it’s been a lot of fun so far...how can it not? This weekend we will be racing the first ICF ranking race, the NZL Open, on the Mangahao river. I am feeling good going into this one; although I am only in the initial phases of being race preparation, I have some good speed. There are some big names racing this weekend, so, it will be a good gauge for me to see where I stand at the moment.

Wish me luck,

John

(photo: Hermann Husslein, Foxton Beach sunset)

John Hastings Canadian National Kayak Team Member

New Zealand Open

New Zealand