C1W Camp

Team Guinea has arrived in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain for the finally leg of their journey. The next 2 and a half weeks will be spent training on the site where the World Championships will commence on September 10th. 

In conjunction with the World Championships, the ICF is running a Womens C1 training camp in Seu. 21 paddlers from 12 different nations are taking part and getting some quality coaching from a range of international C1 coaches. It is great to see so many women paddling C1s! Hopefully this is just the beginning! For information regarding the upcoming World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell visit  http://worldseu09.parcolimpic.com

Slovenian Open

GOLD! After a heat and semi final run riddled with penalties, Leanne was able to put down a fantastic finals run penalty free which landed her in 1^st place! Well done to Caroline Loir and Ros Lawrence who also finished on the podium.

The Guinea brothers put in a solid performance during heats which progressed them through to the semis on Sunday, however despite a descent run it was not enough to make the finals.

All results from the weekend can be found at the following link.

The atmosphere at the race was unbelievable – Mexican waves, saucepan lids being banged, a HUGE Kauzer cheer squad, country theme songs…. the World Championships at Tacen next year will definitely be something to look forward to!  

Parallel Slalom night race

In the lead up to the Slovenian Open this weekend a flat water parallel slalom race was held last night on the main canal running right through the middle of Ljubljana (basically like holding a slalom at Southbank in Melbourne). There were stacks of entrants (minus Team Guinea as there was no C1W or C2 class) and the banks of the river were filled with spectators, which also overflowed into the main square where a big screen was projecting the racing. Team Aussie did well with Ian and Christian making the round of 16 in C1, and the 3 Aussie girls (Ros, Kate and Sarah) all making it through to the top 8. Unfortunately Ros and Kate were drawn to race each other and in a tight race Ros advanced into the final against Corrina Khnule. Unfortunately the Austrian was too fast and took away the win.

Today Sarah, Susie and Leanne ticked another box on the to do list by cruising down to the coastal town of Opatija in Croatia for a day of relaxation. Definitely recommended! 

New Poll - Please Vote!

A new poll has been added to the Team Guinea website. It is a matter of pride for both of these sibling tribes so please vote! Scroll down to the very bottom of the Team Guinea webpage to vote.

Slovak Open – Semis and finals

Todays racing started at a much more decent hour than yesterday and Leanne had a fantastic start to her semis run however ran into trouble from gate 15 onwards and received a 50 on the final gate. This put in her 2^nd place heading into the final behind Ros Lawrence (AUS). Chris and Scotty also had a good start to their run however ran into trouble at the same gate, but managed to finish the course with no 50s and in a Steven Bradbury style semi final which saw C2 crew after C2 crew miss and recirculate gates, the boys finished in a very respectable 12^th place, narrowly missing out on finals.

Leanne was disappointed with her finals run which was solid until the second half again and her troubles with the final gate continued with a 50, resulting in 3^rd position. Well done to Caroline Loir of France who took out the gold.  

 

Team Guinea now moves onto Tarcen tomorrow for the final race of the Pro series. 

Day 1 Slovak Open - Bratislava

Team Guinea has had a relatively successful first day in the office at the Slovak Open. The C1W class started off the racing this morning at 7.00am!!! The course was incredibly difficult and all C1W competitors had major difficulties. I was able to put down a run with no 50s which put me into 1st place heading into semis tomorrow. Chris and Scotty had a solid run with a few penalties but it was enough to secure 17th place and a run in tomorrows semi final.
During the week Team Guinea did some sight seeing through town including viewing a few statues that are said to be very ‘lucky’. Hopefully the luck will be with us tomorrow.

Budapest...more like Budabest!

Scotty and Leanne along with Sarah and Susie took a well earned break from training in the lead up to the Slovak Open and made a fleeting visit across the border to Budapest, Hungary. The city is amazing, with many old remarkable buildings and statues. Definitely one of my favorite cities so far!
Chris and Scotty had to invest some of their hard earned cash into buying desert for Yann on Wednesday, after having to eject from their sinking C2 after Chris' deck popped on the first stopper. Luckily there was no damage to the boat or themselves!

Winning Ugly at the German Open

GOLD...Even if it was done with 2 very 'ugly' runs! The course that was set for the semi and finals seemed to be a little more straight forward than the previous day however Leanne had quite a few difficulties on both runs with a roll in gate 10 and 3 spins per run. Luckily it was enough and she was able to take away the gold medal. It was good fun racing under lights, there was a fantastic atmosphere, loads of spectators and a few carnival activities such as laser shooting, soccer kicking power, surfboard riding and a duck race.
Earlier in the day Chris and Scott combined with Phil (K1), Heather (LK1) and Christian (C1) to compete in the CAT 4 teams event. They had a solid clear run on an intense course which involved at least 4 up stream gates on each section and finished middle of the field in 7th.
Now the Australian contingent travels to Bratislava for the Slovakian Open next week. Information and results can be found here.

German Open day 1

Today the heats were held for the German Open in Leipzig. The course was quite tough and the Guinea brothers had two runs which in the words of coach Le Pennec 'gave him plenty of ideas for sessions to come'. Unfortunately the boys finished in 27th position and missed out on a semi finals berth. Leanne also had 2 less than desirable runs on the technical course however managed to hold the lead heading into the semi finals tomorrow. The semi finals and finals will be a twilight race held under lights starting at 6.00pm. Results and further information can be found here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS

Chris celebrated his 23rd birthday today in style with a whitewater paddle, shopping trip around the Leipzig town centre, ice cream and chocolate cake! How perfect! Hope you had a great day Chris.

German Open - Leipzig

Team Guinea is back together again! Chris and Scott arrived safely into Frankfurt airport yesterday with Glenn and Danielle before meeting up with the rest of the team (Heather Ceaser, Phil Gibbons and Ethan Hodgson) in Leipzig for the start of the Australian under 22s tour.
The boys are looking particularly professional after collecting their new camo printed C2 and have been enjoying fitting it out in their spare time.
Leanne has also made it to Leipzig after a 4.5 hour road trip across Germany with Yann and Heather. The little white merc treated us well and the soft racks even held up while travelling along the motorways!
We are now all training for the German Open this weekend, before moving to Bratislava for the Slovak Open and completing the World Series Circuit with the Slovenian Open in Tarcen.

Adventure in Oetz

Ros, Kate and myself decided to take a break from our hard training schedule at Augsburg and get away for a weekend of fun and adventure in Oetz, Austria. Over the 2 days we managed to fit in 2 river trips (Oetz and Inns) and climbed a 200m vertical cliff face using a via ferrate (a cable to which you are attached by 2 carabineers). We made some new raft guiding friends who taught us a traditional Austrian game called nails and witnessed the cost cutting measures taken in Austria for road works (using manikins rather than real humans!) I am now back in Augsburg for a final week of training before heading over to meet the rest of Team Guinea in Liepzig.

The Team Guinea C2 is going to the World Championships!!!

The final selection race for a place on the Australian Team for the 2009 World Championships has been completed and all 3 members of Team Guinea will be competing in La Seu d’Urgell!
On day 1 of selection Chris and Scott managed to make the required 126% in their 2nd run meaning they only had to make it again on one of their 2 runs on day 2.
The course for day 2 was much more difficult, however the boys had an exception run… until the very bottom and finished with 126.00036%. Unfortunately selection policy states that you need to be under 126% however the result was appealed and selection onto the team was confirmed.
However, that’s were the boys luck ended as the roof racks were ripped off their car while passing a truck on the drive back to Melbourne. This caused some minor damage to their boat, which will have to be repaired in record speed (for them) before their flight on Saturday.
Other results from the selection race include Sam Lyons being selected for Mens K1 and Jess Fox selected to field a full team for the C1W class.
Next stop for the Team Guinea boys is Liepzig where they will meet up with Leanne and start their under 22’s tour of the World Series events.

Augsburg Training Camp

Following the 3 weeks of intense racing on the World Cup circuit, Ros, Kat, Elena and myself have settled down into a nice appartment in Augsburg for the next 3 weeks so we can have a solid block of training. Then we move onto the World series circuit before finishing in La Seu d'Urgell for the World Championships. Unfortunately in typical Augsburg style we have seen very little sun however that hasn't stopped us purchasing a fleet of very cool bikes which we use to get around town. Augusta, Cycho, Bella and Alf have done us proud and although there has been a few minor incidents (exploding tire and multiple bruises) they have been a very welcomed addition to the team.

World Cup 3 - Augsburg, Germany.

The World Cup series has finished for 2009! Unfortunately it wasn't the fairytale ending I was hoping for. After finishing second in the semi final I improved my final run and had solid lines down to gate 20, where it all became unstuck and I missed the stopper crossing into the upstream gate causing a 50 second penalty putting me back into 4th position. However Roz Lawrence (AUS) had a great run winning the World Cup gold! We now stay in Augsburg for the next 3 weeks for a solid block of training before starting on the World Series ciruit.

World Cup 2, Bratislava – Slovakia

The majority of last week was spent on the road as we had to journey from Pau in Southern France to Bratislava, Slovakia. Luckily the 2000km road trip was broken up as the course in Bratislava had been flooded and there were queries as to whether or not the 2nd World Cup would run. We spent a few extra days in Ljubljiana to get in some decent whitewater training and luckily the river level dropped and reached a normal height by Thursday leaving 2 days of training on the course before the race.

Racing went well for the Aussies with 6 athletes competing in the semi finals and all 4 girls battling it out in the final. Kate had a fantastic final run and finished with a silver behind Elena Kaliska (SVK). I managed to markedly improved upon my semi final run and although hitting 3 gates finished also with a silver behind Jana Dukatova (SVK).

We are currently in Augsburg, Germany training for the final World Cup competition with heats being held on Friday and finals for the C1W class on Saturday.

World Cup 1

What a fantastic start to the 2009 World Cup circuit! The French organising committee did a wonderful job and definately thought of everything...Unfortunately they couldn't control the rain during the opening ceremony, however there was still a brilliant turn out. After leading the way during heats and semis I wasn't able to hold on during the finals and I was awarded a 50 second penalty on gate 19 - however I still managed to finish with bronze. Ros Lawrence also of AUS claimed the silver.
We are now on the road to Bratislava (1700km road trip! Ouch) to the destination of the 2nd World Cup.

New Boat

My new Lady Lizard finally arrived in Seu two days before leaving which left me just enough time to fit it out to paddle in Pau where the first World Cup will be held this weekend. The course in Pau is amazing with fast whitewater and an incredible club house. C1 has proved tricky on this course due to the speed of the water but hopefully a few more sessions before the race will help.

New Guestbook

We have recently added a guestbook feature to the Team Guinea website so please feel free to drop us a line or say hello.
You will find the link in the right hand column of the site under upcoming events.

Off to Europe

One third of Team Guinea (Leanne) has left for Europe to start her 3 month tour and is currently in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain training on the site where the 2009 World Championships will be held in September. The team will train in Seu for the next week before starting the world cup tour kicking off in Pau, France. For more information on the World Cups see the following links. 

World Cup 1 - Pau 27th - 28th June

World Cup 2 - Bratislava  4th - 5th July

World Cup 3 - Augsburg 11th - 12th July 

World Championships - La Seu d'Urgell 9th - 13th September