After 2 months 93 races with 44 juniors paddling a combined total of 142KM the 1st SLCC Indoor league has finished. Participants challenged one another to leapfrog up the table, With a high standard from all participants ranging from between 10 up to 16 years old. Comprising of Salmon Leap Canoe Clubs Junior C and D Squads.
THE FACTS
Races 146 Distance 1km Sprints = 146KM or 146,000 metres Participants 44 Juniors Fastest Time – 5.18 Minutes – Stephen Hyland Biggest improvement – Sean o Malley Gannon – 166 seconds Most raced – Mark Waldron (9) = 9KM Most Wins – Stephen Hyland (5) Fastest Loser – Brian O Neil 5.26 minutes
2011 League Table
Place
Name
Best Time
1
Oisin Casey
5.20
2
Stephen Hyland
5.18
3
Brian O Neil
5.26
4
Mark Waldron
5.27
5
Mark Slattery
5.27
6
Ryan O Hara
5.45
7
Brian Mcrann
5.46
8
Dylon Flynn
5.42
9
Ben Kelly
6.14
10
Ryan O Connor
6.11
11
Kiaron Kilbane
6.21
12
Thomas Connolly
6.13
13
Conor Keating
6.20
14
Killian Tully
6.09
15
Alex Smyth
6.33
16
Odhran mac Aireinn
6.52
17
Martha Buckley
7.03
18
Stephen Harris
6.21
19
Cahal Brady
6.49
20
Gerard Quinn
6.40
21
Conor Beegan
7.14
22
Brian Loughlin
7.22
23
Karl Doherty
7.28
24
Ciaran Connolly
7.12
25
Mathew Byrne
7.34
26
Sean Kelly
7.45
27
Liam Mcarthy
8.11
28
Rebecca O Hara
8.02
29
Thomas Abraham
8.02
30
Aisling Duggan
8.55
31
Eoin Mcarthy
8.09
32
Thomas Nolan
8.11
33
Daniel Farrow
8.37
34
Michael Bierne
8.38
35
Andrew Tate
7.59
36
Cian Simms Powers
9.07
37
Sean O Malley Gannon
8.22
38
Claire Croc
11.08
39
Ruby Lawlor
9.15
40
Ben Murray
9.37
41
Emma Mullins
9.47
42
Carlos Pancorbo
10.33
43
Sam o Brien
9.54
44
Eoin Sweeney
15.30
The League champion 2011 was Oisin Casey Who has won himself a Long Sleeve Craft Thermal courtesy of the league sponsor I-Canoe.com
Well done to everyone who took part.
(Some of the junior C squad)
.Adrian Durrant (Coach)
Ok so from the first day people take to the water the first thing is always “I've got cold hands” this is only normal your hands are holding a cold non insulated shaft with exposure to wind and cold water, generally the hands aren't moving too much so the options…..
You need to be able to both grip the paddle and stay warm, lots of people have lots of opinions so here's mine.
As a paddler and coach I spend a lot of time on the water and can honestly say I've tried about every set of gloves on the market here's some of my conclusions
The Marigold
Ok so everyone does this at some point borrow your Moms marigolds with good intentions to put them back. But what usually happens is because of the grippyness of the rubber they end up ripping on the shaft. warmth wise they are good to keep the wind off but they have no insulation leaving your hands cold.
Sailing/Kayak short finger gloves
These were the very first glove I ever tried as a new person to the sport these are great for rope work and protection but for paddling in cold conditions the fingers are exposed whilst the material holds water keeping the hands cold also I found these gave blisters due to the stitching on the inside of the thumb.
Neoprene Glove thin
Due to the thin neoprene these lacked insulation great grip and movement due to the thinner material. great for rope work and rescue, offering protection and minimal warmth, great for ‘warm’ people.
Neoprene Glove Thick
Used a set of Gull thick neo gloves after recommendation from a friend, these gloves were bulky with lots of insulation and protection, to really feel the benefits the gloves would have to be wet ‘which meant cold hands’ the neoprene would then quickly heat up ‘giving you that awful reheat phase – which really hurts!’ once warm these gloves were toasty and really nice.
Neoprene Dry glove
The NRS Mavericks are a neo dry glove with the whole glove liquid sealed and a nice dry cuff to keep the water out these again much like the other neo gloves need to be wet the difference with these is usually neoprene traps water between the skin and the neoprene with the dry glove water doesn't get into the glove leaving them cool. The mavericks also have a very rough inner which will really hurt cold hands with lots of paddling. These gloves work great if you have warm hands when you put them on as they will trap the heat.
Pogies Neo and fabric
Pogies were typically always accustomed to Sea kayakers and K1 paddlers but in more recent years they are at home both on the sea and on the river.
Theirs lots of personal preference regarding neo and fabric, the fabric being slightly lighter usually with a soft fleece lining offering warmth and fast drying whilst the neo being heavier and better thermal property whilst wet.both offer superb protection from the wind and the elements.
Many pogies now offer a short or long option allowing easier access in and out for hands in the event of a swim or rescue. other hybrid style pogies like the motion mambas are a light neo material with a fleece lining offering good thermal properties and the soft feel of the fleece.
Open Palm Mitts
I never really saw the point in these personally a bit silly putting a nice neoprene glove then cutting a hole in them which cold water will flush in and out leaving you with cold hands
NRS Toaster mitts
These are the daddy! absolutely the best glove you could ever need. I can honestly say I can use these into the coldest winter days play boating or creeking with lovely warm hands, the neoprene insulates and allows small amounts of water in which because your fingers are together heats up quickly even from cold to leave you toasty warm. As a mitt compared to the glove some will want free fingers but personally I prefer warm hands, I have set up rescue and thrown ropes with these gloves on and as always as long as you practice no problem at all. worst case just take them off and you've warm hands anyway!
With all gloves I think the key is use what you need. A sprint paddler hardly needs big neo gloves same way a freestyle kayaker with lightweight fabric mitts is pointless. another great tip is make sure your hands are warm going into the gloves and that the gloves are not freezing as a cold glove will suck up heat in the same way a cold hand has no way of generating heat.
As part of Irish Freestyles fundraising effort this year we have put together a calendar after a huge online photo competition the winners were selected and here's the result, A beautiful calendar available to buy.
Whitewater Calendar 2012 All proceeds go to Irish Freestyle Kayaking Following the Irish Freestyle Facebook Photo Competition, we have put together a Calendar for 2012, which will feature the best whitewater kayaking pictures taken of Irish kayakers at home and abroad. The calendar costs €15 (incl FREE postage) All profits will go to support Irish Freestyle Kayaking Order your calendar now!! Thanks to: I-CANOE for the help in making this happen Sponsors of the calendar include: Wavesport, NRS, Sweet, Craft, Riot Kayaks, Liquid Logic, Kokatat, Big Dog, Peak UK, Elephant, H20 Paddles, Astral, Werner Paddles & Shred Ready. The winners of the photo competition who allowed us use their pictures in the calendar. All those who shared their best kayaking photos with us.
After a long season the scores were in with all to play for in the last event of the Irishfreestyle League brought us back to Dublin well almost…… With no rain and the rearranged Liffey Descent unfortunately the ESB could not give us a flood on the river meaning no event at Sluice, so the back up plan was made….. Stackallan on the River Boyne, Co Meath. A small shallow wav/hole feature which was beginner friendly and good eddy access. The thought wasn't particularly appealing but on arrival we were greeted by a magical level seeing a sweet little feature where all moves were possible.
As the competitors arrived the marquees were up and the registration began, For 2011 the UK league was linked with the Irish League sharing Cardiff earlier in the season and this the last event, as a treat we had both World Champion and soon to be British Champion Claire O’ Hara, Soon to be British Champions Sam Anderson, Paul King and Kim Aldred plus Jack Mitchell who just came for the Guinness but ended up paddling with their bands of awesome supporters most notably the best supporter Laura King!
The event kicked off with 18 Junior men in heats full of entertainment big air loops and space Godzilla's leading the way. The standard was high with the ever improving junior men followed by the Junior girls with the same age old battle of Niamh against Caoimhe this time with the addition of UK team member Kim Aldred who showed the advantage of constant UK features to take the win, In the Sport Class Lee Doherty the ringer had a match set with Conor Mathews who recently reappeared on the scene with some cool liked ends and sweet spins Conor edged out Lee for the win. Both of these lads will be promoted to the Expert class for 2012 with some solid performances. For the Girls Sport Kate Mc Shearer Was left as the lone girl out for a paddle taking the win in style with some wicked waving and sophisticated spins.
The expert women showed the class of World champion Claire O’ Hara alongside Muireann and Aisling again proving why she's the best with some super smooth mc nasty's and air loops.
C1 this year had Orky showing off his Carbon for the first time on the east coast and it made the difference with the light swing weight hitting the air on both loops and Mcnastys into 1st place followed closely by UK Champ Paul King with his cool flurries of ends into splits really showing his class.
The expert men with all to play for saw UK Champ Sam Anderson take the win with his well practiced Felix's followed into 2nd by Adrian Durrant and 3rd Eoin Keyes
The real competition was yet to start with the Masters grudge match Bernard Walsh and Garvan Smith tied for first in the league saw Bish Bash and Bosh take to the water in a fun affair of paddle spins air guitars and crown pleasers as Walshy surfed in for yet another ender he plugged, tucked and pulled through his first loop in competition. The crowds went wild did we really see a 53 year old ‘Cant teach an old dog new tricks’ learn and land a loop! this sent Garvan onto the back foot fighting back with cartwheels both ways and even a cheeky split to seal the deal. As the Scores were counted the crowds waited with Mairead 3rd, Richie Reade 2nd and the suspense was killing them JOINT first Garvan and Bernard the two of them were inseparable.
This was the final event of the year meaning it was also the final selection event of the year, Event Results are here league results are here
A huge thank you goes out to all of the sponsors for the day, Wavesport Ireland have been a constant support of Irish Freestyle based on the banks of the Liffey the whole event really couldn't of happened without them,
You will all be glad to know Wavesport have already signed up as Title Sponsors again for 2012 with new ways to make the event bigger and better a huge thanks to Shane Cronin the man behind the scenes of Wavesport Ireland. Outdoor Community provided you all with hot soup and sambos from their riverside marquee as well as media and photography Canoeing Ireland for all their support from the office staff through access, insurances, and trying to book water.
South Dublin and Fingal Co Councils for their support with using the St Catherine's park access and safety management. H20 Audio For there great prizes for the sports Category winners Keen Europe for there wicked prizes for the Masters Category I-Canoe for their support and demo boats as well as competition prizes for the event Arc Cafe Bar for Party Venue Paddle4play for event organisation Event Photos thanks to Vinny @ Outdoor Community.ie
With the Autumn closing in it was at lest time for the Sickline White Water World Championships, The event was due to take place in the Oetzal Region of Austria.
For 2011 we had a group of 8 Irish paddlers heading out all descending on Dublin Airport on the same flight, some good will and helpful Eir Lingus staff ensured out 8 creekers and kit all made it onto the same flight, Once we arrived in Munich a group of us had taken the option of booking 2 large vans which equipment could easily be thrown into and we could sleep in, after a couple of hours driving into the night we had arrived at the venue, a quaint Austrian town full of character and scenery. The Oetz Valley some 820m above sea level
After a first night in the vans we took to the water in some big bouncy warm up type runs with the majority of us having not seen big volume water for a long time we needed some acclimatising running the lower Oetz the Upper Oetz leaving a cheeky spin on the race course Wellerbrucken for last thing that day.
The paddling was great cool glacial rivers with bright blue skies and sun beaming down made sure kit dried quickly.
The evenings were spent cruising around the town trying the local beers by the bottle, half litre, litre, 2 litre or even 3 litre glass just so we had tried them all.
With more consecutive days paddling warming up to the event we were feeling good about the lines.
As the event drew near other paddlers descended from all over the world for video nights and ceremony's the atmosphere was buzzing,
As the competition day arrived everyone knew it would be close, one roll, one rock or one bad line would really mess up your weekend, We headed up for our compulsory practise run bright and early not sure weather this was our best idea putting on thinking of our warm sleeping bags, as we left the top eddy and felt the cool water hitting our faces we knew we were in the game, dropping over a sweet boof into the turbulent water below lining ourselves up for the champions killer a sloping drop with a compulsory late right boof stroke miss the stoke and melt the drop before getting spat out eyes to the sky, as always with practice runs we missed the boof ending up in the cold glacial water stinging our faces but knowing we have one chance to get it right as we cruise through the rest of the course looking for clean fast lines trying to memorise the scenery. once to the bottom we make the long walk back up to the get in ready for competition runs.
As the timed runs kick off we see a mix some sweet clean lines and others melting and swimming the champions killer really is a chancer.
This time as we leave the eddy we know what we have to do adrenaline pumping through us pushing us on Bang we hit the boof looking onwards at the killer no time for thinking just from feeling knowing what we need to do, lining up at the top looking into the pit pulling through off the fast green tongue and driving up with the knees presenting the hull of our boats to the stopper as we use the speed racing towards the slot and onwards down the fast lines, As a group we had mixed fortunes during the day with 2 sets of broken blades a couple of rolls and a bit of rock bashing, PaddyTec forced his way into the next round leaving him in 70th overall with Barry and Neil 84th / 85th next up was Colm in 99th Adrian 107th Dave 112th and Ronnie down in 124th
With the whole crew out of the event we took to the town in true Irish style to find the biggest drinks we could (3 litres of Austrian Beer)
We spent the rest of the week paddling and biking through out the valley with loads of great runs with good levels we managed to take Macca for a spin on the Vent, seeing his nervousness turn to smiles and enjoyment after a great run, We managed a cheeky run down the middle Oetz a classic section with lots going on, Dave managed to break his boat on the get in and then Colm went for an early bath seeing the only swim of the week (He drank his bootie juice!) and Neil found a nice hole to test the Raptors play boating skills.
As we waved goodbye to an excellent event and epic party we can reflect on our performance and take positives forward to next year as we will definitely be back.
We spent the last days of the trip in Munich checking out the Galaxy water park with over 1400m of slides before taking to the Oktoberfest in Munich central for a spectacular night of heritage, culture, beer and dancing. A truly spectacular way to round off a great week away!
Ok so last saturday the 8th. The liffey descent was on and it was good... really good. Lots of carnage to be seen.
Anyway we were not out for the race, just for the 4 meg release from leixlip.
We headed down to Palmerstown to find a nice big Juicy improved wave from the construction work that was done.
