http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/ Baillie Stott GB Cane Slalom Team C2 Crew News Feed en-gb Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:35:58 GMT Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:35:58 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Timmy t_baillie@hotmail.com (Tim Baillie) t_baillie@hotmail.com (Tim Baillie) http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/ http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/RSS/rsslogo.jpg 144 25 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=178
So far, it's been a mixed bag. The weather has been hot, sunny, cloudy, drizzly, stormy and a bit cool. This has affected the river levels in the Sava considerably. When we first arrived, the course was running at a very low level. The swirls were strong, but manageable. Since then, the levels have risen to the point that the course managers haven't deflated the bag that acts as a sluice gate at the top of the course. This means that you can't run the top drop, but that all the water runs around it, over a side weir and into the course.

Some of you may remember that this was how the course was running for the World Ranking race we did here early in the season. At this river level, the course varies between tough and proper mental! We've been training as much as we feel necessary, to cover the bases in case the race is like this, but not too much, because the power of the water is such that it is like wrestling with a wriggly but super strong squid (or some other sort of slippery animal with lots of wriggly bits).

We're hoping that the level will drop, business will resume on all parts of the course and we can get some final tapering training sessions in. Even then, when the sun is shining, we can't complain too much!

Bye for now, we'll update you when we find more information about the race.

Etienne

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Championships - Tacen, Slovenia
]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=178 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=177
Our race went pretty reasonably. First run was a good solid Semi Final effort which placed us in 5th. The Hochschorners schooled the rest of the field by quite a margin (they were 8 seconds faster than us) but we knew that we had plenty of time lost in our run and also that it would be difficult for anyone to match that run. In the Final we worked really hard but struggled from the get go, we kept hard at it but nothing seemed to be going very easily. At the finish we went into second place by 0.6 of a second behind our team mates Dave and Rich. We were pretty sure we'd missed a medal but it looked like they would have a good chance as the crews following us struggled to get a solid run down. Volf Stepanek held a good one together to sneak into a 1 sec lead. Then it was time for the final two Slovakian boats, the Skantars and Hochschorners. The Skantars had some sketchy bits but kept charging and took the lead. Last boat down was local heroes the Hochschorners and the crowd went completely silent with anticipation. They were on an exhibition run until the bottom drop were it all went completely and unexpectedly wrong. This meant Dave and Rich bagged a Bronze medal (Congratulations to them) and we finished fourth. It's a funny result to come away with, on one hand it's pretty frustrating to finish fourth with so much easy time in your run but on the other hand it's better than fifth and pretty much every crew in the race had the same story of fast and slow sections.

Elsewhere in the GB Team the highlights were Mark Proctor and Greg Pitt making their first senior championship final, Well Done to both of them. Mallory, Lizzie and Fiona also made their respective finals but didn't manage to deliver the finals runs they were looking for.

Well that's all for now, I'm off to the pool to cool down. Tomorrow we travel home and have a few days rest and then a week on Wednesday we'll be back out in Tacen to prepare for the Worlds.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=177 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=176
It was also good for the GB Team in general, as our other challenges hadn't turned out well. The C1 team suffered under the weight of two fifties after Greg Pitt's strap broke free in his boat and he capsized in the semi. The mens' kayak team were on a flyer until Campbell got battered on the eddyline and flipped on the bottom drop. Bizarrely the same fate was to befall Fabien Lefevre in the French men's team. The Polish went on to win, even though Dariusz Popiella half broke his paddle on their final run.

The German's well oiled team machine claimed Gold in the womens' race, Fiona, Lizzie and Louise had a troubled run with a 50 and came in 4th place.

Well we're just relaxing a bit for the rest of the afternoon and then we'll start preparing our strategy for the semi final tommorrow. It's going to be another hot one!

Etienne

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=176 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=175
Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=175 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=174
I expect that live results will be available via the official race website below. The race is being run to European rules so only 20 boats qualify for Semi in each class which guarantees some very exciting racing.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=174 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=173
This trip we are staying at a hotel in Hungary to try and reduce the daily commute to the course. It's our first time in Hungary, so far it seems very much like Slovakia but with a lot more Dentists. Our hotel has free table tennis which is pretty awesome. We'll be training less this week to freshen up for the race so we should have time to perfect some vicious spin action.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=173 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/showgallery.php?id=64
]]> Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/showgallery.php?id=64 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=172
Sunday past we had a rest day so five of us filled the car went to Lake Bled. It was very busy which wasn't a complete surprise since it was a beautiful blue sky Sunday but it was still a lot of fun and a very pretty place. We hired a rowing boat between us and rowed out to check out the island. I can't say we fully experienced the cultural experience offered by the island but we did a lot of jumping into the beauty green blue and comfortably warm water.

We're here now for another 2 days training and then we'll drive over to Bratislava to prepare for the rescheduled European Champs which are on the 13th to the 15th Aug.

Check out the gallery for more photos from Lake Bled.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Championships - Tacen, Slovenia
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=172 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/showgallery.php?id=63
]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/showgallery.php?id=63 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=171
So the adventure started on Saturday afternoon after morning gym training, we loaded Tim's faithful Mondeo to the brim and set off. The CIWW had kindly laid on 45minutes of free training on the course the night before the race. We were well impressed with the venue, it is fast, sprightly and tricky. The beautiful sunny weather really enhanced the vibe, it's just like paddling on some European slalom sites, with all the trickiness and response when you nail it. It is a really cool site, spot-on facilities, conveyor and top weather!

The next day we got ready to race. It's a rare challenge - racing on a river that you have only 45minutes of practice time on. Our first run was a bit of a range-finder, we were pretty smooth, but not too aggressive, just finding our feet really. On our second run, we tried to go a bit faster. Unfortunately, we got a bit wayward, incurring time penalties and some errors. We finished second behind Florence/Hounslow, fair play and well done to them, they paddled better than us in the race.

We didn't feel down for too long though, it was mission on! We packed the car and legged it to Rhosson, Pembrokshire, on the headland overlooking the gap between Ramsey Island and the mainland. We'd already missed the tide, so Georgie (my girlfriend) and I went exploring the coast in some kayaks. We went ferreting about in some caves and were followed by a couple of inquisitive seals. It was super cool, just exploring and seeing some wild life.

The next day, we opted to make the morning tide, which meant getting up at 4am. After a bit of grumbling and sleepy moaning the posse was assembled and we paddled out. We got there just as the wave was starting to form and we got surfing! We witnessed almost the full range of the feature as it varied with the flow of the tide. It was a sweet wave, glassy, smooth and not too hard to catch (although it was tough for C1s and nigh-on impossible for freestyle boats), we could have stayed for hours, but we decided to go back once we were surfed out.

Getting back at 7.30am after 3 hours of canoeing we all went to bed and had a slow morning before going down to Whitesands Beach for lunch. It was another beauty day, a truly British sea-side event! Once we were well sunned, we packed up and drove back home. Georgie and I stopped at Symonds Yat for dinner. It was nice to go there since the last time was over 12 years ago, when I did a Division 2 race there.

Now it's back to a week and a bits training at home before we head out to Bratislava and Tacen to prepare for the big ones. We'll try and let you know how we're doing. Bye for now!

Etienne

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 Cardiff Bay Prem Results
]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=171 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=170
The course for the finals was another very tricky one but it had a lot more flow than that set for Qualifying. As is always the case on Augsburg there was an element of rolling the dice and seeing what water surges you get but there is definitely a knack to dealing with whatever water you get and getting on with it.

Our Semi-Final run got off to a pretty ropey start with some very challenging water surges in the first 5 gates meaning we were already 2 seconds down leaving that section. Happily we improved down the run and had some really good sections. Initially we were 6th but had been given a penalty on Gate 19 for what was actually a water touch. Once that was removed it turned out that we had won what was a very tight Semi-Final with only a small time spread from 1st to 10th. Dave and Rich also paddled really well and progressed to the final in 5th.

Winning the Semi meant that we were last off in the final which was a little bit daunting but we dealt with it well. By listening to the commentary (it was so loud it was unavoidable) we could hear that the winning time was pretty much the same as our Semi-Final time. Since we hoped to improve on that time we knew we had a good chance to bag a medal or even a win.

Our final run started a bit sketchy again but was better than our semi and with some more good sections we were up by halfway but then unfortunately we made a mistake at Gate 15 and dropped 2-3 seconds low. We kept going hard and with some more good sections we managed to hang onto a spot on the podium in Third. Schroeder/Henze took a very popular home win and Lefevre/Gargaud Chanut from France won Silver.

It was a little bit disappointing to have made a mistake on our final run but with such a tough course I think every crew in the race had a story to tell and nobody did perfect runs. Overall it was very nice to finish the series with a podium in the Final since we'd been on the pace in either Qualifying or Semi-Final at each race and it was frustrating to have missed it in the Final twice.

Elsewhere in the British team Campbell finished 3rd in the Semi but then despite a fast time slipped down the order in what was a very competitive K1M final which ended with a German 1st-2nd-3rd. Mallory did a solid performance to make the Final again in the C1W.

Next up we're off to town for the medals ceremony which is going to be held next to the giant public screen for the football, should be a good atmosphere as Germany are winning 2-0 at the moment.

There's more racing here tomorrow with the C1M and WK1 class, live results and video are available from the links below. GB have strong chances in both classes so should be another exciting day.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany
LIVE RESULTS
]]> Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=170 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=169
We were pleased enough, but it is always annoying to finish the day on a bad run, and it's always annoying doing poor runs, full-stop. But at least we will get to watch a few boats negotiate the semi final course before we have a go.

David and Richard had a good second run and qualified in second place. Dan and Colin had good sections on both runs but didn't manage to put down a solid complete run and so missed qualifying.

As I'm writing the race is still continuing, so keep an eye on the live results. It's going to be a rapid day for us tomorrow, we'll try and post a report as soon as we can. In the mean time, we'll get a bit of rest and then start preparations! Bye for now

Etienne

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany
LIVE RESULTS
]]> Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=169 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=168
That's all for now, Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany
LIVE RESULTS
]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=168 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=167
Qualifying was on Saturday afternoon, we put in two clean runs on the same second with some really good sections but also lost a couple of easy seconds on both runs so ended up 9th. We didn't manage to paddle quite as well as we had hoped but the days job was done and so we were satisfied with it.

The course was changed around for finals and actually made a bit easier which led to a very tight race in the semi-final. We had a slightly sketchy run but went hard at it and were happy to finish on the front of the bubble of crews on 102secs which meant we were 3rd and progressed to the final.

Volf/Stepanek were the second crew off in the final and they slammed in a 98sec clean run which meant times were definitely going to get quicker and a repeat of our first run wouldn't be anywhere near the podium. We attacked our Finals run with a similar plan and tried to tidy up the sketchy bits from our first run. We had a good run and were pleased to improve by 2seconds but sadly this was only good enough for 6th place. The Skantar's managed to sneak ahead of Volf/Stepanek to take the win and Becker/Henze showed their form again to take Bronze, well done to all of them.

I haven't had time yet to check the video/splits yet and see where we traded time but it was disappointing to do what we felt was a good run and not finish higher up. Overall I think it was a very high quality C2 final with a lot of crews posting fast clean runs. We're still pretty happy with our race performance and were very happy to improve from our semi to final runs which was what we failed to do in Prague.

The highlight for the British team was Fiona Pennie collecting her second World Cup medal of the year winning Bronze to add to last weekends Silver.

Check out the official race website below for full results, news, photos and maybe some video as well.

We've got a pretty slow day here and then this evening we fly up to Augsburg, Germany ready for World Cup Race #3 next weekend.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #2 - La Seu d'Urgell, Spain
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany
]]> Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=167 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=166
Training has gone well, we've benefited from our hours of work here last year and made a good start. It's handy that the organisers have condensed the program into a weekend, it allowed us some extra training time in the sun.

We're both looking forward to the race, all the big names are here and it should be a good one. The vibe in the GB camp is good, England's football performances have had a mild positive effect on the English team members, but hardly any effect on Tim, Dave, Campbell etc!

Also our coaches have been in action yesterday. They gutted themselves in the 2nd Official (5th? Unofficial) Seu Coaches Church Race. This is a running race from the course up to the church in blazing hot conditions. Mark, Shaun, Nick and Sarah (our new psychologist who's gotten stuck straight in) were sweaty, tired, but happy with their efforts. Shaun and Nick improved their times, Delaney battled through injury to make it to the top and Sarah set a respectable first time. See below for some pics of the action.

Right then, it's nearly time to get the ball rolling. Team meeting, then demo runs and the opening ceremony tonight and lots of racing tomorrow! Bye for now

Etienne

P.s. There's literally loads of video from the past weekends World Cup Race #1 in Prague on the ICF channel of Dartfish.tv, follow the link below. Search for our names to find our runs.

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #2 - La Seu d'Urgell, Spain
The ICF channel on Dartfish.tv
]]> Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=166 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=165
But we'd started the day well, with a very solid semi-final run. We'd executed a good race plan, and found ourselves in 4th place, which was pretty acceptable. We knew we'd done a good run, but there was time in it and we set about working out a plan of attack for the final.

It wasn't to be. We weren't the only ones who struggled though. Local heroes Volf/Stepanek came unstuck in the final and David and Richard had too many penalties to make it into the final, even though they were fast enough. Hu/Shu of China capitalised and brought home the Gold, ahead of the rapid, but penalty laden Hochschorners. Szczepanski/Pochwala were very quick into the Bronze Medal.

In C1 Dave was hit with a tough 50second penalty, Mark Proctor came a creditable 14th, although he could have done without a penalty he took. Mallory Franklin had a tough time in the race, where she finished 8th, but she was looking better and better in training.

Next on for us is a day of training here in Prague, then a travel day to Barcelona and on to La Seu d'Urgell. We'll be hoping to crank it up there and get some good racing done. Bye for now!

Etienne

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #1 - Prague, Czech Republic
2010 World Cup Race #2 - La Seu d'Urgell, Spain
]]> Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=165 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=164
Dave charged down on both his C1 runs to win qualification and both Mark Proctor and Greg Pitt also advanced to the Semi.

Now we're back at the hotel relaxing and trying to watch the kayak results from the internet feed. It's proving to be very temperamental which is perhaps a sign of canoe slalom's growing popularity. So far it looks like Rich and Huw have probably made it. MK1 is much less exciting now that 40 qualify for the semi again.

Next up we've got to figure out how best to do the Finals course which looks significantly more complicated than qualifying was. Likely to involve a bit of headscratching but I think they've made a couple of changes from demos yesterday which should make it much better for C2s.

Our semi-final run should be at 11.38 CET tomorrow and if it works it will be possible to watch it live on the internet by going to the official race website below.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #1 - Prague, Czech Republic
]]> Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=164 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=163
Demos were this evening and the course looks pretty good so should be a fun race. The river level has stayed the same so it's quite a long flat drag race to the finish line but the rest of the course is plenty technical.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #1 - Prague, Czech Republic
]]> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=163 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=162
The 2010 World Cup series involves 3 races on consecutive weekends, Race #1 is in Prague this coming weekend and then Race #2 is at La Seu d'Urgell, Spain and Race #3 is in Augsburg, Germany. All 3 venues are quite small volume but very quick flowing courses which are technically demanding and fun to race. They also usually attract a good size of crowd so we're expecting some good race atmospheres. We've raced on all three venues before so hopefully we can put down some good performances.

The racing here starts on Friday with Qualification for all classes. I expect that there will be live results available from the official race website, check out the link below.

We'll keep you up to date with how we're going.

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 World Cup Race #1 - Prague, Czech Republic
2010 World Cup Race #2 - La Seu d'Urgell, Spain
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany
]]> Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=162 http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=161
It's very disappointing for everyone here and in particular for the Organisers who had worked really hard to organise the event in the first place and then battled against the elements to try and keep it running.

Ironically it's another beautiful sunny day here but the water arriving from upstream has kept the river topped up at the same level as yesterday (see the pictures below) which made racing impossible.

Our flight home isn't until tomorrow morning so we're off to the lake for a picnic...

Cheers Tim

Photos:


Related Links:
2010 European Championships - Bratislava
]]> Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT http://bailliestottc2.co.uk/blog.php?article=161