Abbiamo fatto tre gare in 3 giorni con levata alla mattina alle 5 seguite da  2 ore di guida, prova , gara, premiazioni sotto un sole a 40gradi con 90% di umidita' poi altre due ore nel traffico per ritornare alla base.
Oggi alle 18.00 facciamo la gara a squadre sprint, i maschietti dovrebbero fare una discreta figura, le femmine......no comment. Nelle gare precedenti sempre tt in coda a fine classifica haaaa! Pensate  ke guardando dentro una canoa ho scoperto ke una di loro nn ha il puntapiedi sulla destra!! Pensavo l'avesse rotto durante un bagno..poi mi scappa fuori ke  ha comprato la canoa cosi e nn l'ha mai avuto. Detto questo penso di averti detto tutto....A volte mi chiedo ma ke ci sto fare qui!! Fortuna ke una "Tierney" quella ke alleno ad Atlanta va benino purtoppo e' sempre lontana dalle prime.
I ragazzi sono molto piu' motivati.
Ho fatto due allenamenti con Andrea Giacoppo (Team leader dell ITA TEAM) e' un mostro di potenza resistenza e velocita'. NN lo cavi dall'acqua prima di avere trascorso 1.30min tassativo!!
Ciao a presto ti allego le foto di un buchino del percorso sprint e dei miei raga.
A presto!
Maurizio

Medaglia di bronzo ad un mondiale Junior a squadre....wawawuwa!!!
la squadra femminile USA Team......mi ha regalato una bella medaglia di bronzo!!! e vaii !!!

Some 75 athletes ages 15-18 from the United States and 14 other countries will race at the U.S. National Whitewater Center and on the Saluda River in Columbia to determine champions in four categories.

Among the 15 members of the American team is one Carolinian, Chandler Jones, 18, of Franklin in Western North Carolina. Jones, a kayaker, has earned a berth on the U.S. team for three years, competing in the Junior World Championships in Italy in 2005.

The championships consist of four days of wildwater racing. The races start July 18 and continue July 19 on a 3-mile section of the Saluda, and then conclude July 20 and July 21 in sprints at the whitewater park. Fastest times win. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to winners of the Saluda race, the sprint race and winners of combined times for both races.

John Pinyerd of Marietta, Ga., chairman of the wildwater team, said the intense Class III rapids on the whitewater course should test the skills of the young paddlers and provide excitement for spectators.

"We will see an occasional flip or swim or eddy out," he said.

Pinyerd said the Columbia-Charlotte venue marks the first time the United States will have hosted the every-other-year championships. European athletes dominate the sport governed by USA Canoe/Kayak in Charlotte.

Athletes race in four categories: Men's kayak, women's kayak, men's canoe and men's tandem canoe. Decks cover canoes so they resemble kayaks. Canoeists, however, use single-bladed paddles while kayakers use double-bladed paddles.

Wildwater paddlers race downriver in sleek, lightweight (33 pounds) boats nearly 15 feet long, punching through rapids and seeking ribbons of fast water. Racers get no penalty points; if they flip or hit a rock, they lose time, a self-inflicted penalty.

On the Saluda, paddlers will take on Class II-IV rapids and stretches of flat water. On July 19, they'll form three-boat teams to race downriver. Pinyerd said the strategy is to put the two fastest boats in front side-by-side and the slower boat behind. Pinyerd explained that wake-riding increases the slower boat's speed by 15-20 percent.

Team races resume July 20 with sprints at the whitewater park. (Team times don't count toward the individual times.) Individual sprint races follow on July 21.

Athletes from Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland are also competing.

Want to go?

• Fans can watch the sprint races from the gravel path that borders the Wilderness Channel at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. Those races are July 20 and July 21.

• Admission and parking are free.

• For moreinformation, visit jwwc2007.com and usnwc.org.

U.S. Wildwater Team

Men's kayak

Alex Dodge, Boulder, Colo.Nathan Hamm, Pittsburgh

Chandler Jones, Franklin, N.C.

Lucas Palko-Schraa, Durango, Colo.

Peter Lutter, Bethesda, Colo. (alternate).

Michael Turvey, Boulder, Colo. (alternate).

Women's kayak

Laura Adams, Grand Junction, Colo.

Tierney O'Sullivan, Roswell, Ga.

Sarah Kunz, Durango, Colo.

Anna Pierotti, Durango, Colo.

Sarah Dodge, Boulder, Colo. (alternate).

Micki Reeves, Grand Junction, Colo. (alternate).

Men's canoe

Craig Adams, Grand Junction, Colo.

Men's tandem canoe

Cody Beach, Grand Junction, Colo.

Logan Hartle, Grand Junction, Colo.

COACHES: Maurizio Tognacci (head coach); Tom O'Sullivan; Denny Adams, John Pinyerd

JUNIOR WILDWATER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
International flavor flows
Foreign competitors sweep medals in all 4 categories
German, Irish and Swiss flags hung from the bridges and banks.

A fan riding a bike along the edge of the water shouted encouragement in Italian as a female kayaker navigated through the course.

Three 15-year-old Iranian girls, competing in their first event, walked around smiling for much of the day.

Despite being in the United States for the first time, the 2007 Junior Wildwater World Championships had a decidedly international feel.

Three days of competition concluded Saturday at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, with international canoeists and kayakers again dominating the stage at the event featuring more than 80 competitors from 15 countries.

International competitors swept the medals in all four categories, including the Czech Republic -- led by Marek Rygel -- winning all three medals in Men's C1 canoe.

Chandler Jones, the only N.C. competitor, knew exactly what he was facing after competing in a world event in Italy two years ago.

"I was like a little fish in an ocean," the 18-year-old Franklin resident said. "It was a big shock. It's just more established in Europe than it is here."

Maurizio Tognacci, who became the U.S. coach only a week ago after coaching Jones for a couple years, said dedication to the sport is much higher in Europe. Kids start training at an early age in many countries then surround themselves with the sport once they're of age, often with government funding.

"It's their profession," Tognacci said.

Still, David Yarborough, executive director of the Charlotte-based USA Canoe/Kayak, said the Whitewater Center facilities could draw more international events in the future.

"People around the world know about this place," he said. "We're hoping to show it off a little bit.

"Maybe we can get some even bigger events here?"

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Women's K1 Kayak: 1. Ivana Hrabalova CZE; 2. Sandra Hyslop GBR; 3. Olivia Churchill GBR.

Men's C1 Canoe: 1. Marek Rygel CZE; 2. Tobias Malach CZE; 3. Michal Kucera CZE.

Men's C2 Canoe: 1. Richard Vrsansky/Lukas Polacek SVK; 2. Stefano Ciucciu/ Diego Giacoppo ITA; 3. Vaclav Briza/Zdenek Kubat CZE.

Men's K1 Kayak: 1. Theo Devard FRA; 2. Quentin Bonnetian FRA; 3. Jaroslav Nedved CZE.