WOW. ICF World Cup - Racice, Czech Republic, May 20-22

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1 WOW A L L T H E N E W S F R O M T H E W E E K O N W A T E R ICF World Cup - Racice, Czech Republic, May World Cup 2 commences this Friday, follow all the action at The Australian senior sprint camp are in great spirits, currently located in Melnik, just outside of Racice, and are looking forward to competing at the second ICF World Cup commencing on Friday. More than 400 athletes from 40 different countries will compete this weekend looking to build on their performances at the first World Cup in Poznan. Competition will be fierce with countries including Canada and Great Britain bringing their full squads to compete. The second World Cup will feature all squad members with the exception of Ken Wallace, who has returned to Australia following a chest infection. Wallace has been prescribed rest and believed it was in his best interests to return home. The opening event of the program will see Lyndsie Fogarty and Naomi Flood contest the women s K1 1000m. Day one will also see WAIS athlete and Poznan silver medallist Alana Nicholls look to continue her recent fine form when she competes in the women s K1 500m heats. Queensland mum Rachel Lovell will also contest the heats. The men s 1000m competitors will compete in their first Wold Cup campaign of 2011 when South Australia s Luke Morrison and Queenslander Jacob Clear compete in the heats of the men s K2 1000m. A major part of the Munich training camp was finding the best combinations for the men's and women's K2 and K4 teams. The women s K4 500m event will see Jo Brigden-Jones compete alongside South Australian Hannah Davis, Queensland s Hailey McGinty and Manly paddler Naomi Flood. In Munich we focused a lot of working on a new K4 combination. We are feeling good in the K4 so I am looking forward to the races, said Brigden-Jones. Day one will conclude when the men s K4 crew of Murray Stewart, Tate Smith, David Smith and Jacob Clear compete in the 1000m heats. Western Australian duo Stephen Bird and Jesse Phillips will look to build from Poznan with a strong showing in the K2 500m heats. While Queensland s Matthew Urquhart will contest the men s K1 500m heats. For full race start list and results go to:

2 Racice, Czech Republic The town of Racice was first established in 1295, and is located 41km north of the Prague, with a very small population of 308. With over 400 athletes from 40 different countries competing this weekend, the population will more than double for the three day event. The rowing course in Racice was completed in 1986 having been built on a former sand quarry site. The purpose built facility is the premier rowing and sprint kayaking venue in the Czech Republic. The world class venue can hold 5,000 people and has hosted major sporting competitions like the World Junior Rowing Championships in 1986 to most recently the prestigious FISA World Masters Regatta in For more information go to Racice Course, Czech Republic Brigden-Jones looking for improved Performance at Racice Jo Brigden-Jones will be better prepared and looking for an improved performance heading into the second World Cup in Racice this weekend, following her first competitive race in Poznan since shoulder surgery, which kept her out of the water for five months. Brigden-Jones enjoyed her time at the Munich training camp last week, and will compete in the women s K1 200m and K4 500m events starting Friday. After failing to make the A final at Poznan in the women s K1 200m, finishing a disappointing 7th in the B final, Brigden-Jones is feeling much more confident of an improved performance in Racice following a successful and intensive week in Munich. In my K1 I worked on my speed, starts, efficiency and technique so I am feeling more prepared for racing this weekend. For my K1 200m race I am just trying to improve my own warm up, race times, race profile as this will give me a good idea of where I am at and how I can further improve. Brigden-Jones will team up with fellow paddlers; Naomi Flood, Hailey McGinty and Hannah Davis in the women s K4 500m, and is looking forward to registering a fast time with her new crew. For full article go to:

3 Wallace returns to Australia Ken Wallace has withdrawn from the Australian World Cup 2 squad to compete in Racice this weekend with a chest infection. Since Wallace arrived in Europe two weeks ago, the infection has hindered his ability to train at the level that he expects from himself, and after consultation with the Australian coaches and doctors, Wallace decided it would be best to return to Australia to fully recover and prepare for the next competition. If I stay I am just prolonging getting better, by heading home, it will enable me to fully prepare and be ready for the next competition. Wallace had blood tests and was prescribed by the doctors in Munich to rest. He will be assessed by Australian team doctors on his return to Australia. No athlete wants to hear that rest is the only cure. National Performance Director Richard Fox said, This is only a short term disappointment for Ken, we will miss him on the water this weekend but I m sure that he will bounce back. Meanwhile the focus for the rest of the 1000m men at the World Cups will be the K2 and K4 1000m events where we expect some exciting racing after a successful lead in camp in Munich. Join the new Team Australia Sprint/Slalom Facebook Page A specially designed facebook page has been created specifically to follow the Australian Sprint and Slalom paddlers at this year s World Cups and World Championship. The page titled Team Australia Sprint/Slalom will provide constant updates, photos, video and results links, which athletes, coaches, media outlets, family and friends can use to keep track of how the Australian paddlers are performing. The second World Cup will commence in Racice this weekend, with World Cup 3, commencing a week later in Duisberg, Germany. To join the group go the following page: Alana Nicholls at Poznan

4 Pioneer for Women in Sport Honoured After devoting much of her life to the sport of canoeing as a competitor, judge and administrator, ICF's Helen Brownlee has been honoured as the first woman awarded life membership of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Brownlee who is also the first woman elected to the AOC Executive Board 20 years ago joins a long list of distinguished males including John Devitt, Michael Wenden, Judy (Julius) Patching and Syd Grange as honorary life members. I feel particularly humbled and somewhat overwhelmed to be honoured in this way, in joining such icons of the Olympic Movement, she said. Many of these Helen Brownlee men have been wonderful mentors on my Olympic journey, and I am indebted to their vision and support. For full article go to Slalom News This week slalom athletes participated in physiology testing over a three lap course at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Under the guidance of AIS coaching staff and skill acquisition coach Rick Shuttleworth and Darryl Burnetty, the athletes gained a lot from the training which will hold them in good steed when they travel to Europe shortly to compete on the Slalom World cup circuit. National Elite Development Program (NEDP) All canoe sprint athletes who nominated for the 2011 Australian U23, Junior or Olympic Hopefuls teams should still be eligible to be part of Australian Canoeing's new National Elite Development Program (NEDP). The NEDP replaces the NTID program and is now run by Australian Canoeing. The NEDP is an exciting new venture which aims to achieve sustainable athlete development through a more clearly defined elite athlete and coach pathway and enhance Australia s medal winning performance at significant international and world competitions. The program will be run by National Elite Development Manager David Foureur. For more information on the program, go to the Australian Canoeing website where you can view the Program overview, intro and a document on the proposed actions and changes to the program.

5 Upcoming Events May World Cup 2 Racice, Czech Republic Sprint May World Cup 3 Duisburg, Germany Sprint May Piestany U23 - Piestany Sprint 4-5 June Merano International - Merano Slalom June Bochum U23 - Bochum, Germany Slalom June ICF Ranking - Bourg St Maurice Slalom June World Cup 1 Tacen, Slovenia Slalom Important Links for Racice Latest news/stories/results/videos - Start Lists and Live results - ICF World Cup Racice - Contact Details Tom Collings High Performance Administrative Assistant tom.collings@canoe.org.au (02) / Keep up to date with all the latest news via the Team Australia Sprint/Slalom Facebook Page