The City good times

Well after a dissapointing finish to youth Olympics I chose to take abby into the city.I dont think she had seen the harbour before so we caught a train to central and then went to cicular quay.We then went onto the ferry that took us to darling harbour.It was a great boat trip as we went under the harbour bridge and she saw luna parkand just the beautiful harbour in general.Once at darling harbour we went into the aquarium.Havn;t been there for about six years abby had never been in an aquarium period so she enjoyed it seeing heaps of sharks seals sting rays (argh you killed a national icon bastards!!) pretty fish ugly fish and penguins haha.Afterwards it was to centrepoint tower and we quickly ascended that.I forgot how awesome it looks from up there sydney is awesome i would never leave it.A quick bite to eat for lunch and hen it was back onto the ferry and back to penrith.The next day it was that time again a trip to hornsby teary goodbyes for now and watching cityrail speed my girl away from me :(:( I miss her! Counting the days til im with her again like 15 i think :)

Long Time

OMG there is so so so much to tell and i have not updated my blog since the U2 concert that was like in november well whats happened since then.Ok firstly I have been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend abby and there has been multiple trips to and from newcastle all is good and we just spent 10 days together in melbourne at the national championships.Well i scored some neat stuff for xmas a flask a awesome engraved keyring some cologne some money some gift vouchers some dvds and some other little stuff like that.On Xmas day i spent time with my mum in the morning and dad in the evening.THe next day I drove to hornsby to pick up abby and seeing her again made me so happy then we got all packed for the nine hour haul to melbourbe to compete on the goulbourn river otherwse known as eildon. Okay down to racing.The competition started with the national schools championships.I pulled out two good runs but had 2 seconds of penalties both runs.I felt strong for this race and my preperation for the race was awesome.In the end I sat 2.5 seconds in front of mingerulli and ben miller sat in third.I was extremely happy with the end result.After a couple days rest that was filled in with cricket swiming cards videos food lol and just socialising in general it was time for the pre aussie championships first of the selection events.It was a short course,a sprinting course and i was feeling good about a positive result from the start line to gate 9 i felt good until i came into gate 10 and my paddle clipped a rock and tipped me instant 50 race over!!! i was feeling pretty bad but turned to nationals.I approached nationals with an all or nothing attitude.
After first runs i was in third with 2 touches second runs i pulled out a fast clean run to win the race a good end to the competition. Still the rankings seem to dissapoint me and continually remind me of pre aussies well everyone has a bad race and it was my time unfortunately.
I had a great time in melbourne catching up with everyone racing socialising and spending time with abby.It was all positive and it will suck next year as aussies are at penrith so no camping but luckily no 10 hour car trip or 24 hour boat trip :):) well youth olympics is on in a weeks time and i am feeling nervous already we go into camp on the 16th and racing is on the 19th and 20th
Thats it for now cya

U2 BEST BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!

As you can tell from the title I went and saw U2 last night for there third and final concert.It was such a great show and it was a sell out which made it even better.Show started at 530 with Kanye West being the supporting singer he was great to, singing several songs but the best had to be gold digger and Touch the sky he was also supported by percussion. At around 800 oclock the stadium lit up and around 845 the lights in sequence turned off leaving the whole stadium in darkness then the music hit and there came bono wrapped in an australian flag he sure knows how to please the crowd.Great Entrance.
They performed songs from all there albums with several from joshua tree some from ruttle and hum and only vertigo from there latest album :((
From memory they performed the songs vertigo,elevation,pride,one,with or without you,mysterious ways,beautiful day,angel of harlem,I still ahvn;t found what im looking for and the saints are coming.But they played some other great hits couple i have never heard before.Anyways they rocked and next time i will have to get a mosh ticket because that would have been so sweet.
Well here are some pics of the awesome concert

COCA COLA LIVE N' LOCAL

COCA COLA LIVE N LOCAL went off with 5 great bands playing this year ,The Veronicas, After The Fall,Evermore,The Hot Lies and End of Fashion.Went for about 6 hours was best show in ages.Call me gay but the best bands of the night were The veronicas and After the Fall.especially after the fall they were the bomb,evermore was also a smash.
It was such a great night with Ben Ben M Gage Karl Cj Toohey Laura Shrud Ian Ethan Aram Karel Tim Duncan Sam and Guy going,such a big group.Unfortunately we were in the second half of the general admission but it was still a great view ,we were all cut as the front section could have held more.Tim was the first to succesfully gain access to the mosh as he jumped the barricade ,we were all at a loss of how security did not pick him up. Well around 20 mins into the concert I met a girl called Abby and ended up spending rest of night with her but her friend would not budge from her side which was heaps annoying hopefully next time she wont be lol but hell it was good nonetheless. As we were leaving we met with Karel and tim after they were kicked out of mosh and they had been bashed by 5 guys who had to be on drugs so that was not the best end to there night.
GREAT NIGHT CANNOT WAIT FOR U2
here are some pics of night

One down 4 to go

I Need A Secretary!!!!

Wow I have been so busy in the last few weeks so havn;t had chance to update the blog.Well Ill get paddling news out of the way first.The zigzag is finally finished and only some padding to put in now.It feels really sweet on the whitewater turns easily and keeps the speed suprisingly well compared to the flatwater but its speed does not even come close to the scorpion....but the zigzag spins on the spot unlike the gala that will start to turn after i have hit the bank.Overall its a great boat and it was well worth the wait.

Well im officially 17 and i am going for my p's next monday and i cannot wait to get my liscence it will be so good.Seems like only yesterday that i went for my l's.
Also I have so many concerts coming but and I suprisingly have a large amount of my money.My line up is currently : Coca-cola live n local -2 great bands playing after the fall,and veronicas others are alright,U2 cannot wait to hear these guys live,A.F.i. well this would be probably the most emo band on my line up but still great band but probably crap live so lucky im going to WSAS graduation,then Big day out featuring several great bands like jet my chemical romance,tool,killers and eskimo joe next day my chemical romance and then the best band of all time to finsh off my line up the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS hell yeah

Other then that school has been rather demanding with the workload increasing in each subject,these are my subjects that I will be doing my Hsc on Biology Pd/H/Pe,Religion,Ancient History Maths,English and History Extension $h*t im going to be busy well anyway thats it for now

NSW Champs and AYOF

Well........The races on the weekend were awesome,a great result for me and several other juniors.I approached these two races differently to other selection events .In past races that were qualification for a team I always had the thought "I must go fast and beat others so I can make the team."However for this race I chose not to think about the youth olympics team but rather on how I was going to paddle, lines tempo edging etc etc.I believe that this different approach was what kept me calm on the startline,usually I am really nervous until i cross the startline but on the weekend I was rather calm.

Okay so the races on saturday were proabably the best in my paddling career to date.After first runs I was in second place behind benny.I was very cautious with my first run making sure I stuck the lines and was not on the back of the boat.Wayne said to me that that style of paddling does not suit me and that I need to race how I train.Second runs I let loose and paddled at 93.67 which was like 3rd fastest raw of day to win the junior mens .I was very happy and as this new method of approaching a race worked for me I turned to preparing for sundays races.

On sunday I had poorer races runs ,i was not clean and i did not stick my lines.This slipped me to fourth place after 1st runs.Not happy jan!!I semi redeemed myself in second runs and achieving a 3rd spot.Once racing was all over I then chose to turn attention to rankings.As i had a first and a third i was sitting on 3 points while phil and phil were equal on 2 points.

Copy pasted from Katies blog-final youth olympic team
Womens Kayak - Emmie Barrat, Kate Mollison and Roslyn Lawrence
Mens Kayak - Josh Williams, Phillip Gibbons and Phillip Mingerulli
Mens Canoe - Ian Borrows and Ethan Hodson
Mens C2 - Karl Hageman and Chris Horlyck

IT IS HERE!!!!!

Well yesterday the long awaited Zig Zag Aska arrived in one piece.This was the hardest boat to firstly order and then to get it into australia.In the end Mark travelled to europe and picked up the boat after visiting a couple countries like Austria England and France What an effort!!!! I was just dying to try the boat out so this morning i took it for a paddle without the foot rests.Even without them it still was great to paddle a boat that glides and turns so well.Well rest of holidays has been awesome better then the previous holidays,just cause ive done so much stuff
Well here are some pics of my baby

Holidays they are great

It has been so long since my last post.In that time so much has happened.To start off the school term for me finished on a high note with a good report giving me some reassurance of my academic abilities.I was happy that I finshed in top 10 off each subject except chemistry which i failed lol.According to my chemistry teacher Mr Fuller->shit... I have attended his classes sporadically a fact that I know is not true but hilarious. So far this holidays I have done heaps and heaps of stuff. Last friday saturday sunday and monday I was home alone and had to ride down to the stadium for training and mondays race. Saturday went to the horlycks to watch the swans lose by 1 then went bowling which is always fun.On tuesday I went into the city with kate and just walked around the city which overall was a good day. Will post more when i can be bothered

Never Never..School..and Other Stuff

So much has been happening in my life the last couple of weeks.Well exams for year 11 are finished and i feel really confident with my results passing every subject except chemistry but i dont care about chemistry it is a waste of time.I also got my mark for my Historical Investigation that accounts for 20% of year 11 Ancient history it was out of 50 and i got 50 and was the only one out of 50+ to get that mark.I was happy with that and my teacher gave me the choice to pick up history extension for year 12.....should be interesting.

After a 4+ hour drive we arrived at barrington where a slalom race was held on the never never rapid.The racing was good with Ian showing that he still has the skill in the Kayak coming second.The day before the race about 15 of us did the river trip,Ben H Cj Ian and I was just so bored of paddling stupid k1 and c1's so we chose to paddle a wombegong.This proved to be quite a challenge as the boat is only made for 2 people and definetly not for whitewater or even moving water.In summary of that river trip we had heaps of fun and laughs but also sunk several times and had to empty the boat in very cold water.

Well today I bought tickets to two concerts AFI and U2 ..Yes U2 i could not believe it when I saw that they were doing a third show.However I will proabably have to miss AFI's concert as i have a WSAS graduation dinner dammit!! Other then that everything at school and on the water is going great.

Exams are soon..I am so depressed

Well the title explains it all,my final exams for year 11 are due to start in 3 days and I am not happy about that fact.What I try to remember is that these are not my HSC exams and that they practically go towards nothing apart from the right to boast about who beat who.This three day weekend was a bit tough for me both highs and lows.Friday i took off from school so I could go and buy tickets for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.A rough outline of that day - joined the line of 50 or so around 730 am-after about 30 mins of lining up there was an announcement saying the 1st show had sold out but a second show was going to occur so hopes were still alive.As there was only one computer and an elderly lady opperating it the 2nd show sold out when i was 3 places from buying tickets.Around 11:30 a third show was announced and I got two tickets for me and Ben Miller.
I have semi modified this pic just in case,yes i am paranoid someone will try to rip it off

After that I caught a movie with Ian and Ethan-fearless great movie it is subbed but really great fight scenes. After an average training session and an entire day of playing Xbox with Cj and Duncan several of us went to Chris johnsons 21st.Overall awesome night off socialising.Today after a better training session I enjoyed bumming in front of the tv with my dad while doing a little bit of study.I was still really tired and was feeling a bit depressed.I guess ive got a lot on my mind but anyway thats life.

Great Start to Season

Been a while since my last entry but in that time a lot has happened both in and out of the boat.Well I made a good start to the racing season by placing overall 1st in the Pws Slalom Series,hopefully this will make my self confidence a little higher but probably not lol.That weekend I also went to the footy to watch Roosters vs Panthers with Maddy Johno and Duncan,overall a good night and a good weekend.

Ahsleigh flowers had her house warming party last week which was a great night of drinking and socialising.Well nothing much else is happening at the moment heaps of school work heaps of training and getting ready to finish year 11 not long now til im free of school forever

Start of Race Season

Well the racing season has come around so quickly with it starting this weekend with a small double header slalom.It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting on the startline at the Junior Team selection races.At the moment I am padlding really well,I have finally broken out of my slump couldn;t have come at a better time aswell with some BIG races coming up.Firstly their is State titles which usually is not that important but that race will ultimately decide the AYOF team with only 3 spots allocated for Mens K1 (I am not going to settle for 4th spot I was 4th for Juniors and I so want this). The next big race after youth selection is probably the Junior selection race itself that surprisingly I am looking forward to however im sure I will feel quite the opposite come race day.Well thats it at the moment pupil free day tomorrow Yes

Worlds 2006

A year has gone by so quick and it is time again for the world championships.Some interesting results so far and some really sick pics.
Had a fairly laid back weekend with my dad which I really enjoyed and let me recover from everyhting thats going on ,had a really good session on saturday which i think sees me out of my dip and a session this arvo which was hard and Im still feeling the effects of.Im just about finished my Year 11 assesments for the year with two assesments due tomorrow and then it yearly's and then year 12. Having some difficulties with uploading pics will try again laterz

2006 World Cahmpionships Prague Troja
Mens K1
1st Stefano Cipressi ITA
2nd Julien Billaut FRA
3rd Campbell Walsh GBR (the real winner of the comp, stefano got a 50 and Julian a touch)

Mens C2
1st Volf/Stepanek CZE
2nd Becker/Henze GER
3rd Hochshorner/Hochschorner SVK

Womens K1
1st Jana Dukatova SVK
2nd Fionna Pennie GBR
3rd Jennifer Bongardt GER

Mens C1
Tony Estanguet FRA
Michal Martikan SVK
Stanslav Jezek CZE

Been Busy

All is good at the moment,been heaps busy though .At the moment I have hit a bit of a slump with my paddling but Im sure ill come back in time for the start of the racing season.Yesterday I had a paddle of benny jones zigzag and im currently planning to steal it,not really but I just cant wait to get mine.

This afternoon after visiting my nan I was looking through some photos and came across this pic of me from preschool.What can i say..well all the chicks were chasing after me.Also going to see pirates 2 tonight for the second time which should be good.Been heaps busy at school and padldiung has been taking it out of me.

78 Days and Counting

Well its been a while since my last post and a lot has happened.The junior team got back from europe and it was great to see them back on home soil.At the moment I am a bit Jealous of Ben and Tash who got their new Zigzag Aska's well only another 78 days til I get mine seems so far away however I dont think ill be hard pressed making the change from my old boat to the Aska.

On Saturday I had Full length runs session in the morning which really took it out of me and at night there was a fair well dinner for peter who is leaving PWS and going to a principals job near dubbo.It was a great night and afterwards a couple of us went to duncans where we crashed for the night.Another coaching clinic on sunday followed by school work how interesting.

BACK TO SCHOOL. NO NO NO ......NO

Well I am going to kill myself.......Well only one thing can take away the feeling of going back to school and that was reflecting back on how much fun I had in the holidays.To be honest it was probably the best between school term holidays I have ever had.On saturday night Craig and I went to duncans to join him and ashleigh watch the rugby.After the rugby we played a little poker then some halo and then decided to crash there for the night.

Now its time to knuckle down and do some work(lol yeah right).This time next year I will be in my final term and getting ready for the HSC.Its a bit scary but I think of how good its going to be when i finish school.PARTY TIME!!

Some late nights

Training wise this week has been fairly tough i have already done 11 sessionjs and it is friday wioth fulls and tech on saturday and sunday.After creasing my tail of my boat last week Craig and I repaired it and is now strong as before.

Im pretty tired at moment after a couple of fun late nights.I should be using this time to rest seeing as Im about to start year 12.Anyways on monday night Gage,Tim,Chris and I went to Bloc under 18's nightclub which was an awesome night,it went off.About halfway through the night a guy who had to be on Ecstasy wanted to fight Tim because he has emo hair.Its amazing I didn;t know how much some people hate Emos.

Anyway we had to step and he ended up disappearing into the crowd.After whitewater training on wednesday Craig Tash and I went rockclimbing which was a good cross training session as always.Last night was a Pws staff dinner at Dannys on High which was a great night of scoffing free food down..After dinner Me Duncan Ash Mel Chris and some of the cafe staff went bowling which was great fun.I won of course so Duncan got cut and dropped a bowling ball on my foot missing the largest part and squashing my little toe argh!!.I was a bit cut! Anyways everything is all good Here are some pictures of Junior Team on Tacen.Ohh I wanna paddle that so jealous

All Over

The Junior World Championships are over.The K1 class was won by Mateusz Polaczyk from poland who raced two clean runs to become Junior World Champion.Dawid BArtos again from poland won the C1 class beating last years winner Benn fraker by 8 seconds.My good friend Casey Eichfeld of the US came 10th in the final well done mate.Ursa Kargelj from slovenia won the Womens class.

Well done to the australian team you did us proud.Our results in the semis were Kate Mollison 24th Rosalyn Lawrence 30th Emmie Barratt 33rd, Philip Gibbins 21st Phil Mingerulli 30th Talis and Tom 18th.

Europe Results

Here are some results from over in europe.Badluck to the C1 boys who had some fast times but touches unfortunately let them down.All our aussie girls are through to the semis.Phill Minger and Phil Gibbons are both through to the semis unfotunately benny jones 50 in his second run bad luck mate.Well done to our C2 crews with tom and talis making the semis.Well done team

Mens C1 Qualifications - Results
1st Norbert Neveu Fra 92.92 0/0 91.08
41st Jono Davis Aust 110.57 4/2 111.36
49t Ian Borrows Aust 104.92 2/50 105.41
51st Richie Merjan Aust 149.91 6/54 140.97

Womens K1 Qualifications - Results

1st Michaela Grimm Ger 99.96 0/2 98.6
20th Rosalyn Lawrence 106.58 2/2 109.22
26 Emmie Barratt 112.64 2/4 108.27
35 Kate Mollison 115.25 2/6 112.19

Mens K1 Qualifications- Results
1st Jan Vondra Cze 87.94 0/0 86.75
29th Phil Minger 93.77 0/0 93.60
38th Phil Gibbons 94.67 0/2 94.51
78th Ben Jones 94.67 8/56 98.80

Mens C2
Tom and Talis 120.46 6/4 124.30
Cj Karl 127.37 10/124.32

Blogthings-THEY NEVER LIE

You Are Smokin' Hot

You're a terrible flirt, a sharp dresser, and a party animal. Of course, you're totally sizzling too. And for you, being hot just comes naturally.

Are You Hot?

You Are Bart Simpson

Very misunderstood, most people just dismiss you as "trouble." Little do they know that you're wise and well accomplished beyond your years. You will be remembered for: starring in your own TV show and saving the town from a comet Your life philosophy: "I don't know why I did it, I don't know why I enjoyed it, and I don't know why I'll do it again!"

The Simpsons Personality Test

Your Power Level is: 83%

You have all the tools you need to be a success - both professionally and personally. You'll probably go beyond reaching your goals. You'll change the world (at least a little).

How Powerful Are You?

You Are 30% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

Holidays are great!!!

I have been having so much fun with my mates since the holidays started.After training on Sat Gage,Ben,Tash and I went bowling for a couple hours to celebrate bens 15th bday.Afterwards we went to hogs breath cafe in the new section of the Plaza which was a great evening.IT was an early start on sunday morning with another coaching clinic which ran again for the whole day.In the afternoon session I had to much faith in myself and slightly creased the tail of my boat.It is not bad at all and should be easy to repair but still it is now a weak point in a crucial part of my boat so I might need to be careful going down last drop til my new boat arrives. Tonight a couple of us are going to see a movie which should be fun.Here are some pics from the weekends activities.
Aren't I radical,well im sick of everyone going down the left now, the left is to easy the right is for true daredevils . Me and Gage waiting for our 430 reservation for bowling.Gages trick

HOLIDAYS WOOHOO!!!

Yes,well it is that time again for some relaxation after a busy term of School work.So far I have not decided exactly what I am going to do.The mornings and Arvos will most likely be training,the rest I guess will be made up as I go along.Unlike other people I do not intend on sleeping for the two weeks(what a waste!!!).

But I do know that I have two important assesments due either the second or the third week back,an ancient History Historical Investigation and an Essay for English on Metamorphism , both of these are worth a shocking 25%.Well other then that there is nothing much to report.Til next time.

Still Proud!!!

"Hopefully the ref wont be such a idiot like the last one!!" Katie - well he was

Like many other Aussies I got up at one oclock in the morning to cheer on our boys as they went up against Italy .It is a shame that our most succesful world cup ever had to come to an end due to shocking refereeing.Nonetheless our team surpassed many countries expectations by making the final sixteen and we were right on track for making the top 8. Im still proud to be an Australian and cannot wait to see our boys in action soon.

Nce Coaching Clinic

What a weekend,I am so tired,5 sessions over 2 days,a social dinner at council chambers,the movies and a lot of feedback.For those who didn't know the Nce held a coaching clinic which ran on sat and sun.Firstly I want to say thanks to Myriam,Mike and Richard for running the clinic,we all had a great time and value the feedback which was given.The clinic started early on Saturday morning moving straight on to the whitewater.After 90 mins on the rapids we then had video analysis which ran over lunchtime.

After lunch it was Flatwater Testing which comprised the lap test and the 3 lap test.I did a new Pb on the single lap test getting a 28 flat.Then on the 3 lap test I broke my Pb again doing a high 27 on the first lap.After testing it was straight to the council chambers for a dinner which was alright.

Sunday morning was a mini competition which ran smoothly except for my paddling.Then it was time to make our way down to the Regatta centre where there was more video analysis.While everyone decided to pollute the environment and drive, Ben and I chose to be greenies and paddle down.Then after watching the videos a couple of us broke from the group to play some soccer.An unusual but fun game originated when Mark climbed some of the boat racks and we decided to kick the ball at him.It was simple,you made him move 1 point you hit him 2 points,yet a little bit dangerous.

Bound for Europe.GO YOU AUSSIE BEAUTIES!!!

Well almost four months have gone by since Junior Team Selection and it has finally sunken in that I will not be joining the team.I wont say 'oh well' because it is something that I really wanted and trained hard for but I gave it my best and now it is time to forget about it and look to 2007.
The Team from memory is due to depart tomorrow afternoon around 2:00 with a stop over in KL then non stop to Europe(dont know which country LOL).
The team
K1 Men
Phil Mingerulli
Ben Jones
Phil Gibbins
C1
Ian Borrows
Johno Davis
Richard Merjan
K1W
Kate Mollison
Emmie Barratt
Rosalyn Lawrence
C2
Cj/Karl
Tom Greaves/Talis Svarcs
Im sure the team will show the europeans that even though we come from downunder we can get to the top.Go you aussie beauties!!! Keep up to date with the Australian Junior Team-http://www.ozjuniorcanoeslalom.com/

Bring on the Facists!!

"You're red, you're white, you're going home tonight."-Aussie FansWhat a game!!!! That is all I can say.We sure showed Croatia that we have a never say die approach being 2-1 down up to the 79th minute.Then Harry kewell connected a Marco Bracsiano free kick and earned Australia a place into the World Cup final 16.For those of you who watched the game you would agree that the Referee clearly lost control of the desperate Croatians awarding I think several yellow and red cards.That was very brief but Im sure all of you have heard the full story.Our next stop is the quarterfinals after we slaughter the italians.

Teams Event Sucks..Sometimes.

This photo backs up the fact that teams events can either be extremely fun or extremely painful.This happened in europe when Jacqui 'accidentaly' speared Kate in a teams event practice.I can wait for the day that happens to me.

Aussie Paddlers at Bourg St Maurice.

Just looked at Sam lyons website (www.samlyons.id.au) then to catch up on the latest news about those who stayed in Europe to train.The team is currently at Bourg St maurice in France trianing on some big water.Well thats all I know for now. Check out the rest of the photos it is an awesome river and the location god.
Pictures from SamLyons site. Waz is so small compared to the water.
Sam looking on line but about to panic

I Was So Tired!!!

Well Karel had his 16th Bday party on the weekend which was at a computer cafe near his house at Ashfield.Gage,Chris and I were the only paddlers who went this time but it was still as fun .The night started off with Karel's mates giving him his present which was covered in bubble rap newspaper and over 400 m of ducttape,stickytape,maskingtape all kinds of tape LoL. Then once he got through the tape there was a wooden box which ends where screwed shut .There was a bet to see how long it would take to open Karel said ten it took fourty.Ny the way I never ended up finding out what his present was.After ten hours of gaming Gage and I caught an early train to make it back in time for 815 training session.We ended up buying our tickets just as the train was arriving and had to practically dive into the train.Despite not having slept for over thirty hours I had an awesome training session.I then had to work in the cafe before I could get any sleep.Today I was so sad about the socceroos losing I stayed home that and being so tired.

New Laptop

After saving for a couple months I finally bought my laptop.Its a great little machine which is lightweight with 1 gigabyte of ram and 60 gigabytes of storage.However I was not happy with the amount of space pre installed programs took up so wiped the Computer and started from scratch.It also has intergrated wireless which is awesome for scabbing free internet.By pure chance I learnt the schools wireless<-- password I guess typing random passwords does work.Many hours of standing in the Cafe watching paddlers out on the whitewater finally paid itself off. Other then that nothing much to report Shoulder was a bit sore this week but paddling normally just made it go away.Another non stop weekend is ahead.Training early saturday and sunday, school work, Karels bday party, Working and if I have time relaxing.Anyways here is my new laptop cool aint it

32 Years In The Making

Im sure you have all heard how Australia broke the 32 year drought last night by beating the Japanese in a game which came down to the final minutes.Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura (I think thats how you spell it) scored the first goal in the 26th minute-a goal which was a result of a dreadful refereeing blunder-Australias goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was clearly knocked out of the balls path by two japanese players contesting for Nakamura's cross.Several attempts to level the score were saved by the Japanese goal keeper.Then with six minutes left of the match Tim Cahill leveled the score from a long throw in by Lucas Neill.Minutes later Cahill cannoned the ball into post which richoceing into the net.Aloisi added a third minutes later to give Australia the best possible start to the tournament and its first ever World Cup finals win. I say bring on Brazil we are going to kick there balls into the goal.The controversial goal which could have possibly led to Australia losing their opening game.Our first goal in 32 years So far from home yet there are so many Australian suporters.

World Cup #3- Le Seu D'Urgell

The third and final world cup for 2006 was held in spain over the weekend.All but Robin and Waz made the semi finals with robin missing out on a semi final berth due to a controversial 50 second penalty given to him on gate three.Our best results for the weekend was Kate Lawrence who made the final and came 10th and Mark and Lachie who came 9th in the final.Matt gabb came 28th,Kynan 22nd,Sam 18th, Hooch 38th, Jaqui 23rd and Vic 24th.The next event for the team is the World Championships in Prague in August.
K1
Peter Kauzer Slo
Alex Grimm Ger
Dejan Kralj Slo
C1
Nico Bettge Ger
Juraj Mincik Svk
Michal Martikan Svk
K1w
Jennifer Bongardt Ger
Jana Dukatova Slo
Elena Kaliska Svk
C2
Jiras/Mader Cze
Benetti/Masoero Ita
Simon/Simon Ger

Very Cold Weekend In the Water

At the moment I am thawing out after a long day in freezing cold conditions.How freezing has this weekend been.Well on saturday morning the water was turned on for the first time since they fixed last drop.The new last drop is stepper and you take quite a big hit as you land.So far many people have been worked including some beginers whos first expirience of Whitewater was last drop.The damages so far are a paddle that just sunk in last drop and never surfaced and tori edwards tail snapped as she landed.Today we had another coaching clinic but the conditions weren't what you will call comfortable.The day started early with a 815 session which was walkbacks on the top section.After lunch it was back onto the course and into gear which was frozen.Unfortunately Tims gear found its way into a cold shower just before the session.After a weekend of paddling it is now time to hit the books and do some H/w.... dammit! Check out the pics of this weekends thrills below.

4 Day Weekend Woohoo!

Well tomorrow we have a pupil free day which is great cause it makes the long weekend even longer.The plan unfortunately is not to relax but it is going to be full of things to do.Firstly I have yet to complete a chemistry assignment which will take up at least friday,Saturday is paddling, work then bludging.Sunday is the big day with another coaching clinic which will run all day and monday will be a day of school work and relaxing.Today's session was another 60' paddle followed by the gym-my boat is coming to the end of its days and I am counting the days til I get my Zig Zag.Also they have poured the concrete on last drop and water should be running on saturday,they fashioned the concrete different to old last drop so we should expect a different feature.I know the photos below are not related at all to this entry but it is just reliving some certain moments of New Zealand. This was Tashes breakfast every morning it is simply weat bix mashed up mixed with nutri grain-would you eat it?
Im sure you all heard gages KO blow to the elderly man this was the result.

Moving right on...

Completely Empty

Well debris from last drop has been cleared and it is all set to be fixed and should be done by the end of the week.It is interesting to see what the bottom pond is like with water.Lots and Lots and Lots of crap has accumulated over the years with most have centred itself near the pivot spot.Now the stuff that has been found so far,watches wedding rings,around $30 in change a couple wallets one that joel found had $100 in it.YEt to be found is a genuine rollex (serious there is one in there).Also I should take time to silence the rumours,the grates on the pump inlets do go all the way to the bottom(I cant remember who told me that).I went for a long paddle today and I am well and truly recovered from sickness and back on track.Here are some pics

Augsburg-World Cup #2

German Jennifer Bongardt

Well the second world cup which was held in Augsburg over the weekend is over.The aussie's did the rest of us paddlers back home proud with our best results being Victoria Milne finishing in 13th and Robin Bell 11th narrowly missing out on progressing to the final due to a touch.The team now travels to spain to compete in the third world cup in seu.Below 1st 2nd and 3rd placesK1
Erik Pfannmoller Ger
Helmut Oblinger Aut
Fabien Lefevre Fra
C1
David Florence Gbr
Juraj Mincik Cze
Michal Martikan Svk
K1w
Elena Kaliska Svk
Stepanka Hilgertova Cze
Violetta Oblinger-Peters Aut
C2
Becker/Henze Ger
Volf/Stepanek Cze
Bowman/Smith Gbr

Helmut paddling to a silver medal-what a tank

PWS --- P.O.W

For all you non local paddlers this is what is happening at the stadium at moment.Water is not going to be flowing for around a week starting yesterday.This is due to an unexpected cracking of the foundation near last drop.So to repair last drop they need to pump out all the water of the bottom pond.

Back On Track

Well ive been out of the boat and in the bed all week thanks to a nasty case of tonsilitis.It is amazing how quick something like a throat infection can come and just shut your whole body down.Monday I was still paddling whitewater and then the next day I shruggled to get out of bed.The doctor gave me some antibiotics and it is now friday night and I am feeling nearly 100%.
Today I went down to do a session and learnt that their would be no whitewater on for the whole week(bummer)due to maintainence.Apparently it is going to fairly big repairs mainly in the bottom pond.The raft guides had to build a sandbag wall across the entrance to the flatwater warm up lake in order to pump the water out of the pond.I think credit must go to them seeing as they were packing bags of sand from 10-5 and placing them in freezing cold not to mention deep water.It will be interesting to see no water in the bottom pool.

I thought the post would look plain withour a picture so....
Nz Team 05 Jetboating-Muz and Maddy

World Cup #1 Athens

Picture by Mike Dawson
Robin Bell has medalled again and this time it was at the Athens World Cup.Robin overall was the fastest C1 paddler however a touch in the semi final let Robin down.Martikan paddled two clean runs to clench the gold just .94 of a second in front of Robin.Below are the 1st 2nd and 3rd places in each class.Check out www.canoe.org.au for more results.

K1
Daniele Molmenti ITA
Erik Pfannmoller GER
Alex Grimm GER
C1
Michal Martikan SVK
Robin Bell AUS
Jan Benzien GER
K1W
Stepanka Hilgertova CZE
Gabriela Stacherova SVK
Irena Pavolkova CZE
C2
Hochschorner Pavol /Hochschorner Peter SVK
Luquet Pierre / Luquet Christophe FRA
Jiras Marek / Mader Tomas CZE

What A Weekend

Well another weekend has come and gone so quickly.This weekend for me and for many other paddlers was jam packed with paddling.Saturday morning's session was FLR's(Full Length Runs).A couple of my runs were fast and clean and the rest were sloppy and slow.Straight after the session we had the 5th and final selection event for WSAS.This event composed of 1 lap test and a 3 lap test.I did a new Pb on the lap test breaking my old record of 29:90 and doing a 28 flat,i was very pleased with that result.My 3 run lap test was clean and by the end the effects of the morning session were showing.I struggled to get over the finish line......well not really.I think i was the fastest on that one as well.

After paddling on Saturday my dad and I went and saw the long awaited DaVinci Code.The movie was awesome.For those of you have read the book you will notice a few parts that are missing and how they rush the movie in some sections,turning maybe 10 chapters in the book into 1 or 2 mins of footage,and
Today it was an early start again for an 8:15 session.Today we had a coaching clinic which 12 of us did.WE did an early session followed by video analysis then had a couple hours to relax.We chose to chuck a vortex around the stadium and yes we did lose it in the water several times.

After lunch it was back into the boat and onto the course for another Whitewater session.
We were all a bit dissapointed this morning when Duncan refused to turn all 5 pumps on simutaneously.At the current water height when all pumps are turned on at once all the water in the pond is gone.The weir stopper yesterday was awesome adn last drop was a 2 metre plummet into concrete.

For those who dont know who this is-it is Tim Eynon doing one of his usual stunts

Back From Nymbioda

Hello all well it is good to be back home after a long trip in the car and a long weekend of races.We arrived on saturday afternoon and I was straight into padlding.Matt percival and I paddled the tennis court rapid at around 50% , his slalom boat shows that it should not be paddled at that volume,i cannot wait to paddle the court at 100%.

The races were moved forward due to lack of water so we did not have a day to bludge it was straight into it.The course most would say was very interesting with many upstream gates being placed on the same side as the last upstream hmmm. Womens K1 Mens C2 C1 and Mixed C2 were off in the morning.Penrith paddlers brung home a swag off medals,well done to all who won a medal .I had no races until the second session in the arvo so I bummed taking pictures and experimenting with my camera for most of the day.After first runs in K1 i was 5 seconds clear of the next paddler in my age group,second runs saw me lose several seconds on touches and stalling but I managed to pick up my first CHS Gold Yay.That night we all went down to the pub to play a bit of pool and have a bite to eat, Dave Kennedy and I teamed up and we won the first game but lost the second game to chris and gage.After presentations many of us went to the powerstation and had a look around.Karel and I found some foam and chucked it into the rapids.Some of it was still in the waves the next night.

Monday was the last day of events for many people including myself.I chose to enter myself in the wildwater sprints at the last minute and won myself another gold... BUT... the convenor merged the K1 and SK1 classes which meant I got a silver and the gold went to Bryan Wilson ARGHH,i was contemplating on letting someone else get it for me but I had to show some sportmanship.
That night Karl,Ben,Jess Ali and I made a massive fire and sat back and relaxed.It was a very good way to end a busy weekend . NExt morning I sleeped in and packed up and was on the road by 900.Started reading the Da Vinic Code also on the way up,it is really good so far.Well Ill post the results when they are put on the net.

Bungy Jumping

I reccommend that if you ever get the chance to bungy jump do it.We bungy jumped over in New Zealand while staying at taupo and it was money well spent.Gage,Maddy,Karl,Ben and I all did the plunge off the 50 m high platform,Karl and Ben touched the water while Maddy and Gage chose to go together.Good times.

Cool Stopper

Hello all , Well the flat water lake at Pws has dropped a bit and today their was a little weir stopper.It is not as good as the one which Gage and I surfed last week but it is getting their.Today Ben H and Ian got stuck in there for around a minute.In that time they hit each other with their boats several times and came close to rolling.Here are some pics , it looks small but remember appearances can be decieving.

New Zealand Pics....At Last

Here are several pictures from the 2006 Jnr Dev Tour. These photos are of things other then paddling, I am still waiting on the good shots from the riverbank.Cant remember if it was either flying out or flying into Sydney but it is a sick shot.Well we managed to get away with this.The boys in cabin D(for memory Karl Cj and Gage)left their heater on to dry their gear.We arrived back from presentation to find that they had left the remote ("to my dvd player" cough cough) in front of the heater and that was the end result.Gage posing behind the pain of glass that Ben H broke with his forearm,well it wasn't Ben but a combination of Maddy and Tash slamming the door into Ben. We had a brief stop at some mud pools.Hey Hey look out its Judderbars.In New Zealand they call their speedhumps Judderbars.

Overnight Rainfall

Well I woke up this morning to see that it had been raining all night and this caused the lake at the stadium to rise by a fair amount.Gage and I originally planned to surf the stopper in our boats and also body surf.We were botjh dissapointed to see that it only turned into a little green wave.Gage was very ..very angry ohh well next time.
Today was my first day back at regular school after a busy week of exams.Even though I feel confident that I will get good marks i was dreading each class thinking what if I get my marks back.

This weekend we are going to Nymboida to paddle either Goolang creek or the Nymboida rapid.This is the site of Combined High Schools.Hopefully the Goolnag will be running and we wont have to paddle on the shitty piece of rapid upstream.
Here are some random pictures that I thought would look cool.
We tried to block the weir at glenbawn The girls are in the ball and all the guys are lying on the ground
Gage what were you thinking

First post using blogspot YAY!!!

Hey everyone well this is my first post using blogspot.com.So far I am very impressed.This weekend was full of things to do,racing working and mothers day.This weekends racing saw the juniors fighting for a position in the Western Sydney Academy.Saturdays Racing was awesome for other people except me.I had two recircs overall and many touches which kept me out of the top four ending up in fifth place.Ben Miller raced very well and picked up the first place followed by Phil Gibbons and Ben Horlyck.I had the night to think about what i did wrong and how I could change it.

After getting some feedback from Wayne and Mike Druce it was tiome to go out and paddle .After first runs I was sitting in 3rd spot behind Phil Gibbons and Gage Harrison.Gage had a blinder which was clean and fast.Dissapointed with my result i went out and with an all or nothing approach.By gate four things were going good until I missed gate four and had to go back for it.The bottom section had to be the run of my life because it was enough to move me into first place.Instead of medals we got boxes of chocolates which I ate fairly quickly.It was then time to go straight back into the cafe until 5:30 which was very annoying but hay ive got 40 years of working ahead of me so I better get used to it now.Tomorrow Gage Ben and I are going to body surf the weir at the stadium which should be interesting,Hopefully their will be no overnight rainfall and it will be a very good stopper.