::CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS::

CCA's, as the Canadian National Championships used to be called were last weekend in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Burloak once again proved that we're a pretty good little paddlin' club, by winning the overall burgee! Pictured above is my burloak brother and long time pal Mark Oldershaw, who presented me with the Bert Oldershaw Trophy. Bert was a 3x Olympian, father and grandfather to Olympians, and an unparalleled builder of sport. Suffice to say that if you paddle a skinny boat in western Ontario, you have Bert to thank for that. Bert's trophy is given out to the winner of the Senior Men's 1000m K1, and I've had the pleasure of accepting it from him, his kids, his grandkids, and on one special occasion, Knut Holmann, a total of 9 times in my paddling career, the first time when I was a wee Juvie. Prior to his passing, Bert told me that if I win it 10 times, he'd make me my own version. Me and Scott'll do it, Bert... thanks!

Somehow I managed to get my shprint together, and I won the Sen K1 200m for the first time, triplin' up... we'll see this weekend at the knockout if I can back it up. Burloak won races in every age category, and thanks to our incredible young women, we've shaken off that old "boys only" canoe club thing we had going on for so long, way to go ladies, Keep it up!

The MAZDA KNOCKOUT is this Saturday at Ontario Place, click the link and watch the video from past years! It starts at 9 with finals, and a live CBC broadcast between 2-3:30pm! See you down there!!
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::WORLDS 2009::

A few days late... but here is a quick summary of the 2009 World Championships. This summer's championship was further proof to the enduring level of competitiveness of Men's Kayak on the world circuit. Both the 500 and the 1000 were close and well fought races, big congrats to Ronald and Max, more proof, in case anyone needed any, of the incredible force that is the German Canoe Kayak team. Congrats to everyone.

I had some great races, I am really proud of my bronze in the K1 1000m, and satisfied with my results. The fire still burns strong, and I'm determined to get my ankle completely recovered and help push the level of Men's Kayak even higher next year and en route to London in 2012.

Disappointment is my only feeling and reaction towards the ICF's decision to replace the 500m events with 200m events for 2012. The 500m events continually prove to be the most exciting, in my opinion. So integral to endurance sport is an event just under 2 minutes. The 200m swimming events, and the 800m on the track are often regarded as the toughest and most exciting as they ride that aerobic-anaerobic threshold and demand so much from both systems, the 500m paddling events are their close cousins. I don't believe this will increase interest or visibility for our great sport, nor do I believe the discussion or decision is over at this point.

Hats off to the organizers, volunteers and cheering section of Worlds 09, you hosted a wonderful competition, thanks for your hard work.
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...AUS SWE CAN...

Thanks for a few weeks of good training, gentlemen. 'Twas a pleasure as always, here's to some great racing!

Team Canada has arrived here in Dartmouth, (or perhaps invaded is a better word for it, 40+ person team!) The course and the athlete area look fantastic, lake Banook's re-vamp is a definite improvement.

The thing that Dartmouth, NS has got on the rest of the world is a loyal and fanatical volunteer base, committed to bringing the sport of canoeing to a new level. Thanks to everyone involved for your hard work and dedication to our sport. We all appreciate how wet and cold and thankless a job volunteering at a regatta can be, but it couldn't happen with out people like you, so thanks a million!!

Question of the day/week/century... to twitter or not to twitter? Hmmm.

See you at the lake!

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Just one week till the Worlds... COMIN' AT YA!!

Hey it's Adam van Koeverden here, how are ya? I'm doing great, thanks for asking! It's been a challenging couple of weeks, though. I broke my ankle bone 7 weeks ago, had a very successful surgery, ongoing aggressive (Grr!) rehab, and trained hard on and off the water throughout all of it. I've been able to walk and carry my own boat for about 3 weeks now, but a big thank you goes out to everyone at Burloak and Rideau who carried my boat to the water for me while I was crutching. You'd think 15 years of daily kayak training would make crutching a breeze... nope, it's hard. So I have huge(r) triceps now. So me and these new triceps are going to Halifax for the World Championships which start on August 13th, and I couldn't be more stoked! Looking forward to homecooked racin', homecrowd cheerin', and eastcoast paddlin'!! Rain though, not looking forward to rain, so listen... Stormcloud, you listening to me? You're not invited to the races. Stay home. But everybody else is invited, so come and scream your brains out at Lake Banook and help make our skinny little boats go even faster!

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::TOILING IN OBSCURITY::

Dear Mike Toth,

Thanks for including me on your list of dream interviews, I'm truly honoured. Once again demonstrating your acute ability to get under my skin a bit, your reference to training for the upcoming World Championships in Halifax as "toiling in obscurity" has prompted me to bite at your bait. Your tasty morsels have hooked this humble fish upon your line.

I can fulfill one of your fantasies, Mike. While I doubt I can arrange a pillow-fight between the Williams sisters, I will offer you an interview on Connected or the Fan. Bring your pal McClown along if you really want to have a go.

That's if you've got time for the little people amidst so much real sports news like drafts, trades, Wimbledon and the Confederations Cup. Why are those tournaments seemingly way less important than the trades in the sports pages today? There are real games going on right now ya know... not to mention the Canadian Track and Field Champs at Varsity Stadium here in T.O.

The proverbial puck is on your ice, Mike... look forward to chatting!
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