Playak News Flash 2010-12-20

Playak News Flash - December 20, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

Nile Kayaking Festival - Photo Competition... the nile progression - For the last few years we've been running a photo competition at every kayak festival here on the Nile. The competition is in memory of Ben Holland - a great friend of ours who was an amazing photographer and lived here on the banks of the NIle, but sadly passed away a few years ago.

The Upper Dart in ELF conditions worldkayak blogs - A few weekends ago some friends and I went to Mr Westgarth's G17 Adventure Paddler's weekend. Temperatures were low; very low. River levels were low; very low. Did we care? Not one bit. Tonnes of people made the effort to get down to River Dart Country Park and Friday evening kicked off to a great start with a talk by Olaf Obsummer (which I missed), followed by a late night of socialising in the bar.

Marvelous Adventures of Millissa Martin (Mil) Girls at Play - Many of you have had the privilege to meet the marvelous Mil when you travelled to Mexico to paddle with Girls at Play. Besides being an outstanding kayak instructor, she is amazing for so many reasons. She keeps the music playing, keeps you laughing, helps you stay right side up in your boat and can boof and dance like no other. Her vibrant smile and energy are contagious. For all of these reasons she is perfectly qualified to be helping us, but also for what she does when she's not helping out Girls at Play.

Up and Comers Camp Teva Blog - The first ever 2010 Up and Comers camp was held on the Kaituna River in New Zealand. The camp's goal was to get youngster up and coming kayakers to learn skills ranging from extreme racing to river swimming and kayak safety. The first installment of the camp was limited to 5 charging guys from all over New Zealand who tripped up and across to the Kaituna to participate in the 3 day camp. We began with basic river running skills, before exposing the kids to a range of elements that will breed them into the next generation of world class extreme kayakers.

Why I Hate Kayaks Misc. - ...Shift to Colorado, Independence Day, 2008. I arrived at the Denver International Airport (landing through a brown cloud of smog that makes an autumn afternoon in Los Angeles look healthy), rented the cheapest vehicle I could get my hands on, and started the trip up I-70 to work near Vail for the coming week. Imagine my surprise to see a traffic jam that pretty much started in Denver, and went up the mountain as far as Breckenridge. Even more surprising, was the fact around 85% of the traffic jam consisted of SUVs and trucks, with at least 50% of those trucks sporting kayaks strapped to the roof...

Team Peak UK does Lee Valley PeakUK - The Peak UK team are lucky enough to travel to fantastic venues across the World. The Slalom World Championships have been held in locations, which literally take athletes across the face of the globe to warmer climates such as Australia and Brazil. Equally well travelled the Peak UK supported GB rafting teams have enjoyed successful trips to Korea, Ecuador and Bosnia! So why was everybody so excited about a journey down to London, England which isn't known for its huge white water?

Farewell to an Old Friend – RIP Panasonic Lumix Fat Paddler - When I first picked up the paddle early in 2009 I decided to record the journey via photos on some sort of website. I needed a waterproof camera and after doing some research, bought myself the new Panasonic Lumix FT1 the day it came out. The website launched a week later – it was the birth of FatPaddler.com. Since then the camera has seen over 1000 km of Sydney waterways. It's taken over 20,000 photos and well over 100 hours of video footage. It's been from Australia to Alaska and back via California and Chicago. It has been underwater with stingrays, seen my first rolling sessions, and travelled with me on two Hawkesbury Canoe Classics.

Gym exercises for kayak strength Daily Paddle - Spending some time in the gym is good for you: To become stronger or to prevent injuries. But what excercises should you do that are good for your paddling? Personally I find it hard to be creative. But…as a blessing the internet is full of information if you know where to look.

Sea Kayak Circumnavigation of Great Britain 2010 P&H Paddlers - On 20th April 2010 I set out from Falmouth in Cornwall, attempting to become the first person in 5 years to complete a full circumnavigation of Great Britain by kayak. Since the first successful completion 30 years previous, only a handful of people had made it all the way round, but for various reasons none who had started in the last 5 years had finished – with bad weather usually a key factor. Having only limited sea kayaking experience the aim was not to break any records, but simply to finish and raise money for two charities: WaterAid, and Crohn's and Colitis UK.

Update2 SUP HQ - Fly the flag for RSA, that I can do and will always, but Quarter's finals, holy smokes, we'll just see how it goes! I arrived the day before the trials in the evening, straight to the Naniloa Hotel, right on the water in Hilo. I went and jumped in the pool and trained for a bit, before settling in, catching up on work and getting my board and equipment sorted for opening Ceremony and ready for action in the morning..and so it begins!

Coreban Summerseries Day 1 SUP HQ - A M shaped Surf Slalom Paddling course was set with two places where competitors needed to negotiate the small surf in order to round a buoy and run around a flag on the beach. The course was divided into smaller and larger segments in order to accommodate competitors of different skill levels ranging from Kids to Open Men.

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