2013 World Championships

As the season is slowing I have had the opportunity to reflect on one of the more enjoyable portions of my season. My season was very stress free and I was able to focus on getting back to my paddling roots of playboating on the Ottawa River. My main goal for the season was to enjoy my time on the water and spend days getting back to the level of paddling I had been performing at the year prior. After finishing 3rd at the Canadian National Championships, which qualified me for a spot on the Canadian National Freestyle Team, I would once again attend another worlds as an athlete competing for my home country of Canada.

The World Championships hosted on the Nantahala River in North Carolina, was one of the best events I have been to in the past few years. The level of paddling was phenomenal with every paddler having the ability to place amongst the best and every country having top ranked paddlers present.

Taking part in the Worlds brought back numerous memories of my years competing. It seems like only yesterday that I was attending my first World Championships in Ottawa, 1997. Since that first worlds I have been fortunate enough to attend Worlds in New Zealand 1999, Sort Spain 2001, Graz Austria 2003, Ottawa River Canada 2007, Thun Switzerland 2009, Plattling Germany 2011 only missing Australia 2005 with a dislocated shoulder and surgery. It has been a long road and the experience of a lifetime with placing in the top 5 at a few and hardships in others.

I am both excited and proud to have had the opportunity to paddle for Canada and participate in my 8th World Championships. Though I did not compete to my best this time around, I am thrilled to have reunited with old friends, made new friends, and helped coach a few of the top athletes and future world champions.

I will continue to push forward with my personal paddling, coaching the next generation of freestylers and of course qualifying for the next World Championships.