Piest'any, Slovakia, International Junior & Under 23 Regatta
16-18 May 2003
Team Manager Laurence Oliver
Junior Men Kayak
- Edward Cox (WEY), Ben Brown (ELM), Tom Daniels (RDG), John Sawers (ELM), Paul Wycherley (WEY).
Junior Men Canoe
- James Train (FLA).
Junior Women Kayak
- Shuna Braithwaite (SDS), Zara Dale (ELM), Hayleigh Mason (NOT), Francesca Negus (ELM), Tara Nutt (ELM).
Coach Shaun Caven
Under 23 Men Kayak
- Richard Darby-Dowman (ELM), Liam Heath (WEY), Andrew Kelly (ROY), Adam Kennedy (ROY), Edward McKeever (BOA), Keith Moule (CLM), Tim Mumford (BUR).
Coach Trevor Hunter Driver Stan Cox Massage Therapist Karla Smith
Events 500m 1000m
Junior Men
K1 E. Cox E. Cox
K2 Brown/ Daniels Brown/ Daniels
Sawers/ Wycherley Sawers/ Wycherley
K4 Brown/Daniels/Sawers/Wycherley
C1 J. Train J. Train
Junior Women
K1 S. Braithwaite Z. Dale
Z. Dale H. Mason
K2 Negus/ Nutt Negus/ Nutt
K4 Negus/ Nutt/ Braithwaite/ Mason
Under 23 Men
K1 E. McKeever E. McKeever
L. Heath L. Heath
A. Kelly
K2 Kennedy/ Moule Kennedy/ Moule
Darby-Dowman/ Mumford Darby-Dowman/ Mumford
K4 Darby-Dowman/Heath/Kennedy/Moule D-Dowman/Heath/Kennedy/Moule
Performances. A result chart is enclosed. The complete results are on www.canoe.sk
If you require more than that which is enclosed I will be pleased to supply you. All of the Under 23 paddlers plus Ed Cox are part of the World Class Potential programme. The remaining Junior paddlers are World Class Start Elite.
The weather was mainly sunny throughout the regatta but the temperature varied as did the wind conditions. They are shown on the result chart.
The level of competition was good for our Under 23 team and very good for our Junior team. There were 13 nations competing in the Junior events and 8 in the Under 23 plus many Slovakian paddlers.
We reached the finals of all the events apart from the JWK1 1000m. Our best Junior result came from James Train in the C1 1000m where he won the silver medal. In the 500m semi final his canoe filled with water, in the rough conditions, 20m from the finish line. Dramatically James managed to paddle it over the finish line to qualify for a place in the final where he came 5th. Shuna Braithwaite came 4th in the JWK1 500m. Frankie Negus/ Tara Nutt were 5th in the 1000m and 6th in the 500m JWK2. Edward Cox was 8th in the 500m and 9th in the 1000m JMK1 finals. Tom Daniels/ Ben Brown were 7th in both finals and Paul Wycherley/ John Sawers came 8th in the 1000m JMK2 final. All of the Juniors raced in the 3000m singles events at the end of the regatta. Seven members of the Junior team will be juniors for one more year.
In the Under 23 events Adam Kennedy/ Keith Moule won the bronze medals in both the 1000m and 500m U23MK2 events. These two teamed up with Richard Darby-Dowman/ Liam Heath in the K4 finals where they also won bronze medals. In the U23MK1 events Edward McKeever made both finals. He was 4th in the 500 and 7th in the 1000m. Liam Heath, in his first year as a Senior, also made the 1000m final where he come 9th. In the 500m final Andrew Kelly came 8th.
Regatta Administration: Officials were helpful. The regatta was very well organised and ran on time. The course was on the River Vah. Any flow was from start to finish. The lane buoys were not evenly spaced and the lanes appeared narrower than those of most International courses. The position of the buoys at the finish moved with wind direction and strength.
Transport: The team flew with Austrian Airways, Heathrow to Vienna, on Thursday, 15th May, returning on Monday, 19th May. Each flight lasted about two and a quarter hours. We were met at the airport and transfer was by two mini buses for the 75 mile journey to Piest’any. Travelling time was about 2 hours. The border crossing from Austria to Slovakia took 10 minutes on the outward journey and 20 minutes on the return.
Accommodation: The team stayed at the Hotel Poppy in twin or single rooms. The regatta course was a 5 minute walk away. All meals were taken at the hotel. They were quite balanced and tasty but rather repetitive.
I would certainly recommend that this event should be considered worthwhile attending in future years. Finally, I would like to thank all the members of staff for their help and support, which contributed to the smooth running of this event.
Laurence Oliver.
Event Manager. 22.05.2003