Hailey Thompson's Whitewater Canoe and Kayak Blog

The 2011 Tale

2011-10-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Training before Worlds in Bratislava....
Croatian blue....
Competing in Worlds....
Homecoming my senior year....
Pulling through the gates at National Championships 2011....

Happy to be on the podium....

The season of 2011 was a mind-blowing experience. I found myself traveling all over Europe for a solid three months – the longest I’ve ever been away from home on my own – and I learned a great deal about myself and the world. After my first month of training in France, I traveled across Belgium and Germany with my coach, Pierrick Gosselin, to Prague, CZ, where the fourth World Cup was held. I trained hard in the week leading up to the race, and felt good about my chances. Once I got the actual race, however, things did not go precisely as I had anticipated. The day of qualifications was rough, with me barely slipping into semifinals. My semifinal run was even more of a disappointment to me. My speed wasn’t up to par, and a final disheartening blow was dealt to me when I passed through boat inspection following my run and discovered that I would be disqualified due to an underweight boat. Not exactly how I’d hoped the race would unfold, but it happened and I learned from it. With such a bitter pill behind me, I moved into training for Worlds with fervor. For the First several weeks of training, I lived and paddled with the U.S. team at the incredible course in Bratislava, Slovakia. The Danube River is the second longest river in Europe, and at one point along its meandering journey, is passes through a dam just south of Slovakia’s capitol. In the center of the dam is a chute which channels enormous amounts of water through the man-made whitewater channel residing on an island in the middle of the river. The channel moves swiftly, pouring down its gradient at incredible speeds, plummeting over a grandiose 16-foot-drop, and undulating in fabulous waves. Training was intense with two-a-days most every day, and I wore myself out, but splashing through such water was addicting. The days passed, and my friendships with the U.S. team members grew deeper (as did the life-jacket tan-lines), and I became more and more competent on the course. After long moths of separation, my parents showed up in Slovakia! I was overjoyed to see them…although it’s admittedly every seventeen-year-olds dream to go off on adventures all by themselves, I realized in my time away just how much I love being around my parents, who happen to be some of my closest friends. I trained for several more days after their arrival before we decided to take a short family vacation in Croatia. This turned out to be well timed, for in my last training session before we left I had a minor drama involving me flipping over above a shallow pour-over and smashing my forearm against a rock…thankfully it ended up being a deep bone bruise rather than a fracture, but our time in Croatia gave me a little time to recover before Worlds. Croatia, by the way, is HANDS DOWN, the most stunning country in the World. I won’t go into too many details, but to sum it up, this small country is a narrow strip running along the azure Adriatic Coast, with Mediterranean terrain, rocky coves, olive trees, raw, beautiful mountains, and, a ways away from the coast, a host of thermal towns, and national parks with brilliant turquoise lakes and waterfalls. Just think, that was without the details! After our short gypsy-jaunt, my parents and I returned to Bratislava for my final week and a half of training before World Championships. Upon my arrival, I re-joined the international training team (with 18 athletes from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa partaking), and enjoyed my time preparing for the competition physically and mentally while surrounded by such enjoyable, cultural company. Finally the race arrived, rang in by a fabulous opening ceremony involving flags, speeches, rock bands, opera artists, cultural dances, live DJs, the best hip-hopping group in eastern Europe, and of course, fireworks. It was quite the show. The course which had been set was simple in concept, with a flowing gate sequence, but what many racers overlooked was the very simple possibility of making a cumulating mistake (being slightly off-line in the first gate, more so in the second, then completely missing the third). I was wary of this, but still, my first run had a few too many minor mistakes, and I landed in 17th. My second run, I was prepared for, and I ran the upper two-thirds of the course flawlessly before I ran into trouble at gate 17 (seems like a bad number for me!). I was too far left, and had to loop back up for the gate. I knew this lost me valuable time, and I paddled like a mad woman to make up for it, but in the end I finished 20th – right on the edge for semifinals. The last boat was from China, and it was a close race which ended in me missing semis by one-tenth of a second. I was devastated to say the least, and knew that is would take something extravagant for me to forgive myself. The European Journey had come to its close, and although my cultural and training experiences had been out-of-this-world, I was bitter about my race performances. I returned home gratefully – three months is a very long time to be away, and it was wonderful to see my friends and family again (granted, not so great to make up the two weeks of AP Calculus I missed) and I spent my days catching up with all of the work and people I had missed. Homecoming of my senior year came and went - glittering girls in their candy-colored dresses, boys in their pumped-up kicks, tuxes, and shutter-shades, and school spirit the equivalent of nationalism in the cold war – and I grew conscious of one last opportunity for me to redeem myself in my eyes, for my performances in the past season. Nationals. Initially, I had ruled the race out of the possibility. I had missed so much school, and to fly to North Carolina for the race would mean missing more. But with the encouragement of my parents and a personal desire for redemption, I went for it. So three days before the race, I hopped on a night-flight to Charlotte, and found myself once again in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I had three training sessions before the race (only one of which was on the race venue), but I felt the deep-seated desire to perform. The race day came, and I did well during my runs on qualification day. Overjoyed, I moved into semifinals in first place. My frustration from the summer became channeled, and I plunged into my semis run with gusto. I finished happy and fairly confident, even though the course had been more challenging. To my intense joy, I progressed on to Finals, still clinging to first. As I paused in the start gate before my final run, I realized that this was it. The point I had been reaching to get to since that bitter beginning in Prague, and a final spark of aggression filled me. The timer sounded, and I took that last once of frustration and channeled it into my run. I negotiated the gates with an intense desire to perform to my personal pinnacle. Although I had several touches, my speed was enough to carry me through, and passing the finish line, a huge smile broke across my face. That was the performance I had worked for. My friends and fellow competitors bobbed in the eddy at the bottom of the run and we hugged one another, laughing and grateful to make it as far as we had. The U.S. Team leader, William Irving came running down the side of the river, and shouted to me, “Hailey, you are in first!”
…
It was a long summer, with an incredible number of highs and lows, but the joy I felt at capturing the Gold at Nationals was purely relieving. Two of my best friends, Colleen Hickey and Catie Vuksich stood on the podium next to me, and I felt so grateful to be there with them, and to have reached that point at the end of my season. There are so many people who I have to thank. Joel McCune, the coach who helped me kick off my season, Pierrick, Vincent, Manu, and a whole host of wonderful French coaches, Jakobe, my Slovakian coach at Worlds, Darren Bush and the folks at Rutabaga, Werner, Keen, Pyranha, and Level Six….but most of all, my Parents. Without them, none of this ever would have happened. And thank you, for reading this, and following this whitewater story wherever it leads.

The First Month of France

2011-07-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

So many things have happened since Junior National Team Trials. For one, getting on a plane and flying to France. Once I arrived I joined a group of international competitors (from Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Finland, France, South Africa, Mexico, Germany, Senegal and Canada, and of course, USA) to begin intensive training. Our first week of training was spent in Montreuil Sur Mer, a small French town in the north, about fifteen minutes away from the Sea. Training was wonderful, learning rapidly from our multiple coaches, Vincent, Manu, Thibaut, Christophe, Gonz, and Pierrick. We usually had two long sessions each day, and would intersperse on-the-water training with beautiful trail runs (past ruined castles, pastures, and turquoise rivers), visits to the sea to swim, and exceptionally French (and exceptionally fun) activities like Cart du Voilé, which is like sailing except for the fact that the sail is attached to a small cart, rather than a boat, in which you fly across the beach. The first week passed, and we took our group to a town tucked far up in the French Alps, called Bourg Saint Maurice. Bourg is famous in the paddling community for being the most challenging natural river which is raced on…in the world. What seems to always be left out of the descriptions is the absolutely breath-taking place through which this river tumbles. The mountains plunge upward, grazing the sky with their snow capped, craggy peaks, and the valley is full of wild flowers and highland pasture, and then of course, the Town of Bourg St. Maurice, which is so quintessentially Alpine it almost seemed unreal. My first impression of the town was that I had died and landed in heaven, and the impression was only made more substantial after my first training session on the river which flows through town. The river is absolutely marvelous, a roaring torrent of icy-blue, glacial water pouring over mammoth drops and forming crashing waves. Initially, training in Bourg was quite the barrier for me. The water was massive, and mentally, my approach wasn’t aggressive enough. If I got one thing out of Bourg – it was learning to approach each training session as if it were an international competition. After a few days, my coaches decided my abilities were good enough to attack the upper section of Bourg, which is even more powerful and fast than the lower section. I ran it smoothly, with no mishaps, and was incredibly stoked to have made peace with such an impossible set of drops. Our time in Bourg seemed to pass to quickly, lost in the rapid succession of training sessions, afternoon climbs up the surrounding mountains, swims in alpine lakes, and visits to Bourg’s incredible gelato shop. Soon, we were back in Montreuil, where we repeated our first week of training. The days passed, and we traveled here, to Metz, which is in eastern France, close to the German border. The town is lovely, a Venice of Northern France, with lovely, intricately carved churches and palaces threaded by green canals and rivers which are home to hundreds of white swans…so perfect it’s almost cliché. The course here is nice – smaller drops, but fairly quick water. I have been competing in French Nationals as a fore-runner (demonstration boat, as I am not a French citizen). My first day went well, with two solid runs (one which would’ve landed me in second if I were competing officially), but that night I suddenly became really sick with a burning fever. The next morning I woke up with terrible body aches and a head ache. I raced poorly in the morning, and spent the day trying to sleep in the car as the rest of the team from Montreuil competed. By the end of the day I was exhausted, wracked by feverish burns and chills. Once I got medication, I felt much better, but this morning I found out that I was still pretty weak when I attempted to race. My run was painfully slow, simply because I had run out of strength. I am hoping to make a full recovery soon, so that I have a good chance at performing well in Prague for World Cup #4. I shall share more as the journey continues!

Junior National Team Trials and the Departure to Paris

2011-07-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

My lovely friends Sam and Sarah from Colorado...

C1W: Gold Medal

So first come the house guests. It’s a dead-giveaway, the prelude to races in Wausau, when the number of paddlers residing at my house spikes, as it did about a week and a half ago. They came from the East coast, the south, and the west to compete in Wausau’s Junior National Team Trials this past weekend. In addition to living together, we trained together in the days leading up to the event (when it consistently poured rain for about 5 days in a row). The weather wasn’t ideal, but the athleticism and camaraderie exhibited most definitely was. The Friday before the race the weather miraculously cleared into the crystalline blue skies with puffy white clouds which are so classic of Wisconsin in June, much to my relief. Those beauteous skies held out as racers nervously anticipated the race. As procedures go, we went through the gear checking process, watched as the race-day gates were set, and then prowled the banks of the river, planning our lines and watching demonstration runs. Once activity by the river quieted down, I headed home for a calm, early night before the race. I had three marvelous friends from Colorado and Washington DC staying over and the four of us watched video of demonstrations and discussed the multiple approaches to the race the following day. With a plan whirling through my head that night as I drifted to asleep, I dreamt of whitewater.
Saturday morning arrived just as blue as the previous day, and I headed to the course. I was set to race in both Women’s Canoe and Women’s Kayak so I knew the day would sap whatever energy I had. I hopped in my sparkly purple canoe up above where the water plunges into the rapids to warm-up. As I paddled, what nerves I had accumulated dissipated and I felt myself sink into race-mode. Before I knew the time had passed, I found myself launching out of the start gate into the first run of Junior National Team Trials. I passed through the gates smoothly and without any major incident, but I finished disappointed and feeling slow. I pushed the feeling down and immediately prepared for my kayak run. The kayak felt far more successful, and after my run I grabbed some food, rehydrated, and located a nice shady patch where I could await the second runs. The afternoon came about and I found myself in the start gate again. I gripped the t-grip of my canoe paddle in frustration with my first run, and this time, when I broke the start line, I channeled my energy. When I passed the finish, I found that I had shaved 11 seconds of my time! Overjoyed, I hurried to my kayak and the fourth run of the day. I performed, but not as well as intended…my energy was sapped. I finished the first day of competitions in first for Canoe and in third for Kayak, and not overly disappointed. The course was re-set and I walked it several times that evening before repeating my quiet pre-race routine. The next day, I altered my plan. My Canoe runs the previous day had been good enough that, if I laid down a good first run, I could skip my second to conserve energy for kayak. The plan worked, as I finished my canoe run in first, so I decided to channel everything into my kayak performance. My first kayak run of the day wasn’t going to cut it – I remained in third, and in all honesty, I wanted gold. So that afternoon, with the full knowledge of how close the race had become, I powered out of the start gate. I maneuvered through the course with an intense focus, and passed the finish line with a time six seconds ahead of the next competitor! So, to my surprise and pleasure, I finished Junior National Team Trials with not one, but two gold medals…what an incredibly fortunate experience. These past three days have been just as whirlwind, even if I haven’t been competing – I’ve been packing up my bags because tomorrow, I fly out to Europe for the next two and a half months. I’ll be competing and training in France, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia; and I can’t even say how thrilled I am for the experience to begin.
So thank you…check in every now and then, and I promise, I will have more stories to share. Peace,
Hailey

U.S. National Team Trials 2011

2011-04-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Swinging tight on an upstream gate...

Driving through the waves....

Maneuvering...

Coach Joel McCune with C1W Natl. Team: Colleen Hickey, Hailey Thompson, Lisa Adams

U.S. National Womens Canoe Team: Lisa Adams, Hailey Thompson, Colleen Hickey

I’ve spent the past ten days living and breathing for my iridescent purple canoe. Not in a bad way at all, simply all of my energies have been poured into training for, and then competing in the U.S. National Whitewater Slalom Team Trials. Trials were held on the intensive, roaring, man-made rapids of the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. I spent the week training two sessions a day, under the precise coaching of Joel McCune and Scott McKlesky (both former elite-level competitive racers), alongside some of my fellow C1Ws, Colleen Hickey, Lisa Adams, Catie Vuksich, and Jen Singletary. Our days were entirely dictated by our training schedules, consuming enough food to keep going, and crashing in blissful sleep at night, trying to escape anxiety about the upcoming three-day race. Practice, however, had been undulating, and by Thursday afternoon (the last day before the Friday-Sunday race) I was feeling only a mediocre amount of confidence about my paddling on the course. I went back to Coach McCune’s house (where some of us competitors were home-staying) and tried to rest a little bit before returning to the man-made river to see what challenging gates the course-designers would set for Friday’s race runs. I made my way to the course, and attended the competitors meeting where we obtained our racing bibs and our start times. As the racers meeting ended, the athletes rushed to the concrete banks of the river to see what challenges lay in wait on the course set for us. I paced the shore, taking in the several crux moves on the course, trying to devise a plan as to how I would maneuver my way through the gates. All of the racers then gathered and watched as several demonstration boaters ran the gates, trying to follow and mentally record the lines they took. Once the demos were over, I found Coach McCune and McKlesky and walked the course with them. They both gave me valuable feedback on my plan, and helped me build up a little confidence for the following day’s race. I slept deeply that night, and woke up the following morning without a trace of my usual pre-race nerves. Initially, I was thrown off a bit, but quickly decided to embrace the lack of butterflies. Several of the C1 women headed out early to do what would become our routine workout, and headed to the course. I watched as first the men C1s, and then the women K1s headed down the course, before doing a final warm-up. Then it was game time. I took my first run, and although the top way flawless, I had a major collision with one of the large plastic, feature-forming bollards on the lower portion of the course…unfortunately, that threw me off line a fair bit. My second run on the first day was better, and I finished day one ranked fairly soundly in first for the women C1 class. That evening, after leaving the venue and refueling, the athletes returned as they had the evening before, to see which gates had been moved to form the course for Saturday’s race. The course appeared more challenging than that of the former race day, but my calm remained, and again I walked the course with McCune and McKlesky, and formed a plan. I repeated my routine, of heading back to Coach McCune’s and resting up for the following day. Day two was exciting. First of all, I became sick. With those wonderful stomach aches that decide to come and wrack your body at the most inopportune of times. That was manageable, however, and the first run of my second day was quite good, without a single touch to a gate-pole. After that, however, a massive storm rolled tumultuously over North Carolina. The race was pushed back for an hour, and only later did we discover that what we experienced was only a tendril of the fully fledged storm which killed 45 people in that region….we observed, with a shout, one of the kayak men sprinting out into the torrential rain to try to recapture his airborne, spinning kayak. I truly am sorry for the horrific loss many of the families in that area suffered. After things quieted down a bit, second runs took place, under a deceptively innocent blue sky. My second run was even better than my first, and again, I found myself clinging to the first slot for women C1. I was still pretty sick, so I went back to our homestay and slept. When I awoke, to my dismay, I had nearly missed demos, so I sprinted hastily to the course. The gates set for Sunday looked challenging, but no more so that Saturday had been. The routine of racing now drilled into my head, I rested for the evening. The next morning came, clear and warm, and I felt deep down that it was going to be a good day of racing. At the course, my first run was nearly perfect in respect to the lines I took, but I felt slow and accumulated four time-penalizing touches. Although I hadn’t felt superb about the run, I found myself still seated soundly in first. That was it, I had officially made the team…the only question of the final run was if I would win trials outright, or take second. As I waited in the start gate, for my final run, I made the conscious decision to, as Coach McKlesky put it, “take the boy lines” a.k.a., the risky, high speed moves that many of the male competitors take. It was a chance, but I knew I had secured a team slot, and so I took it. When the final beeps emanated from the start timer, I took off, hurtling through the gates in a wild exertion of the last ounces of my energy. As I pounded over the last mammoth drop of the course, passing the finish line, I knew that I had just landed the best run of my life. I had, because when I checked the scoreboard, not only had I shaved 30 seconds from my previous run, but I had just succeeded in winning every single one of the six runs of the race. The next several hours blurred together, from climbing to the top of the podium to receive my team jacket and “gold medal” (we were given these beautiful pieces of stenciled glass instead), to going through team processing and deciding which races to attend in Europe this summer. As of now, it’s confirmed, I’m going to the 2011 World Championships in Slovakia this fall! This has been an incredible journey, and I feel so fortunate to have been on it. Now, my wonderful mother and I are driving back into Wisconsin – a bit of a climate shock from the 80-degrees we left behind (here in the dairy state we’ve received no less than eight inches of snow in the past twelve hours), and I’m daydreaming of the places this whimsical sport will take me. So thank you, for all of those who read this, and for all of you who have supported me on this wild ride. Peace and happy paddling.

Coach McCune

2011-04-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

Absorbing some words of wisdom.

This post isn't really a story. It's more of a shout-out to one person who has really impacted my paddling career. His name is Joel McCune. He's been my friend, fellow competitor, and coach from the start, and his unwavering kindness has made him one of the biggest influences in my life. So, thanks Coach McCune.

The U.S. Open 2011

2011-03-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

C-1-W: Colleen Hickey, Myself, Catie Vuksich, on a fun training day.
Getting in those vertical strokes.
Focused on the course.
Pulling heavily during a kayak run.
Ferrying out across the falls...
Reaching deep for a cross-bow stroke....
Standing atop the podium for Canoe! Colleen Hickey, 2nd, and Jennifer Singletary, 3rd.
*All photos by John M. Thompson*

The Nantahala Gorge is beautiful in spring. The surrounding smoky mountains seem to be emerging from a winter of sleep, with mist rising from the valleys, the redbuds’ soft blooms popping open, and the purple slate faces dripping with icy spring water. I spent the last several days of the past week training there, shivering my way through morning sessions on the fast mountain stream that is the Nantahala River, and spending my evenings with fellow paddlers, tucked away in a cabin up the gorge. At the close of the week, it was time to turn my focus away from training, and towards competing…because this past weekend was the first major race of my season: The U.S. Open. Friday evening, I scrambled along the shore of the river accompanied by my marvelous coach, Joel McCune, and analyzed the gates which had been set above the rapids, planning my lines, my strokes, my movement. That night, after the memorization and visualization of the course had been imprinted on my mind, we athletes, parents, and coaches went out to local hot-spot, Guayabitos, for some pre-race Mexican food, and then hit the hay in preparation for the early morning to follow. I arose to the unfortunate sound of a steady rain pattering away on the roof of the cabin. Paddlers are used to getting wet, don’t get me wrong, but it’s never fun to have a race when it’s 40 degrees and raining…this said, I decided to turn the weather into a positive. Conditions that could detrimentally impact some competitors were going to stimulate me. This mindset really helped me, as I made my way down the course in my first canoe run. I finished it, fairly content (although one can always improve), with an hour before my first kayak run. I checked in with Coach McCune, and then sprinted up to the Subaru, with the glorious heat and cliff bars and water bottles it contained, to while away my hour. The kayak run went well, not my best, but not bad at all. I refueled during the brief lunch break, and then geared up for second runs. My canoe run was better than anything I had laid down yet. I remembered how I had felt at Worlds last year – the incredible, raw, powerful, yet graceful sensations that flow through me when I become the instinctive paddler I’ve trained to be. Afterwards, I took my final kayak run of the day (not quite as good as my earlier run), and went back to the cabin to warm up and get (finally!) dry. That evening, the racers gathered for a banquet (a.k.a. pasta!) at the restaurant above the river, and then retired early in preparation for the next day’s race. I awoke, to my relief, to the sound of birds, but not rain. However, the mist and cold, and swollen river, reminded me of the downpour of the previous day. Speaking of the swollen river – things on the course had changed. Several gates had been switched from down-streams to up-streams and changed positions, but more significant than these changes were the changes in the way the increased volume of the water increased the velocity of the course. I walked the course again with my coach, and reworked my plan for my runs. Confident, I watched the demonstration boats, and then walked up to warm up for my canoe run. It went incredibly well, although there was a lot of time I felt I could have cut. By the end of my run, the sun was seeping into the valley, warming the humid river air. My first kayak run was perfect – but at one of the final gates, I mindlessly blew by an incredibly easy down-stream gate…earning myself a 50 second penalty, and plenty of mental self-flagellation. I went to meet with faithful Coach McCune, to review video and refuel, and he helped me to let go of some of my frustration, and focus on the final runs. My final canoe run was an enormous, wild expenditure of energy and impulse…which almost worked, with the exception of one brief, but costly, roll. My final kayak run, however, was just as impulsive and energetic, but it worked. My run time was far faster, and I only incurred one touch (a 2 second penalty). I warmed up in the sun, laughing with the pleasure of finishing a race, and being on a beautiful river with wonderful athletes, and incredible friends and family on shore. I eventually got out of my boat, and got dressed to go to the awards ceremonies – where I was given gold in Junior Women’s Kayak, Junior Women’s Canoe, and (!) Senior (that is, all ages) Women’s Canoe! What an incredible feeling. True, I’ve been snowed in up in Wisconsin for a few months – but I sure am glad to be back on the waves where I belong…and I’ll be back here in North Carolina before I know it (Three weeks!) for National Team Trials. Peace and happy paddling.

Charlotte Season Opener

2011-03-22T11:19:00.001-07:00

Pulling over the massive lower drop...
Hitting a wall of water in Finals

The paddling buddies, Simon Ranagan,

Cole Moore, Peter Lutter, and Hailey (Me)

Smiling after a satisfying run

Race Day 1

Training Day

Well, guess what? Today I turned seventeen. Yikes! And I’m spending this birthday, as I have spent my last four, here in sunny and warm North Carolina, how lucky is that? This past weekend was my first time on water (which wasn’t solid) in four months, so I was definitely a little rusty when I competed in the 2011 Season Opener Race, the Charlotte Open. But man was it fun! My balance was not quite what it was at the end of last season, and it took me a little while to convince myself I was no longer skiing, but once I got back into the flow of things (pun intended), I was smiling non-stop. At the end of the race, I found myself in second place for Women’s C1, and 6th place for Women’s K1. Could have been worse! Since the race, I’ve been doing some yoga (wooohooooo!), and maximizing my time on the undulating, rioting course at Charlotte. The next big adventure? This weekend, the U.S. Open in Nantahala Gorge, North Carolina. I’m very excited, and hoping that the training I’m doing this week will pay off.
P.S. On my way over to the U.S. Open, I’m stopping in Ashville, NC, to tour UNCA again….yay college!

Canoecopia!

2011-03-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Happy to be next to such awesome people! Darren Bush (Center) and Pam Boteler (Right)

What a weekend! Each paddling season is officially begun with the most stimulating event of spring: Rutabaga Paddlesport Shop’s famed Canoecopia. The expo was held from March 11th to March 13th at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and drew canoe-loving crowds in the thousands. I’ve been to this expo just about every spring, and this one was spectacular as always. The enormous hall is packed full of vendors…everywhere you look, there is eye-candy for paddlers, boats, paddles, gear, clothes, tents, shoes, the whole works…it’s your basic nirvana. For me, this event is also a great opportunity to catch up with friends, sponsors, and paddling gurus. For the past two years, I have been fortunate enough to be invited to speak at Canoecopia, about my experiences competing. Year One didn’t go so hot. I had some technological difficulties, and was very freaked out. This year was much better. Public speaking still scares me more than competing in World Championships, but I was a bit better at hiding it, and thank goodness, my Power Point functioned relatively smoothly! In addition to telling the stories about Junior and Senior World Championships, I was fortunate enough to have my friend/mentor/hero, Pam Boteler there with me, and she spoke for a bit about the Women in Canoe controversy, and the struggle to be included in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and I’m already getting excited for next year’s expo!

The Winter!

2011-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Ski racing in Rhinelander, WI, at the Hodag Challenge!

With my skiing buddy, and one of my best friends, Lily Kraft on New Years

This was a very important event for me this winter: Saving Auto (Pronounced Otto), the

Barred Owl. He had a horrible accident with a car, and is getting better at Raptor Rehab!

Racing at 2011 State Championships in Wausau, Wisconsin.

My incredible parents with me after a race - so much love!

The Tutu Trio: Ski Teammates Jessica Timmerman, Hailey Thompson, and Lily Kraft, all decked out for our last race of the season, the 25 kilometer Lakeland Loppet.

To say I've been remiss about my posts would be an understatement. I have been absolutely pathetic. But I have been pretty busy with other things - let me tell you about my winter!
Well, after Worlds (man, that was ages ago!) the Fall came, and hit me with the full force of Wisconsin's natural beauty. With the golden leaves and crisp mornings came my junior year of highschool, the advent of a whole slew of new classes and friends, ACT and SAT tests (my absolute favorites!), the beginning of college searches, dry-land training (essentially, running up lots of big hills) for my upcoming ski season, and weight training for this upcoming paddling season.
Winter took it's own sweet time arriving. For a person who lives to ski in this season, it was infuriating. But by the time soft snows started falling in December, I was absolutely thrilled to hit the trails. My ski team is rather like my family - after school, just about every day of the week, my team mates and I would head out to the ski lodge, and lay down between 8 and 20 kilometers. The beauty of nordic skiing is that not only does it make winter bearable, it makes winter lovable. I can't even tell you how much I cringe when I hear complaints about snowy precipitation.
Then, on weekends, we skiers and our incredibly supportive parents would make the trek to all corners of the Northwoods, to attend races with names like "The Hinder Binder" or "The Hodag Challenge" or "The Snekkevik" or "The Lakeland Loppet"...definitely a predominantly Scandinavian sport, hahaha.
Skiing has infected my family - both of my parents have taken to hopping on a set of skis in the evenings, and wandering around the woods that surround our house. My dad has even figured out a way to groom our own set of trails (His real name is MacGyver). My mom loves nothing more than to go out to Iola (our local ski area) and spend hours skate skiing. It's phenomenal to have a family passion that keeps us in shape and in love with the snow.
My Competitive Ski season wasn't too bad either - I made it onto Varsity this season, which was pretty exciting, and our Girls Varsity took 4th at state! I'm hoping to get some better individual rankings next season - but that is for the future to determine.
Speaking of the future! Canoecopia is this upcoming weekend! YAHOO! Canoecopia not only means attending an awesome expo put on by Rutabaga the Paddlesport Shop, listening to some incredible speakers, and getting to hang out with a host of cool paddlers - it means that the paddling season is about to begin!
This season is looking exciting already! The U.S. Open, National Team Trials, and an International Canoe Federation Camp in July in France are on the schedule for the season, and depending on whether or not I make the National Team this Year, I may or may not be adding World Championships in Slovakia to that list...holy guacamole!
So, if you get a chance, swing by Canoecopia this year. It's in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Alliant Energy Center from March 11 to 13. I'll be giving a talk at 11:30 on Saturday at the expo, so stop by if you have the time and want to visit (although I give no assurances of the speech itself...public speaking, the fear of all teenagers!), but I'd love to meet you, and see where paddling and the outdoors has taken you in your life.
Peace,
Hailey

The Word on Worlds

2010-09-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

As I type this, I find myself in the Ljubljana Airport, waiting to get on a plane, and consequentially, other planes, that will bring me home, to Wisconsin. Before passing through security, I was able to spend an hour or so talking with two fascinating guys over mugs of Slovenian Hot Cocoa - one of them was Slovenian/Australian, and one Norwegian…it seemed to be a reminder of all of the amazing, multi-cultured people I’ve had an opportunity to meet while being here. That said, I have to admit, I am really, really excited to get back and see my parents, my dog, and my friends. These past two weeks in Slovenia have been truly incredible. I came alone, to Europe, for the first time, which was an adventure in itself, but also found myself in some truly interesting situations leading up to the competition. Tuesday evening, I had wrapped up my last training session. I returned to the police academy with Nuria Vilarrubla (Spain) and Reka Forizs (Hungary), to put on our team uniforms for the Opening Ceremony Parade…I was really excited, because Opening Ceremonies are always a fun show, and a great opportunity to meet foreign friends. Nuria, Reka, and I were joined by Jane and Ella (New Zealand and Cook Islands), and we began walking to where the bus would take us to the ceremony. Barely 5 minutes away, I tripped on a metal stub, and came crashing onto the sidewalk with a hefty cut on my knee…not too smooth on my part. A kind Slovenian lady helped us, and gave us a ride to the meeting area. The French coaches, Pierrick, Medhi, and Jonathan met us, looked at my knee, and told me I was headed to the hospital…so, I missed out on Opening Ceremonies, but I did get to experience first-hand, a Slovenian operating room, and a couple of stitches. I was pretty bummed about the stitches, but even more concerned about how I was going to kneel in a canoe the next day to race. The course set was complicated, with lots of energetic bursts of speed required. I had studied video, and walked the course, and with the exception of the stitches (which kept me out of my boat for time periods of more than 3 minutes, so no good warm-up) I was feeling prepared. It was a cold, rainy day, but the sun came out through the rain just before my run…it was almost as good a getting a hug for luck before starting. Once I began paddling, I barely felt my knee; I was focused on the race. I laid down a clean, if not remarkably speedy run, which planted me firmly in 10th place. I wasn’t sure if I should take a second run, because I was top 20, and progressing to Semifinals anyways, but I’m not one to watch other people paddle…so two hours later, I got back in my boat, and took a second run. It was going to be flawless, but at the 14th gate, I hit a wave wrong, and was pushed down beneath two gates – sustaining two 50-second penalties. After everyone had raced, I was still in 12th from my first time, so I made it to semis. The next day, racing was cancelled. The previous day’s rain had swollen the river into a massive, roaring torrent which poured out of the side walls and onto the sidewalks. I spent the day at the riverside, wishing I could hop in a boat and play in the mammoth waves. The following two days were qualifying runs for men, and finals for women kayaks…I love cheering for my friends, but I am also much more of a competitor than a spectator, so Sunday, and Semifinals couldn’t come fast enough. The water was back to normal levels, and the course was unchanged, so I reviewed it carefully, and prepared for my run. My knee was a lot less painful after three days of rest, so I hopped in the boat early for a proper warm-up. Feeling good, I awaited my run in the start gate. The timer clicked away beside me, and I was conscious of the mass of humanity on the river bank – Slalom is pretty popular here, and there were a lot of very happy spectators. Finally, the last three seconds beeped away beside me, and I took off. My run had the right pieces, but it wasn’t as fast as I had hoped. I leapt out of my boat, and ran to the scoreboard. I ranked 3rd, initially, but there were 12 highly skilled ladies left to go. Anxiously, I watched each competitor charge down the course, hoping I could cling to top ten, and make it to Finals. Finally, the last girl made it down the course – and I rested in 10th place! I was stoked! This was my first time in the Finals of a Senior World event…and I couldn’t be happier. The next several hours before my run were tough. I vacillated between total disbelief, minor panic moments, and pure, care-free anticipation. Finally, the time for me to get in my boat rolled around. Things blurred, and then I was doing my final run. I lost a lot of time when I flipped beneath the big upper drop, but regained some of it at the bottom of the course. When I finished, I was in 1st place briefly. I was bumped to 3rd, and remained there for quite some time, but ended up finishing in 6th. I couldn’t be happier about this finish either – it’s my best result to date, when competing with women of all ages.
That night, the competitors gathered one last time, and whiled away our last hours dancing together, celebrating the victories, consoling the disappointments, valuing each others’ company. This morning, I woke up bright and early to catch my flight…and in about 17 hours, I’ll be home. It has been an amazing journey, and I will treasure the memories I made here for a very long time.
Peace,
Hailey

Tacen, The Trashings

2010-09-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

A short film I put together of some of the best paddlers in the world, displaying some of the best wipe-outs in the world!

Tacen, Slovenia and World Championships Training

2010-09-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

Getting to town: Slovenian Style!

Lake Bled (Above) and practicing (Below)

Slovenia is very much like Wisconsin in the Fall. Cold and windy, bright sunlight, crisp air, laiden apple trees - the main difference for me has been that I am here, training for World Championships, rather than starting my Junior Year of High School...which has caught me by surprise! Due to some crazy politics, I found out about my attendance of World Championships two days before I left. My family took it in stride though, and I gound myself on a plane headed to Slovenia a day later!
I am here now, boarding in a Slovenian Police Academy (I definitely know I am safe!), with men and women from all over the globe: Australians, Hungarians, Ukranians, Spaniards, Togo-ans (?!)....basically, quite a diverse group. I have been fortunate enough to spend my days training with other talented Women on the challenging whitewater of Tacen, under the instruction of our three comical French Coaches, Medhi Deguil, Jonathan Marc, and Pierrick Goesselin. They have been wonderful, and helpful, and hilarious at the same time - I feel quite fortunate to have such great coaching!
We've been spending our time off wandering into Ljubljana, the capitol of Slovenia, and a beautiful, ancient city. Also, much time has been spent at the best restaurant in all of Slovenia - possibly, all of Europe - the Kaval Club. I personally adore their Black Truffle Pizza, but the other canoeists highly recommend their Ravioli :-)
I still have several days before the actual competition begins, so I will be training hard and trying to keep energized, while enjoying every minute of my time here!
See you on the river,
Hailey
P.S. I don't have photos of me paddling this time, because I came (for the first time!) solo...and it's quite tricky to take photos of yourself while you're paddling :-)

Midwest Freestyle Championships

2010-08-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

P.C.: Nora Whittemore, Editing: Hailey Thompson

The Midwest Freestyle Championships were a wonderful competition held in local Wausau, Wisconsin. It was refreshing to find myself among fun-loving and lighthearted competitors. I trained and practiced in the days leading up to the camp and recieved quality coaching from Jackson Kayak's Colin Kemp. Training with the local playboating gurus was a lot of fun, and a top-notch learning experience - and there is always more to learn.

Once the weekend rolled around, I was stoked and ready to compete. Over the course of the week I had learned to Space Godzilla and Backloop (two of the more difficult tricks to perform) and I was anxious to display my new skills. During Preliminary rides, I laid down some solid tricks, including multiple spins, cartwheels, and two Frontloops. These rides got me into the top five, and Semifinals the next day.

The following day also hosted the famed Boater-X event: like rollerderby, only in kayaks. Competitors are released in groups of six, and they race down the river. Anything goes, you just have to be the first one to pass the finish line. I was in a lineup with five men...so basically, when the starting flag dropped, I got the heck out of there so as not to be crushed under all of them. The positive side effect of this was that I got pretty far ahead of all of them, and finished first. The rest of the heats went, and I was put into the Finals line-up. With all guys, again. So, I went with my first tactic - paddle hard, get away. It was working too, with the exception of one detail. In the middle of the race run, you have to circle a buoy, basically, to add dificulty to the race. The preliminary run, I circled it without error. In the finals, I began to circle the buoy, only to have it bob under my kayak. When it resurfaced, it was on the wrong side of my boat, meaning I would have to go back to circle it properly. As I considered doing this, I looked upstream to see all six of the other finalists hauling down the river towards me. Noting that I didn't desire being squashed by men twice my size, I decided to skip the buoy and get out of there. I still crossed the finish line far ahead of the other competitors, but was disqualified for the buoy incident - oh well :) I had so much fun that the final order didn't much matter to me.

Semifinals and Finals were around 1:00. I hopped in my boat and warmed up a bit, then quietly waited for the rides to begin. When they rolled around, I laid down two very solid semifinals rides, which bumped me into third - and top 3 enter finals. In Finals, however, all of the women were getting fairly tired, and we all had mediocre rides. In the end, however, I was able to snag second place! Pretty exciting for one of my first freestyle competitions.

To top it all of: at the awards ceremony, a raffle is held, the top item being a boat - and guess what?! For the first time ever, I got lucky at a raffle! I am now an owner of a brand-new kayak. Pretty stoked :)

See you on the river,

Hailey

Paddling Instruction

2010-08-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Photos: Sasha Staniski

Since returning from my great adventure in Europe, I have had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer and work as a kayak instructor for young students. I really enjoy working with kids, especially, to teach them the basics and advanced skills involved in paddling. They are forever enthusiastic and appreciative, and nothing is more rewarding than seeing them light up when they learn to roll or ferry.
Soon after I got home, I volunteered for several days at the beginners paddling camp in Wausau, Wisconsin, called the Ray McClain Camp. I had a great time, and worked with the smaller girls in the camp who were learning basic ferrying, rolling, and river running skills. They had a wonderful time - and so did I! On my own I have been working with several pupils - one was a 12-year-old boy from Berlin, Germany, (Willie) who was an absolute joy to work with.
To top it all, this past weekend I was able to go back the the summer camp that I attended when I was younger, to teach campers there whitewater skills. I had an amazing time, and was overjoyed to be back in one of my favorite places in the world, surrounded by great campers and counsellors.
It's wonderful being home now, spending time in the water, and being able to spread the paddling love...
See you on the river!

Junior World Championships, Foix, France

2010-07-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Podium!

Hiking outside of Foix: Just like 'The Sound of Music'

The purple boat...

Practice....

Carrying up...

As I drive north to Prague, the vineyards, sunflower plots, and lavender fields of Southern France flash past my window. I leave Foix with something close to reluctance – my time there was wonderful. Training with the U.S. Junior Team and the international C1 Women was invigorating and challenging, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, along with being in such a beautiful place - nestled in the Midi-Pyrenees, with a glacial river, in an ancient town overshadowed by a castle. After over a month, I am ready to return home though. But before I move on – I will describe the results of Junior World Championships – the best race of my life.
Junior World Championships is the most prestigious event I have had the opportunity to attend, the only exception being Senior Worlds. The competitors were multiple, talented, and from all over the globe. I was fortunate enough to compete alongside the most capable C1W’s in the world, as well as to befriend them.
Prior to the races, the city of Foix hosted a jaw-dropping Opening Ceremonies. All of the Nations paraded through the center of the town, through cheering crowds. It was almost a surreal experience, and it was very fun to be there, with my team, and all of the foreign competitors.
Thursday was the Women’s Kayak and Men’s Double Canoe, so I had the day off. The following day, Friday, was Preliminary heats for Women’s Canoe, Men’s Canoe, and Men’s Kayak – I was on. I took my first run and finished devastated by a 50 second penalty. My second run wasn’t much better, although it got me into Semifinals. I finished the day disappointed – I had been anticipating a top-10 finish, and I was in 16th. I needed to clean up my act if I wanted in on Finals.
Semifinals rolled around. The course had changed slightly, although the main crux move was still in place – a heinous wave crossing leading into a deceptive off-set. I walked the course multiple times with mentors, and planned. Finally, I was ready. I took my run. It was clean with the exception of a touch, and I directly approached moves that the other girls looped around. I had made up the time I needed, and moved up to 5th – top-10, and Finals!
I approached Finals with a light heart. No matter what, I knew I was top-10. I could have a stellar run, or a poor run, and I knew I would be happy…although one always hopes to reach the podium. I realistically thought I might not make it. I recharged, and then took my finals run. I don’t know entirely what happened, but adrenaline works wonders. I dropped my time from 169 to 155. Finishing, I was happy, and past the point of caring about placement. But I miraculously clung to 1st place until the very last two paddlers, Chinese and Australian. Shocked, and overjoyed, I realized that I had a medal. Bronze!
The Medals Ceremony was lovely, and overwhelming. I’m still sort of shocked. It was definitely the competition of a lifetime.
With Gratitude,
Hailey
P.S. Special thanks to Laurri and Medhi, the French International Canoe Coaches; Tom and Trish Littman, for their wonderful homes; Klasinski Clinic and Team Schierl; Darren Bush, Lili Colby, Brian Cook, Tyler Lawlor, Jim Miller, Lynn Rowe, Jessica Lynds, and Dinver McClure, for their exceptional support; My Grandmothers, for their kindness and love; and last, but not least – my wonderful, loving Parents. You are the ones that help make this happen.

Training in Foix, France

2010-07-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Tucked in the foothills of the MidiPyrenees is a small French town called Foix. The narrow cobblestone streets are lined with houses over 500 years old, that lean over you as you stroll beneath them. Then, overlooking the city is Chateau D'Foix, a castle that was initially built in the year 1000 A.D. I've spent the last week and a half in this quaint little city, training for the Junior World Championships.
Training has taken place on a local river which is fed by the snowmelt of the surrounding mountains. The water is big, wavy, and powerful - a drastic change from La Seu D'Urgell. I am learning to love it though, and I look forward to my last two days of training before the race.
The race is this weekend. I will take Preliminary runs on Friday, and Semi-Finals and Finals runs on Sunday.

I will check in as soon as I can. For now,

Hailey

Seu World Cup

2010-07-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

After spending a week training in the lovely Pyrenees, and living in the local school, La Salle, World Cup #3 began.

Yesterday, Saturday, preliminary runs were held. The course was a tricky, off-set spotted thing, that supposedly favored right-handed C1s...despite this, I had a slow and yucky first run, and an absolutely horrendous second run (I flipped at the bottom of the course and missed four gates : / ). I was pretty bummed last night, finishing a dissapointing 18th, and barely making semis. They set the Semi-Finals and Finals course after preliminary runs. I walked it several times with other C1s, and although it looked intimidating, I was pretty determined to just go all out the next day...better to have lost trying than to have not tried at all, eh?
So today, I went down to the course, cheered on a couple of team mates, and then hopped in the boat to warm up pre-race. Seu is lovely, and the warm-up area is this gorgeous pool and canal with a fountain, all of the nations flags fluttering about, and the pyrenees mountains surrounding it. As I paddled around, it really occured to me how awesome this situation is - regardless of my penalty points, race results, etc. - to even be where I am, competeing against so many incredibly talented women in canoes!
I laid down a solid Semi-finals run. It wasn´t quite as fast as I had hoped (I guess that is an automatic athlete response :) but I only had two touches. I hurried to cheer on the other ladies, and once all was said and done, I looked at the score board to see that I had finished 11th. One spot out of finals, but I´ve got to admit, I am more than happy with that result. I was very proud of my fellow competitors, and I can´t wait to catch up to them :)
Tomorrow, I will head to Foix, France (a nice short drive of 2 hours - the drive from Prague to here was more like 18) for Junior Worlds where I will see how I stack up against competitors my age. I am really excited to meet new paddlers from all over the globe - that is probably one of the best parts about competing internationally - the boundless camraderie one experiences.

Prague to Seu

2010-06-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

With my team mate, Caroline Queen....

Coming into the hardest gate on the course...

Prague: The Start Gate

I’m now sitting at the café overlooking the whitewater course in La Seu D’Urgell, Spain. We had a wonderful journey from Prague, stopping overnight in Baaden Baaden, Germany and Carselle, France. The roads wound through stunning mountains studded with ancient castles carved out of the stones.
The Prague World Cup wasn’t my most successful race. I finished 14th in the semifinals…just missing finals. I was very disappointed in myself. It’s been difficult, but I am very happy to be racing against so many incredibly talented C1W’s. I’m still mulling things over, trying to debrief my feelings regarding the race, but I’m discovering that I can learn just as much from missing the podium as I can from standing atop it.
This week I will be training on the course here at La Seu. Its fun, squirrelly whitewater and I’ve missed it since last years’ World Championships. The ICF (International Canoe Federation) will be hosting a training camp for C1W’s prior to the race, so I will take part in that to prepare for this weekend’s World Cup.
Thanks for checking in, I’ll be updating again soon, and I’ll see you on the river!

Prague World Cup Preliminary Day

2010-06-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

After a week of enjoyable training on the Troja Slalom Course in Prague, CZ, the days of racing began. Today was Preliminary runs, determining the racers who will progress to Semifinals, and possibly Finals tomorrow. I did my usuall pre-race preparation - walking the course, talking it over with my fellow athletes, and getting plenty of sleep the night before. This morning I woke up, walked the course, watched pre-runs, warmed up, and then hit the course for my first run. My first run was clean, but not nearly as fast as it needed to be. I finished feeling unsatisfied and longing for the speed that I lacked. After my first run I went inside and got warm, and tried to remove my mind from the race for an hour before my second run. When the time rolled around, I warmed up and went through my race plan in my mind again. I went all out on my second run - directing gates I had spun, and throwing far more gutsy moves than on my first run. All went well until gate 11...then I drove right by a gate. I was shocked, and severely bummed out - I knew I had just blown a good run. I went back for the gate, and gave the rest of the course my all, but my run still wasn't made up in my mind or on the stopwatch. I finished the day sitting in 13th - so I'll advance to Semis, but I'll have to step up my race in order to make top 10 and advance to Finals tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for checking in - I'll let you know how tomorrow goes!

United States Sports Academy: Athlete of the Month

2010-06-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have received the incredible honor of being voted the U.S. Sports Academy Athlete of the Month.
The award is given to one man and one woman, of any age, nationality, or sport, each month. Six men and women are nominated, and then the voting process begins. I was fortunate enough to be nominated by my good friend, and fellow female canoeist, Pamela Boteler, and then was further blessed to be voted for by enough people to put my name at the top of the list. It means a great deal to me to have won this award, and I want to say thank you to all of the supportive people who gave me their vote.

To see the results:
http://ussa.edu/publications/news/2010/06/07/kenyan-marathon-rookie-american-paddling-prodigy-win-academys-may-athlete-of-the-month-honors/

Flatwater Practice with my Training Partner

2010-06-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a little clip of my usual training session. I'm the first paddler...then there's a pause, and then my training partner took his run. I've got to admit, I'm jealous of his solid technique.

The Last Days of Home

2010-06-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm getting the final preparations in before we head over to Europe - squeezing in my last training sessions, packing up, and savoring my last couple of days at home. I'll miss this wonderful pocket of Wisconsin, with the bubbling stream in my backyard, the lupines and daisies in our wildflower garden, and the luscious green woods that surround our home. I'll miss my friends, and my family, but I'm terribly excited to begin this chapter of my adventure! Wish me luck, and I'll check in again soon!

Wausau Release with the Molan

2010-06-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

I got to hop in a Pyranha Molan today! It is a lovely boat, with quick, clean, responsive lines - and I had fun! Here's a shot my dad, Michael Thompson, caught of me while I was playing...

European Races

2010-06-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

This summer is approaching faster than I could have imagined! I've been training constantly, finishing up my Sophomore year of High School, and getting ready to head over to Europe for the Races I will be competing in this summer - the World Cups in Prague, Czech Republic, and Seu, Spain, the Junior World Championships in Foix, France, and the World Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
I fly out on Saturday, June 12th, and I'm incredibly excited to get to travel and compete in new places. I am competing, and keeping close to heart that not only do I want to race to the best of my abilities - I want to be a good ambassador, for my country, and for my sport.

Thanks for checking in!
See you on the river,

Hailey

U.S. National Team Trials

2010-05-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

2nd Place: Caroline Petersen, 1st Place: Hailey Thompson, 3rd Place: Mickie Reeves

For a refreshing change, the U.S.A. National Witewater Canoe Team Trials were held in my home state of Wisconsin this season - and I was spared the drive cross-country to the event! Several of my friends, fellow competitors, stayed with me and my family in Stevens Point, and the event was made better by our shared friendship and support for one another.
I spent the week leading up to team trials diligently training for the competition, in addition to attending my AP classes in the morning - quite a juggling act, and it made for an energy draining week! It was wonderful having trials so close to home, but I found difficulties because being at home was far more distracting than being away and solely focused on the trials. Friday, April 30th was the first day of team trials. I knew the course exceptionally well, but I could tell I wasn't as rested as I should have been. To add to my energy dilemma, I chose to paddle not only womens' canoe, but also womens' kayak. Two classes in a team trial means 4 race runs per day, rather than 2...over the course of 3 days, that rate would have been exhausting. Because of this, I felt that my runs were solidly mediocre, although my friends and family insisted that I had performed well. I finished Friday's competition in 2nd for C1W - and feeling very dejected. Saturday I woke feeling determined and motivated. I wanted desperately to perform excellently, and my first canoe run was solid. I had two touches, but I was much faster, and made up the time. Because I felt so good, I elected to skip my first kayak run, and
conserve energy for my second canoe run. This worked astonishingly well, and I laid down another solid run n(even faster!) and then took my second kayak run as an enjoyment/cool down run. I had needed those two solid runs to move me up to first boat - and it worked. I finished Day 2 30 seconds ahead of the next female competitor.
Sunday, the third and final day, came bright, hot, and preposterously windy. The course was painfully long. The course worked for me however, and I put down two speedy-fast canoe runs (once again electing to skip my first kayak run). After the second C-1 run, I hung in first place and for the first time ever, I claimed first boat on the U.S. Senior and Junior National Team in womens' canoe! I also made the Junior National Team in my kayak, for the first
time.
Team Trials was an ordeal, a challenge, but also a growing experience. I felt incredibly fortunate to compete alongside such talented athletes as I was given the opportunity to. I can't wait to see where this journey shall take me!
See you on the river,

Hailey

The U.S. Open and the Charlotte Open

2010-04-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

This spring my family and I made the annual pilgrimage back to the mountains of North Carolina for two of my favorite races of the season – the U.S. Open and the Charlotte Open. I love these races primarily because they are a challenging but enjoyable re-entry to the racing circuit after a long winter on the snow, and it’s always fun to see the members of the paddling community again. We arrived in the misty Blue Mountains surrounding the Nantahala Gorge a week before the U.S. Open. I spent the week training hard on the chilly waters of the Nantahala River. Entering the race weekend I felt confident and comfortable on the course…the first day of racing hit me like a bag of bricks. I was racing both Women’s Kayak and Women’s Canoe, and in both classes I consistently failed to smoothly complete moves that I had made in practice. I was frustrated, and realized that I needed to change my racing approach on the day of Finals. Finals day challenged me – mentally, but also as a difficult course – however, my race runs were clean and quick, and I pulled in a 4th in Women’s Kayak and a 1st in Women’s Canoe. I was pleased with the race – although as a competitor, I’m always seeking perfection – and sad to be leaving the beautiful Gorge, but excited to hit the road to Charlotte to train for the World Ranking Race, the Charlotte Open. Charlotte is home to the U.S. National Whitewater Center, the most difficult and demanding artificial whitewater course in North America. It has a tendency to run race nerves higher than usual – but for some unknown reason, Charlotte also happens to be one of my favorite courses on earth. I trained with several other C1W’s, and enjoyed coaching from Joel McCune and Cathy Hearn, as well as the camaraderie of the generous and loving paddling family that exists in Charlotte. The training week flew by, in a blur of sunny 80 degree days filled with long, hard sessions on solid whitewater – my idea of heaven – and I was anticipating race weekend with a static buzz of nervous and excited energy. The course set for the preliminary day of racing was deceptively simple; easy gates on difficult whitewater, which could have tricked me if I hadn’t raced at Charlotte before. I was racing only the C1W class, and I laid down a totally clean and fairly quick run. I laid down an even faster run in the afternoon, but received and unfortunate penalty for missing a gate. I finished the first day of racing in first place, and moved on to Semi-Finals. The Semi-Finals course was composed of more difficult moves, but ones I had been practicing all week, and felt confident with. My Semi’s run was not nearly as fast or clean as I would have liked, but it landed me in second, to Canadian C1W, Sindy Audet, a good friend and great competitor. I moved on to Finals. I rested up and rehydrated, then hit the course for my run. It flew by. I was still not as clean as I would have liked, but I finished 89 seconds ahead of the next C1W, and I received my second first place in two weeks.
I have had a great beginning to my 2010 racing season – 1st place finishes at both the U.S. Open and the Charlotte Open – I hope it carries through!

Outdoor Nation

2010-02-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

I've been given the incredible opportunity to become an Ambassador for Outdoor Nation - a community that encourages youth to become involved with the outdoors. This association is one that I feel really good about. Getting more teens active and passionate about their natural surroundings is an exceptional undertaking, and one that I have personally believed in for years. To support the nation, and their mission, please join the online community at*:
http://www/outdoornation.org/
*and if you wouldn't mind, in the box asking for which organization referred you to Outdoor Nation, please choose 'Other' and enter: HThompson
Along with Outdoor Nation's good vibes, I'm gearing up for Canoecopia 2010! Canoecopia is a fantastic event in Madison, Wisconsin, held from March 12-14 at the Alliant Energy Center. Canoecopia is sponsored by Rutabaga Paddlesport Shop, and is one of the world's largest canoeing expos. Speakers, vendors, and paddling movie premiers are all a part of this fun-packed three-day weekend. If you have never experienced a Canoecopia before, you may want to pencil this into you calendar.

The Winter

2010-02-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Abby Devita, Olivia Steinmetz, Hailey Thompson, Chase Benzine, and Gibson Hladky

Skating up a hill at the Iola Norseman...

My wonderful ski team....

Skiing in my backyard....

Winter has always been a season for me to contemplate my past season, and plan for my next, but it is also a time for me to savor living in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I love everything about this season, from the quiet peaceful snow that covers the woods to the way the sun rises over the frozen lake. Not only do I love this season for the serenity it brings, but also, the opportunity. I find my life to be consumed by paddling in the spring, summer, and fall (not that I'm complaining), but the winter brings me the chance to swap my paddle for poles, and my boat for skis.
So, in addition to dedicating myself to my school work, I've been skiing up a storm. I am a member of the Iola-Scandinavia Nordic Ski Team, where I Skate ski and Classic Ski three times a week, and race for on weekends at State-wide Highschool competitions. Nordic Skiing is an incredible sport - not only for the enjoyment I find in it, but for the intense dedication and endurance it demands. Nordic is a gift. I have the opportunity to really enhance my strength and endurance, while enjoying the company of other teens on the team who love the outdoors.
As well as Nordic Skiing, I have been weight training. I had to make the difficult decision of working with a new trainer this season. My former trainer, Jennifer Dombrowski, is a wonderful woman, without whom I never would have gotten to where I am. The decision was made by the fact that the Lake Placid Strength and Conditioning Coach for Canoe and Kayak works in my home town. Kevin Ebel is his name, and he has had a lot of experience training Elite-Level Canoe and Kayak athletes. I realized that I would be able to attain a high level of performance working with Kevin, and working with him has been very rewarding so far.
On top of all of these activities, I've still been getting in a little time on my Telemark Skis. I've telemarked since I was ten years old - skied since I could walk - and I love it. I still dream of that 'someday trip' out West, floating through 6-foot-deep powder...but that will have to wait.
I hope all of you who read this have the opportunity to get outside and savor the winter!
Peace,
Hailey

National Championships/U.S. Open 2009

2009-10-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Exactly one week ago, I drove to the regional airport at 4 am and hopped on a plane to Charlotte, North Carolina. I'll admit, it was a little unexpected, I hadn't planned on attending Nationals this year, because of all of the school I had already missed for World Championships...but, I had come home from school one day to find a plane ticket waiting, and I am not one to turn down a racing opportunity!
So, on Wednesday I arrived in Charlotte around noon, caught a ride to the Whitewater Center with Stacy Hepp (a wonderful member of USA Canoe Kayak), and got down to training! I hadn't been at Charlotte for six months, but I figured that my entire summer of whitewater experience had to count for something. It definitely did, because when I got out onto the competition channel, I was making moves I hadn't previously considered, with ease...what a blast! I continued training on Thursday with fellow paddlers Colleen Hickey and Catie Vuksich (both of whom generously provided me with home stays), and then went to boat control. My gear passed all of the regulations, and I was good to go, I just had to wait and see what course Cathy Hearn (USA's Canoe Coach) would set for the following day's race. My fellow athletes and I were happy when we finally saw the course, because most of the difficult gates were located on the upper half of the whitewater channel, not on the lower section, which is nicknamed "Carnage Corner" for a reason.
I walked the course by myself, making mental notes of how I planned on making each gate, and then I walked the course again with my friend and peer coach, Joel McCune, who helped me solidify my plan. By the time I fell asleep Thursday night, I was feeling confident that I could have an amazing Qualifications Day Race!
Friday came around, and I had to wait until 5:00 in the evening before the race began. I walked the course again, warmed up, and finally, the time rolled around for me to take my first run. I was pleased when I aced the first six gates on the course, but then, I blanked. Going into gate 7, I couldn't remember my line. In my moment of hesitation, I lost the opportunity and I missed the gate. The rest of my run was mediocre, and I finished with the dull feeling of disappointment. I got out of my wet gear, re hydrated and snacked, re-walked the course, discussed with my coach, Cathy Hearn, and then got myself stoked for my second run. I forced myself to entirely forget about my first run, and when I got into the start gate, I just had that feeling, that I knew it was going to be a good one.
My second run passed in a blur. Every stroke, every gate, just fell into perfect place. Not even a touched gate. I finished 1st, with the next competitor in my class 32 seconds behind me...not bad at all! To top it all, along with my making finals, all of my friends had also had impressive race runs, and were also progressing.
Finals Day (Saturday) arrived, and I woke up early to go see the new course that had been set before demonstration runs.The course was incredibly challenging, obviously set with the idea that the top boats were going to have to go all or nothing. I watched former Olympians missing and touching gates-it was intimidating. But, I stuck to my routine, walking, discussing, and analyzing the course, and found myself feeling quite good in the start gate that evening. My first run was fair. I directly manoeuvred the first 3 gates on the course-but then cut a line too close, tried to duck my head under a gate, and missed it- then continued on to speed through the rest of the gates. I knew it was a solid run, minus the missed gate. I knew I could make that gate.
Finals run came faster than I could have imagined possible. I was in my element however, and with adrenaline coursing through me, I powered my way through each and every gate, not taking the time to contemplate what I was doing, just driving. I finished my run in a state of elation! I hadn't touched a gate, and had just beat not only the Women's Canoe category, but half of the Men's category as well!
Standing on the podium that night, I couldn't have been happier. I still feel like I'm on cloud nine, and I've been home for several days now. What a great end to my season!

I would like to add how proud I was of my friends, Peter Lutter, for finishing 4th in the Men's Kayak Category, and Tyler Hinton, for finishing 3rd in the Men's Solo Canoe Category. Great racing you guys!

World Championships

2009-09-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I can’t say that I know where to begin. This European adventure has been one of the best experiences I have ever had. From Switzerland, to Slovenia, to Spain, I’ve gotten to paddle on incredible courses, meet exceptional people, and immerse myself in diverse cultures.
I came into World Championships with three solid weeks of training under my belt. Walking the course that had been set on the night before Qualifications, I felt pretty confident in my ability to execute clean, fast runs. I was, absolutely scared out of my wits (“Holy cow, this is WORLDS!”), but confident all the same.
I had a bad first run on Qualification day. I was always just a tad off my line, and would have to scramble to make the moves that I had competently made during practice. It was no good. I knocked myself back into line for second runs though, and brought myself up from a dissatisfying (not to mention, barely qualifying) 17th, to 13th. I was really pleased.
The next day was the day of Team runs. My team was composed of all three U.S. Women’s C1s; Myself, Carolyn Petersen, and Micky Reeves. I was able to calm down a lot, and laid down my best runs (I wished I had done so the previous day!), but my team mates were not so lucky, and they ended up accumulating several missed gates…I was a little bummed, to tell the truth, I had been stoked about my first clean runs.
Today was the day of Semi-Finals and Finals. Only the top ten boats were to progress on to finals, and the course had been changed from the previous two days to a far more challenging one. If I had been nervous on Qualifications day, I was really feeling the heat today. I aced the first four gates on the course. But then, I lost my edge coming into the fifth, flipped (I have never regretted flipping more), washed down past two gates, and rolled. I came up in an eddy, and decided, to heck with it, I wasn’t going to quit, so I attained back up a drop, got the two gates, and continued on to the seventh gate. My composure was shot, and I missed both the eighth and ninth gates (I fought like hell to get them, but just couldn’t do it). I was devastated, but pulled it together enough to finish strong (the ridiculous part is that the bottom of the course had the hardest gates on it).
I finished 14th. Not well enough to get into finals. Although I was upset, I realized, it was not because I wasn’t going to the podium. It was because I knew my potential, and it just didn’t happen this time. Not for lack of trying, either. But the C1 Women I was up against are phenomenal paddlers. I stayed throughout finals, sprinting up and down the side of the course, yelling my head off for those ladies who made top 10. And I couldn’t be more proud. Not of them, not of me. We all did our absolute personal best today. True, I’m disappointed that I’m not on that podium tonight. But if anything, this experience has simply made me want to work harder for next year’s Worlds. This has made me realize, that it is not only about the gold. It’s about all of the experiences it takes to get to the top.
In conclusion, I’ve loved every second of this trip. I have learned a lot about myself, as a paddler, competitor, and person. I’ve figured out my strengths, but also my weaknesses. I have a lot of work to do in the upcoming year, but it is a challenge I’m ready to seize.

Training at la Seu d'Urgell

2009-09-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

Spain has been incredible. I know I seem to be repeating myself a lot in recent blog posts, but this European trip has been one of the best experiences of my life. I have been here in La Seu d'Urgell for almost two weeks now, training, and World Championships are this weekend (eeak!). I'm feeling well prepared.
To kick things off at Seu, the International Canoe Federation (ICF) hosted a Women's Canoe camp, with help from the best coaches in the world. There were 22 women in attendance from 15 different countries, and the improvement was exponential.
I had an excellent time training with all of the other women, and felt my paddling skills expanding, as well as thoroughly enjoying all of the camaraderie. I was sad when the camp came to its' end and I had to go back to my regular training slot.
But training with my country is going quite well, I'm training with U.S.A. C1W's Carolyn Petersen, and Micki Reeves, coached by Cathy Hearn.
The culture here in Spain is awesome, and I've had a lot of fun. At the close of the C1W camp, Seu held its Festival of Fire, a crazy night of flame and dancing. The past two days were my days off and I went to Barcelona, seeing the famous buildings of Gaudi, the elegant Plaza Real, mystical Ancient City, and pounding nightlife of Las Ramblas, staying with good friends from Barcelona: Alvaro, Yolanda and Otis. When I returned from Barcelona, it felt so good to be back in the mountain village of La Seu. I returned to the school where I am staying, La Salle and heard singing in the hallway. I found friends Mel from Togo, Johnny from Nigeria, Alice from the U.K. and we sang into the evening....
Now I'm getting my final preparations for Worlds in order; I'm so excited for the final stage of this incredible journey!

Pre-Worlds in Tacen, Slovenia

2009-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Bouncing through some waves

Beautiful Slovenian Gardens

In front of the course at Tacen

Getting a lot of air off of a surge at the Top Drop

Reaching for a cross-bow stroke

The Top Drop at Tacen

Tacen, Smlednik, and Ljubljana, Slovenia have got to be some of the most beautiful places on earth. The towering, snow-capped Julian Alps, the frothy, turquoise rivers, small organic farms, incredible food (black truffle pizza, yumm!), and friendly locals are making my time here unforgettable. I arrived here late Monday night, too late for training, but we pulled into our hotel, the Hotel Kanu (!), and got a great night sleep before my training slot the next day.
The course at Tacen is HUGE. The top drop is a massive slide, that descends about 25 vertical feet over the course of 30 feet…and it’s about a foot deep! So flipping over is a very unattractive option. I was a part of the USA/Slovakia hour-long training slot on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then we had a 30 minute-long training slot on Friday morning before the course was set. Three and a half hours was not a lot of time to train on such a huge, challenging course, but I felt fairly good about my paddling coming into the race on Saturday morning. I had walked the course multiple times with my coach, Silvan Poberaj, and on my own, watched Demo-boats, and video, and was as mentally prepared as I was going to get.

PRE-WORLDS, DAY 1
Waking up on Saturday morning, I was nervous. That terrible, butterfly-like, why-do-I-do-this feeling. And that was no good. My run was later on in the morning, so I had plenty of time to ruminate on how nervous I was. Needless to say, I hyped myself up too much, and it reflected poorly on my first run, where I received two unnecessary fifty-second, missed gate penalties.
I was devastated. But I knew I had to pull myself together if I wanted to come back on my second run. I rested up, grabbed some calories, rehydrated, warmed up, and was fully ready for my second run.
At the start gate, I was there. There is this tangible sensation, where you know what you’re capable of, you know that the results aren’t really what matters, and it’s how you handle the journey. I knew what I was up against, women, incredible paddlers, the next youngest being twenty-one (I am fifteen). So, I began.
I did what I knew I was capable of, and finished in fourth place! I was thrilled! Semifinals and Finals were the next day.

PRE-WORLDS, DAY 2
Sunday morning was far better. I woke up calm and rested, and had an early morning run…no time to freak myself out. The course set was harder, an intense off-set move through the hole at the bottom of the top drop, and a tricky surf across a stopper-hydraulic to catch two gates, at the bottom of the course. And yet, I knew I could do it.
I got to the course, walked it once more, watched Demonstration runs, and then warmed up. My run rolled around, and I was ready. I had a very respectable run, and was surprised to find myself in second place at the end of Semifinals!
I had a two hour break before my final run, so I got as rested and refreshed as possible. The time finally came, and I gave it my all. I had a very good run, totally clean, no penalties, but I spent a little too much time surfed in a hole (I lost about five seconds there), and finished in a satisfying fourth place.
Now I am at a hotel on the border of Slovenia and Italy (Novo Gorica), on my way to Spain. I am sad to be leaving such a wonderful country as this, but I hope that someday my travels will bring me back to my home away from home; Slovenia.

Tacen, Slovenia

2009-08-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is a short clip of my first practice run down the massive upper drop at the course in Tacen, Slovenia...not too bad!

The European Adventure, Part 1

2009-08-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

Europe is, in a word, amazing.
The first day we arrived, we went to Lake Geneva, had a breakfast of Swiss Breads, Fruits, Chocolates, and coffee. That was before we plunged into the aquamarine-coloured lake, and swam around a 1800’s style lighthouse. When we finished our refreshing swim, we (My family and our Swiss host family) walked all around the ancient city of Geneve.
It was incredible; every building we saw, was at least four centuries old. We toured a beautiful chapel, St. Peters, which was built in the 1500’s, and then continued on, stopping for Gelato, before heading to a local bridge above La Rhone River.
La Rhone is yet another gorgeous body of water, turquoise in color, and swift of speed. The bridge spanning it was about thirty-five feet high, and perfect for jumping. So we did. It was incredibly fun, and we floated down La Rhone for about a kilometer before hopping out and heading to a local “super-store” for dinner ingredients.
Swiss “super-stores” are nothing like American ones. In the Cheese section, they have mammoth rolls of cheese. Not just Cheddar and Monteray-Jack either. There were so many cheeses, (ones I have never heard of) that you could spend days, just reading the labels. The bread section was literally warmer than the rest of the store, rising a few degrees, because of how hot and fresh the loaves were. In other words, the food here, is amazing.
Our Host family prepared a classic Swiss meal for us, Raclett, which is a special kind of cheese, melted, then poured over Potatoes, onions, pickles, and dried beef. Not exactly light on calories, but delicious.
Yesterday we traveled to Chamonix, and hiked around Mont Blanc. It was breath-taking. I love the Alps so much, I wish I could stay here far longer.
Now, I am traveling over the French and Italian countryside, which is quite spectacular, where ancient castles are as common as silos on the roadside, except the fields are terraces, covered in grape vines, rather than corn rows. We are headed to Ljubljana, the capitol of Slovenia, near where Pre-Worlds will be held in Tacen (which is a small town). Hopefully, I will arrive in time to train tonight. Then I will spend the next four days preparing and training for the Race this weekend on the course at Tacen. I’ll be in touch!

P.S. How cool is this? The hotel I am staying in is called the Hotel Kanu!

Open Canoe Nationals

2009-08-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

I got home from the road, and got straight back into a boat! I began training up at Wausau's Whitewater course shortly after getting home, and paddled through the week until the Open Canoe Nationals rolled around this past weekend.

Open Canoe generally isn't my main focus, but I hopped in and gave it my all, and ended up surprising myself by bringing home first place medals in six categories! It was a pretty thrilling feeling, and I'm grateful to have had the experience.

Check out this article if you would like to read more:

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908030553

Hybridlife

2009-07-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

You know you're a lucky kid if you come home and find a box for you on your doorstep. You know that you are a really lucky kid if that box contains goodies from Keen Footwear.

I have gotten the wonderful opportunity of working with Keen Footwear, and am proud to be able to associate myself with a company that cares as much about the environment, as it does about the quality of their shoes. In other words, they care a lot.

The really cool thing about Keen, is that they encourage everyone to live a Hybridlife. What is a Hybridlife? When you learn, care, play, create, and listen, each day, you are living a Hybridlife.

So go out there. Have fun. Watch the sun set. And, while you're at it, wear some comfy shoes.

The Long Road

2009-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Rodeo on the Ottawa. Photo credit Colin Moneypenney.

With C2 Partner, "Bug" Lokken. Photo credit Jean Buckley.

The Boater-X (Good Carnage). Photo credit Jean Buckley.

One of the Slalom Races. Photo Credit Jean Buckley.

It has almost been a month since I have been home. I will admit, it is definitely nice to be back in Wisconsin, but I have had an incredible summer so far.
I was home for a few days, after FIBArk, and then I took off for Canada in the aptly named "Hippie Bus", loaded full of camping and paddling gear, ready for the Junior Olympic Whitewater Festival, in Ontario, Canada.
We arrived at the first at the Gull River, in Minden, Ontario. This was a gorgeous venue, and really challenging, because it was the site of the 1977 Whitewater World Championships. We stayed there for several days, and I competed in two Slalom races, a Boater-X, and a Freestyle event.
From there, I traveled to the Madawaska Kanu Center, near Barry's Bay, Ontario, where another Slalom Race was held, as well as a Downriver Race. It was a broader, longer course, and definitely left you feeling exhausted after your race runs.
We journeyed on to the Ottawa River, where we camped at Wilderness Tours, and spent several days running the Ottawa and competing in yet another Freestyle event.
From there, we continued on to Ottawa City, where the final Junior Olympic Slalom Race was held at the Pumphouse Whitewater Park.
When the results were calculated, and the awards ceremony occurred, I found myself lucky enough to be named the Junior Olympic Female Champion (also known as the Rivermeisterein) for the third year in a row! It was such an awesome experience, and I felt truly grateful.
After the Canadian Competitions wrapped up, I journeyed South in the Hippie Bus to West Virginia, where I spent a week with family and friends on a farm in the rolling blue mountains, Paddling, Hiking, Bouldering, all told, having a fantastic time.
I have finally gotten home now, and look forward to these next few weeks when I'll be catching up on house work, friends, AP History Homework, and begin my training for the World Championships, in La Seu D' Urgell, Spain. I'll keep you posted!

Doubles Canoe with and Olympic Gold Medalist

2009-06-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to get to paddle with my friend and Olympic Gold Medalist, Joe Jacobi. This photo was taken after our Doubles Canoe Run down the Wausau Course. What a privilege!

FIBArk/WACKO/Home

2009-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Savoring being home

Leading student, Lily Kraft, down the Wausau Dam

The Hooligan Champion Team

(From left: Lauren Buress, Laura Palmer, Sarah Dodge, Hailey Thompson, Henry Heyman, Simon Ranagan, Dane Jackson, and Jack Heyman)

I've been pretty busy lately. On Tuesday, I got home from FIBArk Whitewater Festival, out in Salida, Colorado, where I competed in Wildwater Nationals, Freestyle, Slalom, and Hooligan Rafting. I paddled Pine Creek and the Numbers of the Arkansas (both of which are gorgeous runs). I also managed to bring home some decent results: 3rd at Wildwater Nationals, 4th in Women's Junior Kayak Freestyle, 3rd in Junior Women's Kayak Slalom, 1st in Junior Women's Canoe Slalom, and my raft team won the Hooligan Race!
Once I got home, I began volunteering at the Ray McClain Kayak Camp, teaching begginers how to paddle, which was very satisfying.

After several days of teaching, the annual WACKO race rolled around. I did quite well, bagging 1sts in Canoe and Kayak, and getting the privilege of paddling with Olympic Gold Medalist, Joe Jacobi.

And now, I have a day to be at home and rest before the wandering soul that I've become takes to the road again, this time to Canada and the Junior Olympics...who knows where this journey will take me?

2009 U.S. Senior National Team Trials

2009-05-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

The water was roaring and frigid in Durango, Colorado, last week. 5,600 Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) pumped through the course as slalom kayakers and canoeists struggled to dance across the waves to the gates...needless to say, as soon as I was into my first practice, I knew that it was going to be a very challenging trials race.
Women from all over the country came to compete for slots on the women's canoe senior national team...making this team means getting a chance to compete in the 2009 World Championships, in La Seu De Urgel, Spain.
I had three days to acclimatize and get used to the big pushy water before race day. When Friday rolled around, I felt ready...and then I got on the course.
Friday was possibly the worst race day of my entire life. I didn't make the moves that I thought I was going to ace. I felt sluggish and frustrated. I left the race Friday afternoon, knowing that if I wanted to make team, I was going to have to turn my race around. And so that is precisely what I did.
Coming into the race Saturday, I had a completely different mindset. I focused on having fun, because I knew that the course of Saturday was even bigger and more challenging that the previous days.
I laid down two solid runs, and brought my position from a not-so-satisfying 4th on Friday, right up to a 1st on Saturday! This hugely helped me boost my race plan, and on Sunday, I landed a 2nd place also, enough to get me on the team!
This race was hugely intense, and slightly melancholy, because I'm very sad about my fellow paddlers who were out there, giving it their all, and didn't quite make it this year. It most certainly was not for lack of trying.
And so, my 2009 season has truly taken off. I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity of competing at such a prestigious event as the World Championships, and eternally grateful to my parents, coaches, friends, and sponsors.

Cheat River Race 2009

2009-05-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dropping off the lip of 18-foot Wonder Falls

The Whitewater Wonder Women in Flight

The Massive Mass-Start

West Virginia. The mountains are lush and green, the rivers are roaring, and the people are friendly.
I was lucky enough to go back to my mountainous home for the Cheat River Race, a mass-start (as in 150 paddlers, mass-start) down the 11 miles of roaring class 3 to 5 rapids on the beautiful Cheat Canyon.
I left Wisconsin on Wednesday night, and arrived in Albright, West Virginia at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, where I immediately put on the canyon for a practice run. It went very well (being my first time down the canyon) and I woke up the next morning to put on and do another run. I rested up for the remainder of Friday, then registered for the race with several other teenage girls, as Team Whitewater Wonder Women. We had a great race, our team finishing 6th over all, our top finisher placing second for Women, myself placing 5th for Women, and our final finisher taking a satisfying 7th.
The next morning some friends and I went over to the Cheat River Narrows for some playboating in the explosive hole at Calamity, which was running so high that many of the other rapids had actually washed out. We had a fun morning, then headed back to Albright to hang out at the festival for a while, before taking off for a run on the Little Sandy and Upper Big Sandy.
It was a fun play run, with some slides and ledge drops, but we were really excited for the next day, when we would run Lower Big Sandy.
Lower Big Sandy was running at a pushy 6 feet 6 inches, but we decided it would be manageable. We put on around 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and had a fantastic time on the scenic run, which plunges over 270 feet on its' way down to meet with the Cheat Watershed. My favorite drop was Wonder Falls, a beautifull 18-footer, with lots of fun play above and below the falls.
Sunday afternoon we had to head home, but I am so glad to have had such a wonderful expirience. I can't wait for next years Cheat Race!

Spring Paddling

2009-04-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Michael Thompson

Ahh, the beautiful days of spring have reached the northwoods at last. And that means it's time to go out and hit the creeks! Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of paddling the Dells of the Eau Claire at high water. The familiar box canyon was rumbling and frothing, but lots of fun! I threw my creek boat on the hood of the car, and my dad and I hit the road. We spent a fun afternoon at the playful park-and-huck falls, and got some good pictures too!

Art Exhibit

2009-04-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

I love art. Really. Always have, it's what calms me down.

Recently, I've been trying my hand at scratchboard, an unusual medium which requires you to switch your brain around, and scratch away the areas of light, rather than layering on the areas of dark. The scratchboard is a sheet of metal (alluminum or brass) coated in india ink (an unpleasant black substance that likes to coat your skin).

Anyways, I submitted this piece of myself playboating to my art teacher, who submitted it to an exhibit, who submitted it to it's judges, who decided it was good enough to give it an award of excellence...so the whole submissive process ended up making me feel pretty good.

Junior National Team Trials

2009-04-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Another great week! I trained and playboated at the Nantahala for the week following the U.S. Open. I had a great race to look forward too!

As the week progressed, more junior paddlers (ages 15 to 18) poured into the gorge from all over the country to train and prepare for the race. I was pleased to see more girls out on the river as well!

I trained hard, with my coaches Cathy Hearn and Nic Borst, and when the weekend rolled around I was feeling confident. Race day began, and the course was difficult, but manageable, with a hard boof move over the falls, and some deceptive-looking offset gates.

I laid down a clean kayak run, which put me in first, and a mostly-clean canoe run (one touch), which also had me seated in first place. The afternoon runs were a little more difficult, because I was getting tired, but I finished day one of racing still at the top.

The next morning dawned, perfect racing conditions of 80 degrees and sunny! I was a little apprehensive about the new course, which contained a difficult crossing through a hydraulic, but I performed a clean canoe run, although my kayak run was less-than satisfactory.

My afternoon runs made up for my morning runs, however, and I finished the race in 1st for women's kayak, and 1st for women's canoe!

This was all fantastic, and I was really content with how I did. Unfortunately, the team requirements mandate that in order to make team, your time has to be within a certain percentage of the top men's kayak. This is difficult, because the top men's kayak was a sixteen-year-old who trains full time at the Olympic-caliber Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC.

I was about 10% our of range, so although I was the fastest women's boat, I did not 'technically' make the team.

The good news is that a separate Junior Trip has been planned for this August, and I have been a member selected for that trip, so I have a lot of training and travel to look forward to this season!

Thanks, as always, for reading, supporting, and just checking in! Should be a great, paddling-filled summer!

U.S. Open at Nantahala, NC

2009-04-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

From left: Colleen Hickey (2nd Place), Hailey Thompson (1st Place), Jen Singletary (3rd Place)

The U.S. Open has always been a rather monumental race for me. It was my first major National level race last year, and my first race of 2009 also.

The Nantahala River is located in western North Carolina, in a beautiful and pristine gorge, but it is definitely cold here. I spent the past two weeks here training, getting used to the topography and flow of the water, practicing gates, and mentally preparing.

So, the race weekend finally arrived (March 28-29) and I felt very comfortable on the river at that point. The course that had been set was challenging, with difficult off-set gates, and the weather wasn't cooperating very well either, with temperatures in the mid 40's, rain, and chilling wind, but I came into the race feeling very confident.

My first canoe run came, and I did really well, having a solid time, with only one gate touch. I took a kayak run next, and it didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped.

The afternoon runs rolled around, and I didn't do as well in my C1 (canoe) run as I had in the morning, but my kayak run went far better.

I finished day one in a solid second place in canoe, 2.5 seconds behind the leader, Colleen Hickey, and in first for Women's Junior Kayak.

Day two rolled around, and with the new course set, I laid down an even faster and cleaner first run in my canoe than I had imagined possible. I decided against taking my first kayak run to save energy for the afternoon's runs, where I wanted to go all out.

In the afternoon, I pulled of another very fast and clean C1 run, which had me finishing in first place for Women's Canoes, beating the winner of last years Olympic Team Trials.

I took my second kayak run, and laid down a slightly slower, but totally clean run, which had me finishing fourth for all women, and first for Junior Women's Kayak.

All said, this years U.S. Open was my best race to date, pulling out two first places, and accomplishing some of my greatest goals.

I'll be down here in North Carolina for the next week, finishing up my training in preparation for Junior National Team Trials, which will determine weather or not I travel to France this summer for Junior World Championships. I'll write soon!

The Last Snows and Canoecopia

2009-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Winter! It's gone already? I can barely believe it, but none the less, I'm ready for paddling season to begin.

Ski season was wonderful, I wrapped it up with a 20 Kilometer ski sesson, and I know I'll miss the lovely snow we had this year.

At the same time, I have been packing. On Wednesday, our family hops in the Subaru yet again to journey to North Carolina. We'll make a pit stop in Missourri for the Missourri Whitewater Championships (a great race on a gorgeous river), then continue on to Nantahala, North Carolina where we will dwell for two weeks, paddling and training for the US Open, and the US Junior Team Trials. The US Junior Team Trials will determine weather or not I go to Europe this summer, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

And last, but most definitely not least, Canoecopia was this past weekend. Canoecopia is the largest canoe and kayak expo in the world, and it is hosted by my sponsor, Rutabaga Paddlesports Shop...all in all, it is a complete blast, a time to reconnect with old sponsors, meet new sponsors, and meet a heck of a lot of cool, fun people.

So, follow me in my journeys. I'll keep you updated, as I'm going to try to write while I'm down south, and as always, I love to hear from you!

Peace,

Hailey

The Northern Girl

2009-01-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

From Left: Hailey Thompson, Camber Sannes, Brooke Bougie

In the summer, my lower half seems to be a boat. In the winter, it's becoming skis.

I've been training hard...not only for paddling, now I'm working on my skiing technique. And it's finally paying off! Thanks to my incredible coaches out at the Iola-Scandinavia Ski Club.

My last race was on home turf, on the Iola trails.

Unfortunately, I had fallen fairly hard on my hip the day before (darn ice) and had an unpleasant cold...despite this, I decided to race.

And I'm so glad I did! The race was four kilometers (fairly short) on difficult terrain...but I was familiar with it, and as soon as I began skating, I could feel my rhythm. I took a good place, about mid-front in the group in the first kilometer or so, only to more firmly establish my position towards the middle of the race, when I was holding second. I hung on to second until the very last half-kilometer of the race when a girl passed me going downhill. Still, 3rd was an exceptionally satisfying placement for me, and I can't wait until my next race!

Looking Back

2009-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

As 2008 drew to a close, I found myself recollecting all of the amazing experiences I've had this year! What a lucky person, I keep thinking, to have met the people I have, to have been the places I've been...

The crazy thing is, even though it's the off season, time seems just as scarce for me to come by as it is in the on season! Fall flashed by before my eyes...after the World Series race in Maryland, I hurried home, only to leave a week later for a training block in Denver, Colorado, where I worked with Christopher Weigand for a solid week on slalom, even getting a chance to run a creek up in the mountains...where the water is as cold as the ice in the eddies and the mountain goats leap from one precarious boulder to the next.

Denver was an exceptional training camp, with the help of Coach Weigand, my entire off-side stroke was rebuilt, and became far more efficient!

Soon after, I journeyed down south to Charlotte, NC, where it was schockingly colder than Wisconsin for once. This was over the course of Thanksgiving.

I worked with Coach Cathy Hearn, on Charlotte's incredibly chalenging man-made course...someday I hope to be in complete control on that course. The week was very challenging, both mentally and physically for me, but I felt like I overcame a lot of bariers, and became a much stronger paddler through sessions in the freezing rain and over big drops. It truly was a great expirience.

As I type this, I look out of my window onto four solid feet of snow, and snuggle closer to the crackling fire...my days are now filled with hours of cross country and downhill skiing, both of wich are now becoming just as much passions as they were a way of cross-training. Only three short months now remain before I'll be back in the saddle---or shall I say boat? again.

World Series, The American Open

2008-10-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

The World Series, American Open event was held at ASCI (the same venue as Senior Nationals) and athletes from all over the world were there to compete. The C1W had a full class, yet again. It's very nice to see more ladies out in canoes.

I arrived at ASCI on the 30th of September, and trained through the 2nd of October with the National Canoe Team Coach, Cathy Hearn, and the Front Range Paddling Association Coach, Chris Weigand. My training went very well. They were running the course at higher water levels than I had ever paddled on before, so it became very pushy and technical. But as I spent more time on the water, I began to really like how I performed on that sort of water level.

On Friday the 3rd, first runs were held at 11 am. I was the first boat down the course, and had a very smooth run, with only three touches. My second run was faster, but I had 1 more touch. With that combined score, I was in second, and I would move on to finals the next day, along with two other women.

On Saturday morning, we had Semi-finals. I had a decent run, but I wasn't sure it was going to put me in line for first. The two other women took their runs, one of them, Carolyn Peterson, beat me by 11 seconds, while the other, Micki Reeves, didn't finish the course. Carolyn was in first, and she and I were advancing to finals.

Coming into Finals, I knew I had a lot of time to make up if I wanted to pull ahead, but I kept my mind off of the time I needed to cut down on, and focused on mentally "perfecting" the course.

I had a really nice run, and was pretty clean, as far as I can recall, but looking back, most of it is a blur. I finished smiling, and moments later, Carolyn crossed the finish line. She hadn't had a very clean run, and I was in first.

It was my first International event where I placed No. 1, and I'm absolutely ecstatic!

Upcoming Plans

2008-09-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Alright, well, I've been paddling lots locally, at recreational releases and small races, but next week I'm hitting the road again. I'll be headed back to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland for the American Open Race of the World Series. I'm really excited, not only for the great competition at an international level, but also because I'm going to be watching and competing with Olympics medalists, fresh from Beijing!

After the World Series race, I'll have a few days at home, and then I'm headed out to Denver, Colorado, for some training with the Front Range Paddling Association, and their award-winning coach, Christopher Weigand.

Upper Youghiogheny

2008-09-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

When I was down in Maryland/West Virginia for Nationals, I also spent some time in Pennslyvania, paddling the Upper Youghiogheny, a class IV-V run, with gorgeous scenery, perfect whitewater, and great people. Hopefully I'll get some pictures from it soon.

Just Remember Why

2008-09-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

Senior National Championships

2008-09-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Senior National Championships were held at ASCI (Adventure Sports Center International) wich is an artificial whitewater course in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The course is really unique, because its not only built using concrete, but real rock as well. I went to the course on Monday for training, and met up with Cathy Hearn, my coach, and the other C1W's training for the event. We trained in at least one session every day that week.....training was going really well for me, I was definitely feeling confident on Friday (the day before the race). Saturday rolled around, and I was still feeling good. The race was an afternoon race, so the athletes spent the morning walking and re-walking the course....generally killing time. Once the race started up, I got into my gear, warmed up, and got into the start gate. The first run passed by in a blur, and I came out with the fastest C1W time by a long shot....I was very happy. I made the mistake, however, of racing in the Women's kayak class as well. I came into my second C1 run a little too tired, and a little to apprehensive...the run didn't go very well, and I dropped to third place. In kayak, I finished a satisfying fifth...pretty good for not specializing in that category.

All in all, I felt good about the event, and came out with a bronze at Nationals!

Midwest Freestyle Championships

2008-08-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

The event kicked off with a great playboating clinic, taught by some members of Team Jackson. The clinic lasted for two days, while athletes from all over the Midwest came to train and practice new moves for the championships. The weekend was when the real competition got going. I had been having o.k. training sessions, but I wasn't feeling exceptionally confident.
Saturday morning, we drove up early, and I got ready for Womens' Expert Prelims. I was really nervous, but I turned in a good ride, and finished 3rd---that was great, and I got to finals! After that I started to get a bit more comfortable. After lunch, I competed in the C1 class. There weren't enough of us to have gender separation, so I competed with the boys....I turned in a really smooth run, and ended up placing first (with one of the highest scores a C1 had ever earned at that venue ; D). My next competition on saturday was the Junior Womens. I guess Saturday was my day, because I ended up winning that as well. Sunday started out with team runs. I got together a womens team, and we had a blast, but didn't place. Then came Womens' Expert Finals. I couldn't really pull it together, and handed in a mediocre ride, which brought me in fourth, one slot short of the head to head for final placing. I was disappointed, but I'm ready to give it my all next year! The race organizers held a boater-x, which was a total blast (my wave had some exceptional carnage that may have made its way to YouTube....). All in all, it was an awesome event, and I came out happy with two 1sts and a 4th place. Next up: West Virginia!

Sea Kayaking in the Apostles

2008-08-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful trip! The Apostle Islands are an archipelago in Lake Superior, that are home to some gorgeous sea caves, lighthouses, sunsets, and more....and I just got to spend two weeks sea kayaking there! I was out with five other girls, and we visited 15 of the 18 islands. We put in at Bayfield, WI, and 85.5 miles later, took out in Little Sand Bay, WI. Our trip was determined to make it out to the beautiful, but evasive, Devil's Island, and we got lucky. With great weather, and small waves, we made it all the way. We spent one of our nights there, saw the historic and beautiful light house, and then the next day, we paddled to the other side and went thru all of the sea caves. One of my other favorite islands was Raspberry. We didn't stay the night there, but we did stop and play croquette, and see yet another gorgeous lighthouse, while we were on our way to Sand Island. It wasn't anything like whitewater, but it was still a blast!

August Plans

2008-07-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting ready to go on a two week sea kayaking trip up in the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior...I must admit, I'm going to be out of my element in a sea kayak, but I'm really looking forward to the endurance training I'm going to get, and I'll be paddling with a really fun group. The Apostles are supposed to be some of the most beautiful sea kayaking in the states....I'll be sure to get lots of pictures! Right after I get home (literally, the day after I get home) I'm going up to the Wausau Whitewater Park, for Midwest Freestyle Championships, which I can't wait for! I'll get two solid days of training in, and then there is a two day competition. Then, I get about three days of down time at home before I'm heading to West Virginia! I'm going to get as much time as I can running rivers (hopefully, I'll get some Gauley time, as well as being on the New) and playboating, and then I'm going to be going to ASCI (another artificial whitewater course), in Wisp, Maryland, where I'll be competing in Slalom Nationals.

Werner Paddle!

2008-07-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

After a couple of weeks of waiting, it's here! My beautiful Werner Bandit has arrived, and I can't wait to get in the water with it. I'm planning on using it for the Midwestern Freestyle Championships, and when I go down to West Virginia for some paddling.

More later...

Distance Day

2008-07-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

The other day, my mom, dad, and I went down to this area called Germania Marsh to do some long distance paddling. I decided to take out the old Dagger Atom, and get some good lactic training in. It was a long paddle, and I made myself switch to being a lefty for the majority of the time. It was good training, and a beautiful day.

No way, Flatwater?

2008-07-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

It wasn't exactly the adrenaline rush I'm normally looking for, but my friend Olivia and I decided I nice little float-trip would be fun. And it definitely was. It was a gorgeous day, and we paddled a beutiful little strecth of the Plover River. We actually did run into a class 2 little rapid, but ran it dry (whew, we didn't have and air bags). We took a break and swam and had a picnic, and all in all, had a great day...even without the whitewater!

Blog Day

2008-07-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

This past Monday I was down in Madison to spend some time with friends, and to get a bit of help with my blog. It was great to learn some of the quirks of blogging. With the help of "Uncle D" (Darren Bush of Rutabaga Paddlesports Shop), I got some new links up, and got my new header. It was a fun day, and I learned lots!

Terminology

2008-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read my blog, I'd like to clarify some things. I'm sorry if terms such as "C1W, K1W, and C2" don't register, I should've explained this earlier. I oftem use these terms when I'm talking about slalom paddling. Slalom is when you paddled down a river through certain gates, going downstream thru green gates, and upstream thru red gates. You gain a 2 second penalty if you touch a gate, and a 50 second penalty if you miss one entirely. C1W, K1w, and C2 are categories that I race in. C1 and C2 stand for Canoe 1-person and Canoe 2-people. The canoes are decked, and look alot like slalom kayaks, but you are kneeling and using a single bladed paddle, rather than sitting and using a double bladed paddle (as you would if you were in a kayak). K1 stands for Kayak 1-person. The W attached to the end of C1, K1, and C2 classifies my gender (W standing for womens). If the W is left off the end of the abbreviation, it means the racer is a guy. In the case of a C2, you can have C2W (Doubles Canoe Womens), C2 (Doubles Canoe Mens), or C2Mixed (Doubles Canoe Mixed).

I also refer to "Freestyle" alot. Freestyle (also known as playboating) is when you enter a hydraulic (a wave or a hole) and try to throw tricks. There are tons of different tricks, (I don't know the names of alot of them ; D), and they take alot of practice to become consitant. When you compete in a freestyle competition, it is called a Rodeo.

I'm sorry for any confusion my readers have had. Please, If you ever have any questions or comments, feel free to tell me!

The Dells

2008-07-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my dad took me up to the Dells of the Eau Claire (some good Wisconsin whitewater), so we could drop the falls there a couple of times. The falls are pretty small, but fun. It starts out with a slide into a little canyon section, which is about seven feet wide, into a five or six foot falls, into a box canyon, and an immediate right turn, another drop, and then you paddle out thru another canyon. It was a fun day, and good to be in the boat.

Women in Canoes

2008-07-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

For several decades, men have been paddling C1 and C2 (solo decked canoe, doubles decked canoe) in the Olympics. Decades. And this year was the first time women were allowed a Senior National Team for C1....but we still aren't allowed to go to the Olympics! I just recently heard that the US is sending four boats to Beijing....which is fabulous, but guess what? Only one of them is female.

I think it's time for the ICF to recognize that girls can paddle canoes too, and it's definitely time to let us compete internationally. If you agree, feel free to contact the International Canoe Federation and tell them what you think.

Hey, it's half the stick, but twice the chick!

Junior Olympic Whitewater Festival/Results

2008-07-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Whew, well, after a month of non-stop paddling, it has come to an end. It was a blast. The Junior Olympic Whitewater Festival was held in Wausau, Wisconsin (same location as Age Group Nationals) and kicked off with some fun and easy flatwater sprint events, then we moved the competition onto white water. The first whitewater event was the extreme slalom, in which I placed first in C1w, and second in K1w. I also placed first in C2w (with my partner Cara Marks, from Canada). The next day we had the boater-x event....it's basically a downriver sprint, where they release you against a bunch of other boats, and you try to be the first to cross the finish line....it's really fun. I was fortunate, and placed first in the boater-x event as well. Then we competed in the Wildwater Race, which ended really well for me (although I'd never paddled a Downriver boat before) and I ended up placing first in Womens Downriver Kayak, and second in C1w Slalom. Then, one of my most favorite events---the rodeo! It was a great competition, and we even had a full C1 class! I was so excited. I turned in some decent rides, landed some clean airloops, had a good numberof cartwheels, and moved on to finals (even though I was competing against boys) in both C1 and kayak (I had to borrow a friends kayak playboat, because mine is outfitted as a C1). It was really fun. In finals, I gave it my all and finished third in both classes against the boys, and first in both classes for girls. The last two days of the festival were dedicated to the Slalom finals. The first day I raced in C1w and K1w, and laid down a couple of clean runs, which had me finishing a satisfying second. The second day was the C2 competition. I raced C2w with my "Canadian sister" Cara, and C2 Mixed with my friend JP Griffith from Colorado. Both of our teams did exceptionally well, for not having alot of training time together....no missed gates, and barely any touches. Cara and I finished 1st, and JP and I placed third. In the end, I brought home 14 awards, including the All Around Points Leader ( known as the "Rivermeisterin" award) and the "Olympic Spirit" award, which is a traveling trophy awarded to a different athlete every year, and I was really touched by receiving it. In conclusion to this event, I want to thank my parents and family for all of their support, my coaches; Chris Wiegand, David Kurtz, Nick Borst, Jeff Gette, and (although she wasn't present at this event) Cathy Hearn, my sponsors; Rutabaga Paddlesport Shop, Palm Equiptment, MTi, Werner Paddles, and Smartwool, and all of my friends who make this sport such an important part of my life.

Ray McLain Training Camp/Age Group Nationals

2008-07-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Ray McLain Camp was in Wausau, Wisconsin, and was a great training opportunity. I got in my playboat, and made a ton of progress, being able to play on whitewater with really talented paddlers. I also trained in my C1 and kayak for Age Group Nationals, which were held the weekend after the camp. Age Groups was another fun event. I raced well, and ended up first for all age groups in C1w and K1w.

Junior National Team Trials

2008-07-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Colorado for this event, which was held on the whitewater park in downtown Golden. It's a beatiful place, and a nice, fairly easy course. I got out there a week early, so I could get some extra time on the water, and train with some coaches. Coaches Raffal Smolen and Chris Wiegand worked with me, and I feel like they made a massive impact on my paddling style that week. Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the race I got really sick, some sort of stomach flu I guess, and I was really weak by the time the race rolled around. I still raced, but didn't do very well. I still finished second in C1W, but couldn't keep myself together enough to finish well in kayak. Oh well, I guess I'm too young to make the team anyways, so I'll just give it my best shot next year.

Olympic Trials/Senior National Team Trials

2008-07-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an incredible competition. Olympic/Senior National Team Trials were held in Charlotte, NC, at the US National Whitewater Center (USNWC). The USNWC is an beautiful artificial whitewater course with fun and chalenging class IV rapids, and is great for slalom and freestyle competitions. Anyways, I was down there in April for trials, and I competed in the first ever official Womens' C1 category! The slalom course was really intense and chalenging, and the competition was great, and I finished second, behind Colleen Hickey, and became the youngest person to ever make senior team, as well as second boat on the first Womens' C1 Senior National Team in history. It was pretty cool. I qualified for Pre-Worlds in Seu, Spain, but I'm going to stay in the States for the Junior Olympics. I think next year will be my year to go international.