Special mention goes to Alyssa Taylor, 2nd year participant of our annual July camp. Alyssa saddled up and ran Nantahala Falls. Not only ran the Falls, but pulled off an awesome roll at the bottom of the Falls.  Recognizing her commitment, she won the River Ghost’s [ghost because of being there in spirit to support the kids, but not seen by anyone] donation of an awesome gear bag. You earned it Alyssa!!

Alyssa gets kudos for running Nantahala Falls during kids camp

TeamZoe!

If you have not heard of young kayaker Zoe Ross yet–you may in the future.  She is a 15 year old girl from Athens,TN who fell in love with whitewater kayaking.  Her 9th grade year, Zoe had the opportunity to attend the New River Academy (NRA).  NRA is a co-ed secondary school, offering accredited college-preparatory courses, with an extra-curricular focus on whitewater kayaking.
What an opportunity to attend a school in which you are surrounded by like-minded students and passionate teachers–and pursue your passion for kayaking.  Zoe’s year at the NRA was such a rewarding educational experience that her family’s financial constraints have not slowed her dream down of returning to NRA.

Rather than pout about her parents “not letting her go to kayak school,” she decided to take it upon herself to raise the tuition money needed to return for another year.  She has had the help of good friends and well-wishers.  TeamZoe was created.  A now-sold-out t-shirt was designed.  Marlo Tollett Wright  donated a painting to be auctioned off.  And with each project, Zoe comes closer to her goal.

TeamZoe fundraising campaign t-shirt

Zoe caught our attention when we started hearing through fellow kayakers about how enthusiastic she is about paddling, and how supportive she is of other boaters on the river—many much older than she.   We thought it was time to learn a little bit more about this little kayaker with big dreams!

So Zoe, what got you into kayaking?
- I have gone swimming at the Tellico with my friends and family almost every summer. One day, when I was around 8, we were swimming at Baby Falls and I saw some female kayakers run it in kayaks. It amazed me, and I told my dad that I wanted to do that one day. A few years later, when I was 14, I got in a kayak for the first time and that’s how it all started.

What is your favorite aspect of kayaking?
- If I’m sad, as soon as I get on the river and start paddling, it seems all of my problems go away and I’m in my own little world.

What about some goals for kayaking? Where would you like to paddle/rivers would you like to do?
- I want to paddle the Green River Narrows and later, race it.

You are embarking on a fund-raising project. What is it for?
-It is to help me return to New River Academy, a fully accredited, traveling, and kayaking high school, that my family can no longer afford for me to attend.

What do you need to achieve your goals for this?
-Any kind of donation or support.

We wish Zoe all the luck in the world reaching what we know will be the first of many goals she reaches.  If you want to keep up with Zoe’s endeavors, keep up with her on her TeamZoe Facebook page!

Erin contemplating how much fun the Ocoee is compared to going back to school

We know we are training our future ERA leaders well when they skip back-to-school shopping for paddling on the Ocoee! This year was Erin’s second annual Ocoee trip. And she styled the river.

Amazing that just a few years ago she was lap-size!!

Once-upon-a-time Erin was lap-size

On Sunday we ended the 2010 Junior Olympics with the freestyle competition staged on the Nantahala Wave. Some of the slalomists and other kids had headed home early that morning for the long drives or flights home, but we still had a lively group of about 20 kids rocking out on the wave in playboats!

Experienced and beginner playboaters tried their hand at the tumultuous wave, fighting difficult eddy lines to put in as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds. Each kid’s best ride was used in the final scoring, and most kids seemed satisfied with the day’s work. Finally, an award was given for the person with the most overall points (over the four main Junior Olympic events) and it was a tie between Sage Donnelly and Chelsea Bornemann.

Sage showing the junior olympic contenders the fun of taking time out for some freestyle

Sage Donnelly dominated the cub-cadet division, even racking up points to beat many of the older competitors. At 9 years old, Sage was doing complex moves like loops, ripping up the hole in her tiny orange Shooting Star like a pro.  She is on the Jackson Kayak regional kayak team and travels around competing in events and training with her many friends around the country.  Sage has been kayaking on her own since she was 7, and has been on the water with her parents since the age of 3. Her dad, Matthew Donnelly, is her biggest fan and paddling partner, a perfect example of parenting, always by her side helping her and cheering her on.

This Saturday we had a break from Junior Olympic events but we saw great participation in a local slalom race held by the NOC at the gates. Big kids (like the parents!) and the junior olympians all raced together on teams to rack up overall points by completing the course up to 5 times for any class.

Team Popp won the day’s races with a mighty 31 points, claiming some of the fastest times despite team members participating in multiple classes. The winner of the “Cup” will be determined by next month’s race, and Team Popp hopes to rack up even more points by including more paddlers doing more runs even faster!!

After a celebratory “banquet” at Relia’s in the evening, the Junior Olympians grouped together by the gates again to hand out awards from the week’s events, and to honor the volunteers and parents who helped make this year’s Junior Olympics a success. Kids ran about, writing down their new friends’ phone numbers and email addresses as they realized that their great week of paddling was coming to an end.

Proud Junior Olympic boaters on the podium

On Sunday the Nantahala Wave will host the final Junior Olympic event, the freestyle competition, where experienced and beginner playboaters will give the crowd a great show!

See you guys on the water!!!

Friday’s Championship Slalom races has proved to be the biggest event yet at the Junior Olympics! The 40+ competitors were cheered on by spectators lined all the way from the bridge at Slow Joe’s to the end of the course above Worser Wesser. Many kids raced multiple classes, so the day was long and tiring, but the excitement of the competition was enough to keep the smiles going all day!

2010 Junior Olympic qualifiers on the Nantahala

The real challenge of today’s race was that it was a longer course (16 gates) than some of the younger kids were used to… upstream gates like gate 9, below the Nantahala Wave, caused several flips and a few swims, and some kids were passed by others as more time was spent trying to avoid missing any gates.

17-year-old Charlie Kieft raced in the C1 and C2 classes today; as he sped through the gates with the grace of an experienced racer, the orange blur of his helmet was the only thing more striking than his speed. The past few years of his career as a canoe racer has been quite eventful. His spot on the Junior US Wildwater Team took him to the Junior World Championships in Buochs, Switzerland in 2009. His up-and-coming slalom career is setting him on the fast track to the Olympics in 2016, which he aspires to compete in after several years of intensive training.

Saturday’s NOC Camp Cup slalom races take place at the gates, and Sunday’s freestyle competition will be an exciting day on the Nantahala Wave for all!

Junior Olympic contenders cross training with some freestyle

After each group was comfortable and ready to tackle something more challenging, they headed down to the Nantahala Wave to work on more advanced playboating moves. Kids waited in the eddies for their turn to try surfing, spinning, and for some, looping as they were cheered on by local experts, parents, and spectators. The colorful plastic boats were a fun change from the glass slalom boats the kids used previously this week, and everyone had big smiles, no matter how experienced they were.

We surfed over to watch our good friend Lauren Burress as she was teaching the girls how to get in and out of the hole.  Lauren competed at the Freestyle Team Trials this year in Missoula, Montana, and earned the number one spot for 2011’s junior US freestyle team. At merely 14 years old, she has been dominating the junior girls freestyle events for the past couple of years, throwing awesome loops and other tricks in her little pink Jackson Star. She has enjoyed the other events, especially slalom and the boatercross, and though she currently isn’t pursuing an Olympic career in slalom, she would love to see freestyle made into an Olympic sport. If you see the blur of pink rocking out in the hole this Sunday for the freestyle competition, be sure to cheer on Lauren as she dominates in her favorite sport!

Lauren working with the slalom boaters on some freestyle moves

Friday’s event is the Championship slalom, starting at Slow Joe’s and ending above Worser Wesser. It promises to be a great day of racing, as we will be joined by a few of the junior US slalomists, fresh from the Slalom Junior World Championships in Foix, France. See you on the water!

We have Canadians and Australians joining the rest of us Americans in the races and events this week. Our ears went to the sweetly accented voices of four Australian boater chicks as they chattered together, playfully fighting and teasing one another by the river.

The Aussie Team coming together for the 2010 Junior Olympics

The girls (from left to right) are Grace, Annie, Krystal, and Eliza. They go to different schools but all train together on the same slalom whitewater course with their coach. The girls traveled to Disneyworld and to the Charlotte slalom course before coming to the Junior Olympics here at the Nantahala. Despite the 18 hour time difference, these cute but strong girls are always smiling and bursting with energy, zipping around the slalom gates faster than you’d expect 14-16 year old girls to do.

Team Aussie training for the Junior Olympics on the Nantahala

If you see one of these girls on the water, whether its slalom or all the other events they enter, be sure to cheer them on… GOOOO AUSSIES!

This morning we all headed up to Surfer’s Rapid to do a classic wildwater “race” which was held unofficially and posted as a training run. The Aussies put on at the Ledges with Bryson, Selena, and Haley (all yours truly) to warm up down to the start line. Team Popp kicked off with a mass start because we had the fastest boats, and when we crossed the finish line we headed on down to take out and watch our friends go by as well. Today was a great day for all, as we reflected sitting together munching post-race ice cream at Slow Joe’s Cafe.

Thursday’s event is a freestyle clinic, followed by the Championship slalom races Friday, and more slalom and freestyle this weekend! See you on the water!

At today’s Junior Olympic sprint races, we came up and close with cadet superstar Brynn Benson and learned that she is one cool boater chick! Her goals include placing very well (hopefully winning) at the JO’s because she comes into these races as the cadet girls slalom national champion.

Brynn Benson-one of the junior super stars

Of her previous paddling experience, she admits, “I started slalom only a little more than a year ago,” but we weren’t surprised to find out she would have made the junior US slalom team this year if only she was a year older! She raced at the US team trials in Wausau, Wisconsin; she finished 3rd against girls quite a bit older than her.

Brynn looks ahead to the next four years, when she qualifies as a junior and can race in Europe with other up-and-coming slalomists from around the country. She also has “dreams of becoming a real Olympic athlete one day”!

Brynn raced against our very own Selena Popp today in the head to head sprint event. Each of the 40+ competitors had a first individual run in which they were timed to choose the positions for the next heat. In the second run, 2 or 3 competitors from the same class with the closest original times raced head to head to determine the final places. Everyone raced fast and we saw some great crashes and some close finishes!
After the head to head sprint we switched out of our glass boats into plastic boats for the more gnarly boatercross, in which competitors were given a mass start within their class, creating mass chaos and carnage throughout the course. The racers were required to maneuver through two upstream slalom gates; missing one gate brought disqualification. Coming through the Nantahala Wave, we saw racers crash, flip, miss eddies, and accidentally knock each other down… it was a great spectator event and exciting for the kids!

Brynn training on the Nantahala ruring Junior Olympics

Stay tuned for the rest of this week’s excited Junior Olympic Events, right here on the Nantahala River!