Diary of the 2007 Junior World Championships

Cast:
Bill Lawrenson (Team Manager)
Michael Mason (Coach) aka Micky
Nigel Jones (Coach) aka Orange
Tim Lawrenson (Cameraman)
Jackie Hyslop (Chief Cook)
Miranda Churchill (Sous Chef, team "mum" and diary writer)
Hazel Sims (Team Nurse)
Sandra Hyslop - WK1
Hannah Brown - WK1
Olivia Churchill - WK1
Michael Sims - MK1
Rob Vincent - MK1
Iain Baker - C2
Jon Hiam - C2

Day 1 - 8th July

The team gathered in two locations local to Gatwick for the night before the flight. Those coming from the north had a bit of an epic journey down the M1. Nigel was supposed to be taking part in the memorial (for Joel Wilson) K4 race at the sprint regatta at Dorney Lake. In true prima donna style, he had someone complete the warm up routine and paddle the boat to the start before turning up on a "borrowed" bike and leaping into the boat just before the off. No point in wasting energy Nigel, but I think you might have some trouble with the juniors when you insist on a proper stretching routine.

Everyone made it to the airport on the dot of 0730, to be greeted by Neil Stamps who had made the trip to see the team off - a very thoughtful gesture which was much appreciated. Not only was there a large bundle of paddles to be checked in, but Olivia also had a boat tucked under her arm. The security guards were totally unfazed, not so some of the passengers who eyed her with much alarm and suspicion, looking round in panic for the nearest emergency exit. Micky checked in a large Pampers box - I think someone should tell him that teenagers don't normally wear nappies, or maybe it was just to remind him of home. Once checked in, the boat only costing $80 (£40) to fly across the Atlantic, we were sent over to the oversized baggage area. Neil and Trevor Sims proved invaluable, being tall enough to carry the boat over the heads of the other passengers. There then ensued a long discussion about how to fit 4.5m of boat down a chute approx. 1.5m x 1.5m with a right angle bend. When they finally worked out it wasn't going to fit - it was off to another area with an x-ray machine. However that was situated too close to the wall and eventually the boat had to unwrapped and hand checked for explosives.

Once through security, it was shopping time. A certain coach made straight for the free Pimms stand, whilst Rob headed for the top shelf of the magazine rack. He turned up with a magazine with more than its fair share of exposed female flesh, but claimed that it was only because it contained a picture of Jon Schofield. Nice try, Rob. Hannah was easy to track round the airport, wearing a glittery pink stetson, whilst Sandra appeared to have policewoman's hat minus the blue and white band. The first punishments of 20 pressups were handed out for late reporting at the meeting point, but everyone made it to the plane on time. Nigel then organised the boarding card shuffle (I thought that only took place at dodgier Masonic events) and somehow managed to wangle a pair of seats for himself and Michael out of earshot of the juniors.

Anyone flying over on US Airways later take note - they don't provide free headphones. Needless to say, this didn't worry the juniors who all had headphones with them anyway except Jon Hiam who had taken the idea of travelling light to such extremes that he didn't have any hand luggage at all. The flight landed dead on time and on arriving at immigration we were amazed to find that our party made up 50% of the non US queue. Great, we thought, through in no time....but US immigration had one last trick up their sleeve. Instead of handing Rob back his passport, they handed him a card with a number on it. He then had to report to additional security to answer lots of questions about where he had travelled in the past. Last year's trip to Bosnia didn't seem to be too much of a problem and 45 minutes later he was on his way. The adventure begins...

Monday 9th July

Everyone was up bright and early aided by the five hour time difference. Many had struggled to stay asleep after about 5 am, but Michael appeared to have extra problems. "Did anyone else get lost in bed last night?" he asked at breakfast. As with most American hotels, a twin room has two queen sized beds, but one has to worry about how he will cope with the wide River Saluda if he can get lost in a 5 foot bed.

The mystery of the Pampers box has been resolved. It was full of smart straw hats for the team. They serve a dual purpose - making the team instantly identifiable and providing some welcome sun protection.

The team had walked the white water course last night and after a 30 minute warm up on the river, it was time for their first runs. Most of them were understandably nervous, but by the 3rd run down everyone was starting to enjoy themselves and paddle more confidently. The water temperature at the course was 28 degrees Celsius and part of the warm-down at the end of the session involved swimming. The water at the course is filtered and irradiated on each circulation so provides a safe swimming environment. The only disappointment of the morning was that the conveyor belt from the bottom pool to the start is not suitable for river racers. The second session of the day started at 10pm BST and considering that it is their first full day in the US, the team performed really well and are starting to get to grips with the course. In fact, their timing couldn't have been better, as they left the water and the US team prepared to get on, a thunderstorm rolled in and the course was closed.

Driving round Charlotte isn't always easy, many of the slip roads on to the freeway turn through 180 degrees so you feel as though you are heading in the wrong direction, and the local road map has such tiny writing that you practically need to be equipped with a magnifying glass for each journey. Some of the routes have been so circuitous that when Jackie told me to turn left, whilst pointing right, it seemed almost logical.

Quotes of the day:-
"Does anyone else find the toilets in America too big?"
"Look - a British car" (whilst pointing at an Audi TT)

Tuesday 11th July

A better night's sleep found the GB juniors raring and ready to go, but training wasn't all straightforward. Olivia found herself side surfing a stopper with a raft and Micky decided to check out the conditions underwater with the first roll of the week. There is a certain element of luck in racing this course, as the M wave rises and falls and there are big boils on the upper half of the course. The afternoon session was rather interrupted by course closures for lightning again, but thankfully the heavy storm seen the previous evening didn't materialise.

Jackie and I went for a walk recommended by Ben Sandiford. Carefully following the handwritten map we completed two thirds of the walk before going up the left hand bank of a creek. Unfortunately the creek forked and a tiny stream went left. Not being familiar with the fact that in the US a creek would be rather larger than this, we continued along the tiny stream. Eventually realising that we were lost, help was sought from the nature reserve offices. Taking pity on two mad Englishwomen out in the midday sun, one of the employees offered us a lift. Whilst chatting in the car, it was discovered that the kind person was a neighbour of one of the Junior Worlds Championship organisers and had spent the morning searching out the national anthems for all the different countries for her. It is indeed a small world.

This experience was marginally less embarrassing than last night's episode. Jackie and I had to go late night shopping to pick up a few bits for breakfast. On returning to the car in the car park, I couldn't find the keys. I unpacked my handbag on to the bonnet (a major job as my family will tell you) and when the keys still did not appear, ran back to the store to find them, all this being watched by a policeman near the entrance of the store. I found the keys where I had been packing shopping bags, but on returning to the car could not get the doors unlocked. I repeatedly pressed the remote control and we yanked on the door handles. In desperation I looked round, only to find the hire car behind me. I had been trying to open someone else's car.....

Quotes of the day
When I asked for quotes, everyone burst out laughing, but couldn't or wouldn't tell me what it was, only that Jackie had said it and it wasn't was suitable for prewatershed viewing. Tssk, tssk.

Wednesday 12 th July

The morning schedule was for rest or an easy paddle on the river. It was also a chance for all the seniors (and semi-ancients) to borrow a boat and get out on the water. In fact, the elder statesmen outnumbered the juniors on the water. The Catawba river is extremely wide and essentially flat except for some wind blown waves and the wash of a passing speedboat (which went backwards and forwards several times at high speed). Bill came off the river with more muscles than he started, on second thoughts that should read mussels, which he found just under the mud. Orange took the chance to go down the race course. According to one bystander he will be doing lots of press-ups tonight (ie he put in lots of unnecessary back strokes), whilst according to the Americans he swam. However without video evidence we will have to take his word that it was a cracking run.

Michael had the worst morning. I won't go into details, but it involved an infected leg, a doctor and a huge needle. It's a pity he is not a C1 paddler since kneeling would be so much more comfortable. His day didn't get any better later. While training on a speedball he managed to hit himself under the chin. Who needs enemies when you can deliver a knockout blow to yourself?

Michael wasn't the only junior to have self inflicted wounds. Sandra and Rob noticed that they were getting static electricity shocks off the minibus handles. Looking for a bigger thrill, they decided to touch the handles with their tongues... I think they will be sticking to getting their excitement on the water rather than off in future and styling gel will be an optional extra

More heavy downpours at the course tonight, but without accompanying lightning. Ever the opportunist, Nigel was spotted cuddling up to an attractive American under an umbrella. The fact that the session was a joint time trial with the US team is irrelevent I am sure.

The dodgy quotes from the day come from the coaches. Micky told Jackie that he "would have to have her on his bed this evening" whilst Nigel rang the accommodation to notify us of their imminent arrival for supper and pretended to be ringing a massage parlour, fooling the juniors who reported to me that Nigel had indeed booked an appointment at a massage parlour. Before Maitland gets too upset, the background to Micky's quote is that Jackie is suffering from a bad back and the bed in question is his massage table.

Thursday 14th July

We had a full complement of paddlers on the water today. A couple of niggling little injuries are clearing up, and lines are being refined. The paddlers are working really well together and are learning from each other. Like at HPP, there is good access to the course and both coaches and paddlers are learning from reviewing the video footage taken. The current going into the intake for the pumps is pretty strong and they have had to rescue a swimmer (not one of ours) being sucked towards them. Olivia also inadvertently got a raft out of a hole in which it was stuck. The raft had dumped all its paying customers into the water and the raft guide was unable to get it out of the hole on his own. Olivia had nowhere to go and ploughed straight into it, neatly bouncing it out of the stopper.

The temptation of the conveyor belt has been too much for some people, including a tired coach. However, Nigel discovered the hard way that putting your hands down on the conveyor to take the weight off your boat is not a good idea, and if his reactions hadn't been quick, his fingers would have been pulled down between the rollers with more serious results than a little pain. The Slovakians turned up today, complete with a novel roofrack - a piece of scaffolding pipe cable tied to the roofbars. They spent quite a long time on the bank watching the Brits paddle and it is good to feel that we have a head start on everyone except the home team.

Most of the group only had one training session today and in the afternoon there was a mass exodus to a shopping mall with lots of discount outlets. It was similar in size to Newcastle's Metro centre, but somewhat cheaper. Contra to normal stereotyping, it was the males in the party who were the big shoppers, while the girls seemed content to browse with the occasional diversion into cookie stores. Jon was more than somewhat surprised and a little embarrassed that when he left a tip at an ice cream parlour, as the staff all gathered together and sang him a song to thank him. Given the normal English reserve, I am not sure it was the way to ensure future tip-giving. We almost had to send out the search parties for Olivia who couldn't find her way back to the correct entrance.

Orange's flip-flops have been giving him sore feet, so he decided to go barefoot for the day. However, the sun is incredibly strong this far south and certain things heat up too much for comfort. Hannah burnt herself (not with any lasting damage) on a seat belt buckle, whilst Nigel found that the black tarmac carpark was too hot to walk across. Ever resourceful, he commandeered a shopping trolley, clambered aboard and persuaded Michael to push him back to the bus. Practical yes, elegant no. Michael got his own back by trying to run the trolley up the kerb and neatly tipping Orange out of the front.

The day finished with a barbecue in a local park. The Irish contingent (one paddler and his family) were invited along, and it is his mother who provides the quote of the day. Turning to her husband she said, "Larry, you are good at catching aren't you, after all you play darts".

Sympathy to Michael Sims' parents, Hazel and Trevor, who had an awful journey over. Our last information was that they had spent 5 hours 30 minutes sitting on the tarmac at Gatwick, finally getting to Charlotte 5 hours late.

Friday 13th July

Back on the water as soon as the pumps started up this morning which made a huge difference to the practice. The rafts were on early today and by the time the other teams had turned up for their first ever run down the course, all the rafts were out. What do you get when you have the Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians and the Amercians and 20 rafts? The answer is carnage. Swimmers, breakouts, spins, rolls, it was all happening at the NWWC today. En route to the course this morning, the team passed a "yield" sign. Small voice pipes up from the back "that's a Welsh sign isn't it?"

The Czechs have the ultimate boat "bag". It appears to be a hard clear cover, presumably for flying the boat safely, though apparently it bears a nasty resemblance to a coffin. Maybe that is how we should get boats shipped to the UK in future....

The Studio 6 motel where we are all staying is a large building with lots of long corridors. Jackie and I are staying in a room as far as way as possible from the reception desk, so I was somewhat annoyed when my key card wouldn't work. I trundled off to reception to get the card reprogrammed, but it still wouldn't work. I tracked down Jackie, borrowed her key and still couldn't get into the room. When I went back again to reception, they informed me that I should have checked out, and therefore had been locked out. Luckily I was able to produce receipts to show that we had paid until Sunday and I was finally able to get access to the room again.

There is obviously something about being called Jon or Jonnie. Jonnie Hiam is rapidly becoming a centre of attention amongst the female members of the American team and indundated with invitations. The Americans also have a female C1 paddler training on the course, not for competition this year (she is a senior), but with the change of rules hoping for good things next year.

There were a few strange/funny comments today.
"I've done it hundreds of times - in fact I am almost into three figures." Anon
"Chris Boardman holds the record for the quickest one hour race" Bill.
Micky talking in his sleep to Nigel "Excuse me, will you please get out of my room" (claims he was dreaming about a burglar)

Saturday 14th July

20 rafts, pah, that's easy. Try 26 rafts with more being blown up ready for use. That was the situation as the GB team left the course this morning. The Germans seemed to be a bit late off the blocks again this morning and were paying the penalty. One of the Czech C2s hit a raft, tried to roll up, hit the raft again and finally exited their boat. The weather is cooler today (only 30°C), but after the acclimatisation earlier in the week, it now feels very pleasant. At the end of the six days' training in Charlotte, the scores on the doors are paddlers approximately 210 runs for 2 swims, 0 rolls, coaches approx. 21 runs with 2 rolls and possibly 1 more roll/swim. It is perhaps rather unfair to compare these statistics since the coaches only got into trouble when following someone else who stopped paddling, but the juniors like them!!

Preparations are under way for the move to Columbia. The 15ft van has been hired, though Micky says it doesn't feel right driving it without a Yorkie by his side, and really he hankers after one of the American mega trucks we see barrelling down the freeways. Even better would be the '74 Chevy Stingray that we found ourselves beside whilst waiting at some traffic lights. In order to experience paddling at the race time, the second session was later today and the team used the longer than usual afternoon break to head off to the cinema, taking advantage of the early release in the US of the latest Harry Potter film. The verdict, Bill "great, showed good teamwork skills, the paddlers should have learnt from it", to the teenagers "so-so", "quite good", "good in parts, but cringeworthy every time Harry opened his mouth". The 24 screen multiplex was located at the same mall visited before, and the coaches sloped off to do some shopping instead. Nigel found some real "Crocs" in his size at last. The colour, need you ask?? He also found a bright orange cap to go with them. Considering that he was wearing a pink shirt, we were quite glad he turned up late to the rendezvous - AGAIN. Micky bought out the whole of OshKosh for young Sam - who will be the best dressed baby in Durham when Dad returns.

Michael's infected leg is a source of much interest, with medical bulletins being issued throughout the day. However, now that he has professional nursing assistance from his mum, the team management can relax a bit more. Luckily, though painful, he is still able to paddle. You really don't want to know the details, but Hazel likens it to a volcano.

Comments of the day (and one of the culprits has a Geography GCSE)
"The Iranians come from Irania"
"The United States isn't a country is it?"
Whilst on the course "Where's the bank?"

Tomorrow is a travelling day, so no updates until Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Monday 16th July

The boats were all piled (carefully) into a 15ft small lorry/panel van, including the C2s which had to be loaded diagonally, for the trip down to Columbia. The first official event was a meet and greet in the zoo car park. All the countries stood round in small huddles, so Bill took the initiative and went round each one in turn introducing himself. This was followed by an athlete dinner of deep fried chicken, green beans, mashed potato and macaroni cheese, a slightly novel mixture but welcome all the same. Hannah went for an extra paddling session yesterday, but unfortunately ended with a swim...it was rather a pity that she was dressed in full team kit, and fell in after slipping up on a wet rock, but she reports that the shorts are waterproof and standing around in wet kit is rather refreshing when the temperature is in the 30s.

Bill and Nigel have an alternative "trip" report. They went scouting out the river and returned with an unlikely tale of seeing a black panther in the bushes. I know the river isn't far from the zoo, but did they really expect us to believe that. Unfortunately the riverbank is covered with lots of poison ivy. Bill caught some with his ankle, but since it is his first exposure to the poison, the reaction is unlikely to be too bad. Everyone has now been educated in what to avoid. The race course on the Saluda is really pretty flat with the exception of Mill Race Rapids. This is a pretty full on rapid which requires four separate moves to get down it. Having been told there was unlikely to be any boat damage, plenty of people were discovering rocks. One Czech C2 ended up on their side on a rock, broadside on to the current, and then dropped off still on their side, however the rescue boats were only needed a couple of times in the morning. The Croatians and the Spaniards are still without their boats. The Spanish boats are in Houston being held in Customs, whilst the Croatian boats have vanished without trace. The Americans seem to be food obsessed, the two features at Mill Race rapids that are most in evidence for WWR are a rock named "burger" and a hole called "the cookie monster". The rock that is causing the most problems doesn't have a name, but the safety cover suggested it might well now be named "wildwater launch pad".

Whilst the water at the whitewater course at Charlotte is filtered and clean, one has to worry about what the water in the Saluda is like. The fire brigade were stationed at the finish with a personal decontamination unit. This consisted of a soap hose and water hose. I think the paddlers should be encouraged to go through it - less skanky kit for the washing machine.

The South Carolina newspaper has a huge feature on the Championships today, with a picture of the GB girls' team training at Charlotte as the leading photograph on the front page. There are some classic comments in the article such as "there is one similarity between watching an auto race and a Wildwater race: It can be a little boring if there aren't any wrecks." and "Organizers expect the top competitors to power their sleek boats through the three-mile course from just north of the zoo to Gervais Street in about 20 minutes. By contrast, on a lazy weekend when the river level reaches summer lows of less than 500 cufecs, a floater in an inner tube can drink a six pack while covering that distance. Without chugging."

Micky caused consternation amongst the American team management. He was out in the car park of the team accommodation fettling Sandra's boats when the US team manager rushed over to ask him to stop or at least do it out of sight, for fear that his paddlers would spot Micky and expect the same treatment from the American coaches.

I am sorry to report that today's inane comments are both mine. I think I must have left my brain in North Carolina..

"I can't find where I wrote Jackie's phone number, I will have to ring her and ask for it"
"There is something I have forgotten for today's trip report, but I can't remember what it is."

Tuesday 17th July

Non-stop day. Early in the morning the river is covered with mist as the cold water from the dam meets the warm moist air. However, as the day heats up this dissipates and the racecourse is clear. The South Africans chose an interesting place to scout the river this morning - wandering up and down the railroad tracks. Whilst trains are not particularly frequent, they do run many times a day.

The non-stop looked a highly tactical affair. The only boat that seemed to be going at full stretch when I saw them at Mill Race rapids was the French boat that came first in MK1. Everyone else seemed to be paddling well within themselves so there could be significant shifts in position tomorrow. Needless to say, spirits are high in Team GB, and since Michael has nailed the drop every other time, hopes are high for good performances all round. Nigel and Tim Lawrenson took splits from the water, ably assisted by Alec Baker paddling Micky's boat. Arriving at the favoured spot to video the action at Mill Race (a twice dynamited former dam), I spotted a rock that had been reserved with a towel on top it. I am sure you can guess which nationality turned up just before racing began to claim her spot - some stereotypes just seem to persist. American rivers are open to all, and five rafts full of children appeared in the middle of the MK1. They did hold off from continuing down the river for a bit, but several paddlers were impeded. Not so serious today, but could be critical tomorrow.

The opening ceremony was next. Just by the finish is a concrete amphitheatre - open to the blazing sunshine. The teams all trooped in, with their flags, and then sat down....and stood up again incredibly quickly. The concrete was burning hot, and most of the teams used their flip-flops as a makeshift thermal barrier and kept their feet off the ground. It came as quite a relief to stand up for the ICF anthem and the raising of the Stars and Stripes. Not only was the Stars and Stripes much bigger than every other flag, it was also on a much higher flagpole, thus ensuring that the ICF knew its rightful place. Hazel Sims and I were snapped by the local press photographer using a Union Jack (or if I am being pedantic, a Union flag since we were not at sea) as a sunshade - it was incredibly hot today and is expected to get up to about 35° tomorrow.

Everything really does seem bigger over here, though we were amused to see a Mini with the personalised number plate saying "Actual Size". Whilst on the roads today, we also came across what looked like a disaster movie with gore all over the carriageway, but was actually a shed load of water melons that had been squashed by passing cars.

Columbia is an incredibly busy place at the moment, as it is hosting a large baseball game, a Christian convention and most importantly the Junior Worlds. Apparently there isn't a hotel room left free in the whole city, except perhaps the place where Jackie and Maitland Hyslop are staying where there are lots of rooms reported empty after police raided it for prostition rackets today. Now the police cells are full as well. If that wasn't bad enough, they also throw you in jail for 30 days if you are caught speeding through roadworks....

No quotes from the team today as they are totally focussed on race preparation, but the local Mayor in Columbia gave the world's shortest speech at the opening ceremony. When complimented on this afterwards he replied that "Brevity is brilliance and we are good on brilliance in Columbia", and that is about as long as his opening speech.

Wednesday 18th July - Classic Day

A huge thunderstorm last night cleared away to leave clear skies and thus a hot and sunny morning. GB team supporters were stationed all down the river with crib sheets of what to shout at whom. The safety guys were in full rescue mode even during the pre race practice. Unfortunately, some of the official fire brigade rescue team were taking a dip in the river to cool off when one of the K1M swam at Mill Race Rapids. It was left to the playboat safety boaters to chase him downstream, while the fire brigade launched their raft with the one remaining man and set off in hot pursuit - of the rest of their crew.

The women were first off, and you could hear the shouts of encouragement echoing down the river. Each competitor was cheered and clapped by the large crowd at Mill Race Rapids, but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the Canadian K1 paddler who half handrolled twice, found his paddle and then rolled up to complete his run. This was just what the local paper had promised. All the GB paddlers went the quick, but more hazardous route at the falls, and really made the most of their runs. Sandra's achievement to win by 38 seconds was just incredible, particularly when you consider the previous junior world champion was back in 5th. When I informed the various nations team management/coaches assembled on the zoo bridge (where the official splits were taken) of her winning margin, they assumed that they had not understood my English correctly and it took several attempts and a lot of hand gestures (of the polite kind) to help them believe it. It was a doubly good day for Team GB as Olivia came home in bronze medal position, less than a second behind silver. It was incredibly hot on the bridge, particularly since the umbrellas that had been put up the previous day for shade had been destroyed by last night's storm, and one could only think what it must have been like for the paddlers putting 100% effort for 18 minutes or so on the unshaded river.

There is a large presence of supporting family and friends, and everyone has been pressed into service. The substantial Baker entourage turned into a laundry service for the team shirts and ended up with four ironing boards and irons, frantically trying to make 11 team members presentable before the ceremony. It was touch and go whether the thunderstorm or the GB team would arrive at the amphitheatre first, but they managed to just squeeze in the K1W medals before the first fat raindrops arrived. The Americans had to come and ask us if we could lend them a Union flag, as they had only got one for each country - not a problem as one entire section of the amphitheatre seemed to be covered in red, white and blue. However, I think some practising of the words to the National Anthem is in order - we managed better than the French, but it was a close run thing.

What an exhilirating day! Tomorrow's team classic is followed by the drive back to Charlotte and into our allocated, but very late (8 - 9pm) practice slot on the whitewater course, thunderstorms permitting.

Thursday 19th July

The entire team had a race run today. The C2 went with a couple of Czech C2s, but whether it was a language difficulty or not, the concept of team racing didn't really seem to feature as the Czechs seemed to think that it was a good opportunity to do some interval training. Rob and Michael raced with Lorcan Feely, the Irish K1. Their run was equally eventful as Lorcan had been energy boosting by eating loads of Lucky Charms (a local breakfast cereal) on the drive to the start, but they turned out not to live up to their name as they made him rather ill on the way down the river.

The girls had fewer problems. Olivia took a new and "interesting" route at Mill Race Rapids and the resulting thud on the nose of her boat could be heard a long way off. The Czechs were the team to beat on the splits as it turned out. Had the two slower girls been saving themselves for the team race? However, once given a down split by Tim, they found something extra and pulled away to the finish to win handsomely.

Nigel and Tim have colonised two rocks in the Saluda for split taking purposes and named them "Little Britains". Nigel decided to customise his in true Robinson Crusoe style, grabbing whatever bits of driftwood were around to make himself comfortable. On individual classic day, the previous night's storm had brought down lots more wood, so he started to collect it on his way down the river. Packing your boat with wood isn't perhaps the safest option, and a very sub-optimal line at Mill Race Rapids had extremely worried about how he would be able to exit his boat. Nigel also discovered that the Czechs were using shouts for signalling passing boats for splits instead of hand signals. Nigel has a large pair of lungs and since he was positioned between the Czech signaller and the Czech split giver, he was able to use them to good effect....

The girls were doubly delighted when it was confirmed that it was an official ICF race (it had a sufficient number of starters) and therefore they were World Champions, but the C1 race was dubbed an International Race hence no medals were awarded. Bill was equally happy - having been particularly keen that the girls should win gold. As manager of the winning team, he would get to present the flowers and kiss all nine girls on the podium. And so it turned out.... not sure how the girls viewed this since both the medals and flowers were presented by men with beards.

Bill is not the only one to have been fraternising with the enemy. Michael has been seen in the company of an attractive Swiss paddler, though his comments about how attractive she found him and how she was giving him "the eye" even though she was in the car park and Michael was in the minibus with blacked out windows and sitting between two other people. This braggadocio produced so much laughter that Bill couldn't continue to drive and the journey had to be delayed while everyone wiped the tears from their eyes.

I am sure that you will all be glad to know that the singing of the National Anthem today was much improved by the team and the supporters - we even held an impromptu practice before the ceremony.

Friday 20th July

That's river racing for you. On top of the world one minute, and a few seconds later, everything has changed.

The Czech team was expected to be strong, as the three girls in their team finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the sprint at the last Junior Worlds at Mezzana when our top placing was 16th. It is a real credit to the coaching and management team of Michael Mason, Nigel Jones, Bill and Tim Lawrenson that they produced a girl's team that were just 0.9 of a second behind the Czechs after the 1st run. Hannah put in her best run ever, and hopes were really high for the second run. The Iranians went first, with smiles that lit up the entire course and received worthy cheering all the way down, but had an unlucky swim just before the finish on their second run. The American girls came next. They have not found the course easy, but have practised and practised with dogged determination and made their way safely down the course. The Swiss were next and put in a tidy run, but the main timing packed in during their run and we didn't know how fast they were. The Czechs followed with a slower run and suddenly our girls were in with a real chance of gold. One German girl swam next and our prospects looked better and better. It was not to be but they certainly entertained the crowds whilst trying. Hannah rolled up using the front of Olivia boat, but didn't have her paddle and being up this particular creek without a paddle is an impossible situation and the inevitable followed with the net result of a two boat pile up. It seems likely that this is going to be recorded in the local press as I was asked for details of who was paddling which boat by a local journalist.

It was a good thing that there was no C2 team racing. The podium was so small that even three man teams had to get up close and personal. The US girls team had one member on crutches just to add the complications, but the cheers for their bronze medal practically took the roof off. The Czechs had a clean sweep of gold medals, but ended up laughing so much at their inability to remember more than about four or five words during the first playing of their national anthem that they wisely refrained from singing thereafter.

All throughout our trip, there have been loads of police cars in evidence. We don't know whether this is normal or not, but it has become a standing joke amongst the juniors that the police are after Olivia. Whatever it is that she has done, it must be serious as there were four police vehicles and a police dog in the car park of the accommodation last night with a helicopter hovering overhead.

Silly comment of the day (by the team manager)

"There's bread in Sandra's roll."

Honourable mention to one of the race commentators who had to be told by the other one (over the loudspeakers) that this was the women's race and not to refer to all the competitors as "he".

Saturday 21st July

What a rollercoaster. After the lows of yesterday and a picture in the Charlotte Observer, with the caption of "Great Britain's Hannah Brown is struck by team-mate Olivia Churchill after taking a tumble in the Women's K1 Kayak race...", it was time to get back to work. Hannah unfortunately was still suffering some after effects from the collision yesterday and was unable to paddle today, and both Sandra and Olivia both sat out the morning practice. As we suspected, an ability to do two consistent runs was vitally important, and during the second run, the M wave was rising and falling to a huge extent and it was rather a lottery as to what conditions the paddlers met. Alas, the C2 had a long swim on the first run, but put in one of their best performances on the second run. Rob had a great first run finishing 12th, but was caught by treacherous M wave on the second and sent straight up over some rocks. After a few moves more usually seen in a freestyle competition, he was on his way to a huge cheer from the large crowd. Michael had two very consistent runs. Proof that consistency was so key today is that he was 17th in his first run, 15th in his second yet finished 14th overall, and hence comfortably in the top half of the field. Both British girls looked smooth on their first runs, and Sandra was just 0.8 of a second down on the leader whilst Olivia was 5th. Several of the favourites for the sprint title had problems on their first run and left themselves with too much to do in the second. Because the seeding was taken from the sprint results in Mezzana two years ago, both girls were going early. Sandra put in another super smooth, ultra consistent round, whilst Olivia nailed every line to knock nearly three seconds off her first run time, leaving them 1st and 2nd. Ivana Hrabalova knocked them down a place, but that was it, and another double success in the individual race.

The idea of singing national anthems seems to be catching on. The Czechs still need more work, but the prize of the day should go to the Slovak supporters. Though small in number, they obviously had brought along some excellent singers. The French made up for a lack of finesse with extra volume although the particular recording used tripped them up by having an additional and unexpected verse. With a little improvisation, they coped by singing the previous verse again. The ICF flag was handed on to the Swiss team for the 2009 Junior World Championships, and then there was the usual mad dash to swap kit. There will be plenty of mismatched outfits at the Athletes' Party tonight.

So 5 medals, 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze, but beyond the medals there were excellent performances all round, and it was a team effort from the management, coaches and all the paddlers that enabled the medal winning performances. Micky and Orange are strangely quiet - but only because they have lost their voices from shouting encouragement so much. They were familiar sights on a bike (Orange "borrowing" his bikes again) during races and often being used by commentary to indicate where the paddler was when out of their line of sight. Orange always wearing a Union flag cape a la superman, and Micky in his trademark chrome coloured helmet. Their coaching achievements were phenomenal and mention must also be made of the groundwork done by Sandra with Jackie's help at Easter, that meant the team hit the ground in Charlotte running. I could go on and on with a list of thanks, but everyone over in Charlotte, be they team or supporters, contributed towards to the team's success, plus a lot of people back home as well.

A final quote from a senior organiser

"The Swiss are never on time for anything"

Postscript

Reports are that the post championship athlete party was gooooooood. The evening finished off with an illicit swim by the GB, US and Swiss teams in the bottom pool of the course. When all the pumps (which can fill an Olympic sized swimming pool in under a minute) are switched off, the bottom pool fills up to about 8ft. deep. Getting in is easy, but getting out up the steeply sloping slippery concrete sides is less so. Eventually they worked out a system whereby several people combined underwater to rocket launch someone up the bank. Once the first couple of people were up, the rest were easier. Illicit swimming, however, means leaving most of your clothes unguarded, and the Germans used the opportunity to relocate them. Most of them were repatriated, but Sandra's top swap of Czech shorts were never found.

The final and probably dumbest comment of all (when taken out of context of course) by me

"I haven't worked out the difference between girls and boys"

If you have made it this far, well done, and thank you for reading and participating in our adventures albeit vicariously.

Miranda Churchill