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2024-11-03 2024 Pan-American R4 Rafting Championships

As this would be our first time racing in a competition run by the WRF, we were pleasantly surprised at how well we were looked after; no staying in tents for us! the entire Canadian squad were accommodated near to the centre of Pucon, and were very well fed. The event hosts at Pucon Kayak Retreat were likewise very welcoming. All of the events were held on various parts of the Trancura river, which while not being overly difficult, nevertheless made for some entertaining racing.

We managed to arrive early enough to get some training in, along with some of the other Canadian teams. This was valuable, as we were coming together from all over Canada, and racing in boats that were new to us. So we managed to get to the start line for the time trial confident that we would be doing the best that could be expected of us. The field was dominated by several very good teams from Brazil, along with Japan and Italy, so we were happy with our initial placings in the middle of the pack, similar to the other Canada teams. Our mens team got knocked out in the first round of Head-to-Head races, but our mixed team fared better, lasting to the quarter finals. The event format is still undergoing some significant changes, and we are not convinced that the current rules produce a worthwhile and understandable race.

The downriver race format was new to us also; as teams were started individually, at minute intervals. This made for a much less interesting race than in previous competitions, as we were on our own for most of the course, with other teams only visible in the distance on occasion. Again we did passably well, and made good lines all the way down.

The slalom course made the most of the features on the Trancura river right by the event headquarters, and was challenging for many teams. Our mixed team did a great job, finishing 4th. Overall we were happy with our performance, and had a great time racing as a team together. The final results are available here.

Mens team; Chaz Johnson, Jake Suchorab, Ian Stokes, Gwyn Ashcroft

Mixed team; Julie Butala, Kailee Marland, Ian Stokes, Gwyn Ashcroft

2024-05-19 2024 Canadian R4 Rafting Championships

This years national championships were held at Valleyfield, and the Rouge river courtesy of Nouveau Monde rafting, with an amazing total of 14 teams racing across all categories. This was the first nationals that we have had in Canada using both the IRF and alternate World Rafting Federation rules and scoring. The first day of racing was kicked off with the sprint, using the Valleyfield course. Both the teams that we fielded started out strong, winning in the mixed and mens categories against some stiff opposition.

The mens team continued strongly, with another win in the Head-to-Head event, while the mixed team came away with second, losing to the Canada Collectif team.

After a break for lunch, the next event up was the slalom, with a few tricky moves to navigate. Both teams did well, but neither was able to beat the well-practiced Canada Collectif team. After a team meal, we headed back to the campsite at Nouveau Monde rafting on the Rouge river in preparation for the final downriver racing.

The downriver event was closely fought, with both our teams narrowly losing out to finish in second place. The final results were tallied using both the IRF and WRF scoring, available here; IRF, WRF. Both our teams have finished in the top two, and are qualified for the upcoming Pan American Campionships in Chile!

Mens team; Chaz Johnson, Jake Suchorab, Ian Stokes, Westley Etherington, Gwyn Ashcroft

Mixed team; Julie Butala, Kailee Marland, Westley Etherington, Gwyn Ashcroft

2024-05-11 Hell or High Water

The Petawawa in the springtime is always a good time, and the Hell or High Water festival is a great place to catch up with boating buddies after the winter.

This year we fielded a mixed team; welcome to Julie and Kylie. It was a good warm-up race for Nationals and team selection coming up next weekend. Attendance was up on last year; there was a good vibe and lots of people watching the action at Lovers. We had some competition, but ended up coming first out of the 4 teams that entered.

Paddlers; Chaz Johnson, Julie Butala, Kylie Rieger, Westley Etherington, Matt Stanfield, Gwyn Ashcroft

2023-05-13 Hell or High Water

We had high water for this year's Hell or High Water festival, and it was good to be back to something approacing normality again.

The turnout was noticeably lower than in previous years, which made for a less rushed schedule. We pulled in some new folks to help us get on the water; thanks to Ian and Isaac!

Photo: Rob Faubert

Paddlers; Graham Ball, Chaz Johnson, Ian Thomson, Isaac Thomson, Matt Stanfield, Gwyn Ashcroft

2022-09-11 2022 Canadian R4 Rafting Championships - Summary

It sure was good to be back in a raft and getting some racing in on the mighty Ottawa river after such a long time! Big thanks to M.J., OWL rafting and Wilderness Tours for all their help to make the event a big success. The turnout was better than it has been for many years, with 6 ladies teams and 4 mens teams competing for the national titles.

We just about managed to get a team together, with some last minute changes due to illness. A strong Quebec team from Nouveau Monde on the Rouge river knocked us down to second place in the Sprint, Head-to-Head and Downriver events, but we managed to win the Slalom, coming second overall.

2022-08-23 2022 R4 Nationals

Will be held over the weekend of 9th - 11th September. More details can be found here