Kayakin´Tom

Sunday, 4 May 2014

Uganda Camp - Photos

Here are some more pictures from my recent trip to Uganda!

www.sweetwatercoaching.co.uk www.kayakojacko.com

Mitchell Blades Kayak Paddles

Bomber Gear

Lake Bujagali

Fishermen at Lake Bujagali

As above

Lake Bujagali

Rush at Club Wave

Club Wave again

Frangipani blossom

Again

Frangipani tree

Again..

and once more..

Rush at Nilse Special

..going big!

Rush again - at my favorite time on Nile Special - late afternoon

and again

...

slightly different angle o Nile Special and Rush

Thomas on Nile Special

Rush again

A colourful centiepde

Panorama-shot of the whole rapid

Palm tree and Rush..

and once more..

Black and white study

big Airscrew by Rush

Nicky on Club Wave

Lefty Blunt!

Jacko on Club Wave

one of the locals

Pauls, Nicky and Den in the Eddy

Den

Paula - raptly listening to one of the coaches ;)

Nicky at it again!

Den on Club Wave

Quim on Nile Special

..looking for the Airscrew

Quim again

Nicky paddling onto Nile Special

Quim at a Blunt

and a Clean Blunt

Den having fun!

It´s rainy season after all...

as you can see here!

And that´s me! Photo by Den Newton

Photo by Den Newton

Quite a busy eddy!

Rush on Club Wave

And on Nile Special

all in red

Paul on his climbing wall at the Hairy Lemon!

a colorful Lizard

Den on Club Wave doing an Airscrew/Panam

Jacko

Nile Special eddy with one of the local kids "doing the rope"

Rush

Jinja - at Flavours, awesome rest day for all of us!

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Back in Austria!

In the meantime training has commenced in Austria!

It´s quite a difference from the equatorial climate of Uganda to Austria´s late spring!!

Cold weather and even colder water - but that´s not holding me back!

It´s all about the gear: thanks to Bomber Gear for supporting me with the newest dry top, sprayskirt and dry pants!! Makes paddling in cold weather/water a lot easier!!

Pics from my local playspot: Helliwelli (screenshots):

Bomber Gear Mitchell Blades Kayak Paddles C S Canoe

Uganda Camp - World of Champions / Athlete Development Program

World of Champions/Athlete Development Program Uganda Camp

This visit to Uganda should be dedicated to kayaking – to develop my skills and increase my abilities – not only on the water but also my state of mind!

For that reason I was really stoked when I got the invitation by Den to join in on the training program by Sweetwater Coaching and KJO taking place in Uganda!

I decided to come here earlier so I´d have time to stop by in Bujagali and say hello to my friends there and then head to the Hairy Lemon to get ready for the training!

I had a blast in Bujagali and Jinja around all those wonderful people at the Soft Power Health Clinic – I miss you guys a lot!

Frangipani at the Hairy Lemon

Then, at the Hairy Lemon, it was time to paddle those beautiful waves again! I was to lucky to hitch a ride with Sam and Emily and after arriving we went straight to the river! After Sam and Emily left I was on my own for a few days – so I helped Paul with a few things on the Island that needed to be done. When I felt that paddling on my own started to become boring another kayaker showed up: Rush Sturges!

It was awesome to paddle with Rush – one of the icons of playboating and whitewater kayaking of the last few years!

He came to Uganda as a preparation for the Whitewater Grand Prix!

http://www.whitewatergrandprix.com/

Rush doing a Clean Blunt

It took me almost 10 days to get back into shape after rarely paddling for the last 3 months – but when Den, Jacko and the others arrived, I was back at where I left Uganda 3 and ½ months earlier!

The program itself was a huge experience!

It was not only about paddling but a holistic approach – giving us so many possibilities to work with – it just opened a totally new horizon for me!

Even Rush asked to join in on the training

New meanings of training – even if you´re far from any playspot or water – we´ll see how this works out for this years competitions!