Friday, May 01, 2009

N.E.W. Triple Crown great success!!!

The weekend started off with a spectacular break in the weather; the shining sun warmed the Tariffville Gorge into the 80's, giving people a glimpse of summer.

Day one saw full time athletes wondering if they could perform well enough in their "off" discipline. Slalom athletes worried about freestyle. Freestyle athletes worried about slalom. Everyone wondered if they could keep the tippy, super fast wildwater boats under control enough to put up good times.

Weekend warriors showed up and competed in all three events. Some borrowed wildwater boats and were paddling them for the first time. Others, like me, paddled their retro plastic boats as fast as they could, hoping to be close enough to qualify for the next day.

In the good spirit of friendly competiton, fellow athletes were loaning each other slalom kayaks, making sure that everyone who wanted, was able to race in a slalom boat. Those who felt more comfortable in their plastic boats took on the challenge of the gates in their river runners or creek boats. Four people, including Ted DeVoe, raced in the plastic slalom boat.

It seemed like everyone had a freestyle boat. Playboats seem to be the default whitewater craft. There is a good reason for it. They are meant to play (that little kid in all of us still wants us to play).

I was competing and volunteering, so did not take any photos.
But, plenty of spectators had their cameras, and the photos are rolling in to the main website for the event.
TvillTripleCrown.com
Look at the photo links on the site.
Enjoy the photos as they are uploaded onto the gallery.
Share your photos if you were at the event and had a good time.

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