DeerFeild Trip 07

This week was my first week as a keener and i am loving every moment of it. Luckly i got here befor the deerfeild trip which was on the weekend. It was amazing! (except the 10 hr. drive there and back) The river was pretty small but I learned alot of technical moves because of how shallow it was, you always had to have your guard up. On friday we ran the river and then after went to six flags, which was alot of fun. Superman was deffinitly the scariest roller coaster i ve ever been on! On saturday we ran the river again but it was pure fog so you could barely see anything, but it was still fun. After running the river we went to the deerfeild festival which was pretty sick. Devon, Zach (pirate) and myself all won fleece thongs and had to model them over are pants which was pretty funny. Nick, Joel, Rafa and Sharky came 2nd in the raft guide olympics. After the festival we drove 6 hrs to Lachine rapids and surfed big joe for 3 hrs. It was awsome, deffinitly one of the biggest waves ive ever surfed. After that we drove the rest of the way home. Overall the trip was awsome and i loved it!

ALEX

Last day as a keener

Today was my last day on the Ottawa. umm..i dont really wanna leave, but i guess i have to. Im gonna come back next summer though for a much longer time...fosho. I've learned a ton though, and I've had more fun than i could possibly imagine. I met so many cool people and made really good friends. At the beggining of the summer I wasn't sure how this was gonna go because i couldnt even front surf, and i wasnt as good as everyone else. But after about a week I stopped being shy and kinda made friends and then it just unfolded, i started learning so much in terms of kayaking and each new thing that i learned led to another thing to learn. Im really sad to be leaving but I can't wait to come back next summer, so hopefully ill see you all.

Pirate

Wensday on the main

This week was my first week as a keener and my third week kayaking, so far its been alot of fun. On monday i went down the main for the first time, it was fun but a bit scary. Then yesterday i went down the middle and ran dragon tounge for the first time.. pretty exciting. and today i ran the main. We surfed chopping block. Then at lunch some of us went swimming down the Y kee kee waves which was very fun... and i swallowed alot of water.
So far the week has been alot of fun and i hope deer feild will be too.
Jacquie

First Days on the Ottawa

I arrived in Canada on Sunday night after an hours hold up in the customs office because they thought I was a run-a-way to the french circus. On Monday we ran the middle and it was a lot of fun. I ran Dragons tongue and got worked in the hole in the bottom but it ended up being OK. We stoped at all the play spots along the way like S-Bend and Upper No Name and it was alot of fun. Today we did the same thing and tomorrow we will run the main channel. This weekend we will travel to the Deerfield in Massachusetts and then to Lachine in Montreal.

Bart

Tuesday

Today I ran the main. It was pretty fun, but there was not much play besides choppin block. Even though choppin block was a great wave it was very hard to get in the eddy. We did alot of flatwater training though. nick taught us how to do flat water felixes. They were really easy, but it took etric about an hour to figure it out. We also went to secret spot, but it was shallow, small, and flushy. We also practiced kick flips and had a lot of fun.

Stephen Forster

Monday on the Middle

Today was my first official day as a keener on the ottawa river. The level has been fluctuating drasticly recently on the ottawa, having gone from 11 to 1 in a single day, which is almost unherd of. On this particular day the level was at 4 1/4, not an ideal level for the type of playboating I prefer but a fun one none the less. My friends having advised me to paddle the middle at this level, I heeded their advice and went with instructors Nick "troutface" Troutman and everyones ...well maybey not everyones...actually probably no ones exept for myself...favorite Irishman Moe Kelleher down the "easier" channel of the ottawa. It was sensational! I ran Dragon's Tongue, an impressive looking rapid which demands more courage and confidence then techical skills, yet a very fun and fullfilling rapid to run...It was also my first time running it. All in all it was an amazing day on the river among friends and I am looking forward to many, many more!

Signing out, this is Zohar.

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE INSTRUCTION!

For me, the best part of the Keener Program is watching the Keeners grow in skill and maturity. Three fine examples are Rafa Ortiz, Nick Troutman and Joel Kowalski. All three grew up as Keeners from their early teens and graduated as instructors and world class boaters. Keeners are passionate about their paddling and the instructors are no diferent. On a well deserved day off they seek big waves and/or steep drops, often employing the rope and knots learned in Keener training. Pictured here is the Grand Chute of the Dumoine River in Quebec this past weekend.

Joe Kowalski

Sunday..sunday..sunday...sunday

Sunday, was today...and it still is sunday, today. Im writing this blog on sunday (today) and this is what I did today..on sunday. I woke up to obsurdly loud noises, it wasn't nice. Then I got out of my bed, I ate sum delicious cereal, and did sum getting readddying, and did sum delicous kayaking. Corner wave wasn't that great, it was super glassy, and kinda flushy, but you couldnt get any good bounces, also the level was going crazy, we woke up to about 1 and a half and by the end of the day it was at like 5 i think. Also there was this girl that got gnarrrred rather terribly on pinbal..which wasnt a good idea to run at all, but we helped her out and did stuff, then like 2 hours later somebody hurt their neck..it didnt really sound that bad at all..then there was a helicopter that landed on that werid island of grass near mccoys, it was dope...fosho. I still have no idea what happend. Sunday was fun.

Saturday

Hi my name is Annelies, and this is my first time on the Ottawa River, and my first week as a keener. The week has been great, especially because I've been able to paddle with people my age and from different places around the world. Yesterday we had the day off, but still Katie, Eric, Chris, Claudia and I decided to go down the Main, it was at 10 and we were really excited. We came to Colliseum and Big Kahuna was just a huge wave. Claudia decided to run it upsidedown, and the rest of us got down with a bit of a hard time but it was all good! Then later we got to the takeout and helped load everything for WT and got a shuttle ride back up to the WT put in. We helped unload and paddled down to McCoy's Chute. There I decided to follow Claudia through the tongue between left side and right side of Phils hole. We started down and I felt a little nervouse if we were going the right way and then I came to the top of right side and what do i see? I see Claudia upside down in Phils, and there was no way I was going to get around it in time. So I paddled as hard as I could and it flipped me and when I rolled back up I looked over to see that me and Claudia were party surfing the right side and before I know it BAM! I flipped and waited for a couple of seconds and was out! I looked back and saw no Claudia, then looked again and she had come out upside down. When we joined back up we were laughing! Lets just say our day was extremely intresting.

Annelies

Helicopter Lands at McCoys

Today after getting back from a session on Corner Wave we got back amd Stephen told us an ambulence would be stopping by to pick up a lady that was feeling nasuis and hurt her neck. So after Stephen left we see a helicoptor fly by McCoys a couple times and after wondering weather it was going to land it finally does on the small grass island. After it lands the perimedic drives in and was followed by an amubkene and a cop car. It was getting exciting. Then another cop car pulls in and everyone is outside of Robertsons and wondering how ba1dly the women is hurt. We never found out but we got video of the helicoptor taking off so that was cool.


Taylor

Back on the ottawa

Hi everyone:
My name is carlos and this is my fisr week in the keener program this year.
On wenesday there was a boater cross where i got second place. The race was at Garburator and the water level was very high. On friday there was the keener competition on waikiki. The wave was not very sticky and i got the second place again.
I am very happy to be back and see everyone again.
Carlos

A Splended Way to Spend a Sunday

After a radical change in water levels, Zach and I decided to go out to McCoys. When we went to sleep, the level was around 11, now it is 3/4. Several features that have not been in for a while are now in. Baby Face was great, and this was the first time that i have been able to surf it this year, and i have been here for two weeks. Corner wave is also great, the eddy is easier to catch at this level, so it makes for a great time. The weather is splendid, the water is warm, the waves are perfect. I could not think of a better way to spend a Sunday.
-Devon

A great saturday

Today Zach, Kyle, Kyles family,Eli, Brad, Taylor, Carlos, and I went down the middle channel. first we ran the rapid right of little trickle. this rapid was very sketchy. after we spent a lot of time at angels kiss, and buterfly. Then we ran garvins. Kyle, eli, Devyn, and I ran elevator shaft which was very fun, but definetly a dangerous rapid. Carlos and Kyles family ran WT shoot. They had a rough ride considering they all got stuck in very munchy, sticky holes which were extremely shallow. Finally we ran upper and lower no-name which were fun because they had some epic surfing. Lower no-name was big and the hydraulic vampire was huge. In all we had a great day.

Stephen Forster

Boater Cross Wednesday On The Ottawa River!

When I came to keeners, i really and truly had no clue what a boater cross was! I was quite excited about racing down the rapids by your self but mostly with other boaters...which is where most of the fun comes from. The more boaters in the water the more fun it is pushing others over and getting in other boaters' way...not even thinking that you might actually win the race which is apparently going on in the background. On Wednesday it was a great day for me. I ended up winning the whole boater cross race by picking the best line and sticking with it the whole race. Other than that it was an enjoyable day surfing Kahuna in the afternoon and riding my favorite rapid (Normans) before surfing Kahuna. Unfortunately I will be finished keeners at the end of this week but will still be staying at Isambul with the rest of the keeners helping with video and hopefully get some paddling in at the same time.

Wish I could be back next year but I will be too old ~_~

~ADAM~

Week 5 Big Water Thursday

Hello everyone and welcome to the Keeners on the Ottawa weblog. My name is Eric Marksz and my topic today is Big Water Thursday. This Thursday, July 19th, we all took part in our weekly tradition of Big Water Beatdown Thursday, the one special day every week in which we go into features that the average boater would avoid at all costs. We have many reasons for doing this. Going into large holes or waves gets us to not fear the size of these features, and going into sticky, rough, destructive, and insane features teaches us how to get out of those situations, as well as gives us a little bit of smackdown, so we become accustomed to those situations, don't panic, and actually soon find unlimited rapture from watching and taking part in these beatdowns. Well, watching is a little more fun. This Thursday, we went to Big Phil's Hole, and did our three mandatory surfs. Right Side Phil's was awesome, and you could actually throw some moves in it. Left Side Phil's was a good spot for a sidesurf, or massive beatdown. Gabriel from Costa Rica definately had the best thrashing of the day, with his sister, Claudia, not far behind. Another highlight was Eli's surf, in which he was surfing in left side, then was launched out when he took a raft to the boat/chest. After we hit up Phil's, we headed down to Coliseum And many people went for a surf on the Big Kahuna. While some people had easy surfs, and got off upright, many others were swallowed by the foam pile, or had a huge bounce, then did a massive faceplant.
Everyone had fun, and there were no injuries.



Peace out and keep reading,
Eric Marksz

A Great Time!

I'm sad to say that today is my last day with the keeners but i had a great time. I enjoyed my whole stay at keeners but there were a few things that were really great. These things were Lachine, Garvin's, Big water thursdays and racing wednesdays and the instructors. I improved my paddling an amazing amount and learned other very valuble things about river saftey. its a really cool place to spend time at and i'm very happy to have the expierence. now for the rest of the summer will be back and forth between working at home and working at WT and i hope to paddle as much a possible in that time.

Thanks
Kent Bretzlaff

This is me running the left line on Dragon's Tounge.

Finally Back At Keeners

My name is Scott Borthwick, this is my second year being a Keener, but my first week this year. Well, being back at the Keener program and the Ottawa River is a real treat. What is different about this year is the amazing fluctuation in the water level. Last year I was blessed to be here while Garberator was in and the level never seemed to change. That is why, before coming this year, I had never the river above approximately 2. Now, with the changing levels, I have been able to learn the Ottawa, both the middle and the main at all different levels. This definitely helped to build my confidence knowing that I can run the river at most levels. My first week back started on the middle channel, where it was only my second time running it. I got to play at S-Bend for an while working on looping and cartwheels and then the entrie group headed downstream to Garvins. I had never run any of the chutes at Garvins before and though nervous about running them, I had the oppuritny to run both Elevator Shaft as well as Dragons Tongue.

Me running Elevator Shaft

The rest of the week was spent on the main channel with a boatercross down the Lorne, beatdowns in Phils Hole and Kahuna Surfing and finally on friday we had our weekly competition at Waikiki the winner being Kyle with me placing third. Thats all for now.
Scott Borthwick

Go back to Costa Rica

I came here 2 weeks ago, and i also were in differents levels along this very shorts week`s.This time i really could focus in my surfing and my kayaking skills and i dindn`t swim what was great compared to last year and also beeing 4th place at the competition at waikiki show me that i was getting better. Also being with all these great kayakers like nick , stephen , mor or joel helped me a lot to get in all these big waves and holes like today i surfed big kahuna at level 10 or getting trashed at phil`s hole for one minute.And all the keeners were great i had so much fun and i hope coming back next year and kayak again in the ottawa river!!
If one of you guys come to Costa Rica let me now and you can stay in my place, gabrielgirot@hotmail.com

thank`s joe for this great oportunity !!

Gabriel the CostaRican guy

Last Day as a Keener

I've now been here with the Keener program for five weeks and today is my last day. The Ottawa River is great and is now my favorite river. I've loved kayaking every day and I've learned so much. All the instructors are awesome, they have been good teachers and are fun to paddle with. Since I have been here the Keeners have taken trips to the Gatneau and Lachine, I like getting some variety in whitewater so that was cool. Weekly events for us were race day, competition day, and bigwater Thursday so something different happened almost every day of the week. Weekends were also really nice so you could get a couple days to rest or do what you want. Being a keener has been one of the best things I've ever done and I really hope to do it next summer.
-Jackson Conn

Farewell

Well this is my last day with the keeners.I am going to miss all the instructors and Tiff.This week was fun.Four of us got to run elevator shaft.Little Stephen Forester probed it and messed up.On Wednesday we had a boater cross though the Lorne and Adam won that and I Got fourth.Today we had our competition and I got first place in the A division and Nick Troutman won the instructor division.Well this Five weeks has been fun and I have learned tons from all the instructors.See you next year.


kyle hull

Week 5 Co-ordinator's Report

Week 5 already. I can't believe Kyle and Jackson will be leaving us...they have been here from the beginning and it will be strange not to have Jackson make us laugh hysterically on speech night, and Kyle who thinks and talks kayaking incessantly! Kyle was also assigned the hard job being the IC for Robertson's and I just want to thank him for a doing a great job. And then of course, we only had Gabriel for a couple of weeks and we hope to see him come back next year for longer so that I can continue to practice my Spanish...and to have him continue to improve those paddling skills as well!
On Tuesday I took us all to see Harry Potter in town, and even though the locals were displeased because we bought most of the tickets, it was a fun road trip. Next week will be an even more interesting field trip as we head to the Deerfield for 4 days!
The water has gone up and down this week, and the joys of hearing about getting 'beat down' is always entertaining. Today I plan on meeting them at Coliseum where I'll be waiting in the jet boat to pick up any swimmers from rafting trips. I hope I don't have to fish any of my keeners out of the water...(actually that's not true at all, but it's not that I want them to swim, it's just that I want to be there to save them if needed)! So, I'm off to get dressed up for that cold weather...

Until next week,
Tiff

-Keener Personalities-

This program has made that different nationalities join, wich helps each of us to know about other cultures and life styles.
But besides that, we have experienced different personalities, and what living with people so different but that at the same time share the same passion is. So here we fight with those happy all the time, the ones that are always helping, others a little shy, some responsable, some irresponsable, loud ones, funny, cranky....Each one of us has something special, sometimes we can´t
understand the person, but we always learn from them. Through life we go meeting lots of people, and we have to somehow get along with everyone, and that´s why the keener program is so great, because we all understand that we are here achieving everything we like the best way we can, and improving our paddling skills of course!

Have fun =0)

«~˜*CLÃÜ*˜~»

big water beetdown

Today was thursday which means we all have to surf phills hole. Though many people got worked by phills throughly gabreal had a long run stuck in phills he was window shaded multiple times and looked like he was going for a donkey flip a copple times. his beetdown was defenetly the highlight of the day. eli also had an exciting run getting bumped out of phills by an on comming raft and was sent down for a nice leftside surf. which sums up the hightlights of beetdown thursday.

A Little Tong of the Dragon

On Monday our coaches decided that we would run the middle channel, we split into two groups, one played at s-bend, while the other played at butterfly. After an hour or so, we headed on down stream to Garvin's. Once we got there we scouted Elevator shaft and Dragons tong from 3 different angles. Even though I'm a local here, I've never ran Dragons Tong before, so even thinking about running it, and finding my line was such a big deal. Once safety was set up and everyone started to run it, I was contemplating if i should or not, but I knew i had the skill it was just intimidating, but I got the courage I needed and jump in my boat and ran it.
Everything went smoothly for those who ran it. While some thought WT shoot was better for them that day.
-Katieeeeee =)

Race Day

Today was race day. The Keener instructors decieded to do a boatcross race at Lorne Rapids on the Ottowa River. The level was a 6ft which provided a nice level to race at. The course was moderate in difficulty and had several possible lines. One of which was a boof over a 5ft drop, easy to do however, if you did not boof you would be stuck in the whole and loose the race. The second line would take you inbetween the boof and Moby Dick. The third and final line took you right down the middle of the shoot leaving you with a paddle upstream to the check point. Overall the race went well and nobody swam.
Brad

This is my first week up here and it has been pretty good so far. Yesterday we played in McCoy's for a while because the water had plummeted. Right side and Corner wave were the best spots in it. While I was playing in right side I came up and my paddle felt floppy, I checked it and the paddle blade had been cracked right down the middle. Which wasn't to fun but besides that it has been awsome.
The water has been going up or down every night, it has been really cool to be able to see the ottawa at all these differn't levels, because it can change a boring spot to a fun one or a small rapid to a big one.
Glad to be back,
eli

Me, a few weeks ago at skook

Guest Instructor Ruth Gordon

Ruth Gordon was the guest keener instructor for the third week of the keener program. The first day Ruth was paddling with us she started by asking us all what our goals are for the week and what we wanted to learn, which was really cool because she tried to help us attain these goals throughout the week. Ruth also placed first in the women's class at worlds this year. It was nice to have another female instructor in the keener program along with Tiff.

-Charlene

week cuatro

Claudia and I!


So it is now the end of week four already! Time has just been flying by! We have recieved some great new editions this past week... like some old friends from Costa Rica! Claudia and her brother Gabriel have arrived and it´s great having them back. This past week has been pretty fun... from going to Montreal to moving jet boats at WT....only the cripples would know what I´m talking about! But going to Montreal was really fun and I hope we can do it again some time later this summer. I wasn´t able to surf Big Joe because of my hurt knee, but it was really fun paddling down there and being with everybody. One of the real joys of the day was seeing eveyone´s faces as they were coming back up to the eddy and getting ready to back out and surf. I got the opportunity to surf Big Joe last year and it was amazing so I knew exactly how they felt! Everyone was in such a good mood and it was really great to be around. After the fun at the Lachine we got to go out to eat at The Works, which was a really nice change. We arrived home pretty late, so lucky for us we got to sleep in the next day! This past week has been really fun and I´m looking foward to week cinco!

Adios!
--Shaniece Seelig

P.S. We miss you Cameron!

The real meaning of Big Water Thursday!

As we put on the water Thursday morning, Steven said it’s nice to have a little high water (Even though it was only 2 ½ comparing to last Thursday when it was my -2). We started off the day with the regular Phil’s surf, and the exploring of the other channel at the Lorne. No one would have know that by the time we had lunch and got back in our boats that the water had already risen 3 ½ feet. One group got some mad down time at Brain douche while the other group stopped at Crocodile Mile. By the time we got down to Coliseum, all the new keeners were in for a treat, not having experienced Big Water like this before. By the time everyone got to the bottom there were smiles from ear to ear on everyone. Its great to have high water letting all the keeners experience what real high water is all about.
-Katie

Week 4

This week was great! It was great due to the trip to Lachine. I had never been there and i didn't really know what to expect. once i got there though there was no disapointments. I loved big joe wave alot because you could through anything and not worry about washing off. it was also neat because you could sit on the shoulder before you drop into the pit and watch who ever was there. the wave train down to the wave was also a great time because it was just a long huge line of waves and holes you could hit or punch. this is a picture of me on Big Joe.


On friday was fun as well because i got to run Iniation which was fun to try downriver moves. this is a picture of me wave wheeling.


Kent Bretzlaff

Head Coach's Log: Week 4

Well, sports fans, another week has come and past in the life of the Keener Program 2007--and what a week it was! Not only did our students participate in our "normal" paddling endevours like "Big Water Thursday", "Racing Wednesday", and "Competition Friday", but we also had a trip to Montreal, AND wildly fluctuating levels on the Ottawa to add excitement! We were joined by World Champion Ruth Gordon of Team Jackson Kayaks as our guest instructor, who added even more excellence to our week. I enjoyed watching all our students improve immensely. Highlights were seeing all students getting over their fear in big Phil's hole, though Devon C and Kent's hand-surfing beat-downs were the most impressive. Rob conquered fear to have a great seal launch on Crocodile Mile. Quinn and Eric both learned to do mystery moves in Butcher's Knife. It was also fun to watch Kyle win the Friday competition with consitant loops and even a phonix monkey and a heli-wheel! Everyone had a great time in Montreal on Big Joe and Pyramid Wave. It was a sad goodbye for our keeners who left this week. We'll greatly miss Rob, Madison, James, Ben, and Quinn! Here are this week's competition results:

A Class:
1 Kyle (George Clooney)
2 Adam
3 Eric
4 Rob
5 Devon (blue)
6 Kent
7 Ben
8 Quinn
9 Devon (orange)

B Class:
1 Josh
2 Nuka
3 Zack
3 "lil" Steven Forrester
4 Charlene
5 Madison

Tha That That's all folks!
Stephen Wright

High water on the ottawa

The past few days on the ottawa have been much different from my first 2 weeks. I came here and the level was at about 0 and went down to -1 and -2...I think. But anyways the level is at about 7 now and is tending to rise and drop constantly. I gotta say i like low water alot more, right now there's no horseshoe hole, no corner wave, no babyface, pushbutton, chopping block, or blacks. Although there are a few other new features that come in, i dont really remember their names, but i remember that tripple nipple was nice and big kahuna was monsterous. But over all, i think low water is much more fun. But it is really fun to have big water on colli right now.

- Zach

From Costa Rica to Canada

I came here one week ago with my sister Claudia and i has been great since i got here.Monday we went to push bottom which was good for practic my surfing , thusday we went to lachine in Montreal and it was super fun to surf this big wave called big joe and also to check the rivers in Canada.Wendnesday it was racing in McCoys which was very fun.Then Big water thursday was fun but at the same time scary , i surfed phil's hole and ran big kahuna whivh was pretty big because the level was at 7.Also it has been great kayaking with all these great instructors like nick,ruth,moe,stephen and joel that helped me that much.

Gabriel G.

Costa Rica

compition friday

On friday there was a tough comp.In the A division the top three finalist were me, Adam, and Erik.My first ride in the finals was my best. It was a 41 point ride and my best ever. I threw a loop, into cartwheels then a space godzilla, and to finish my ride off I did a phonix monkey. I would have won the comp with any of my my rides, but that was my best ride.

kyle hull

First Week

I am Stephen Forster and this was my first week as a keener this year. I was a keener last year and the year before that. This was one of my favorite weeks as a keener. The first few days the water was low, but then the water level shot up on big water thursday. at the begining of the day we surfed Phils hole at 2 feet and by the end of the day the keeners were surfing Big kahuna at 6 feet. We also made a huge fire on thursday, but Mo Keleher put the fire out with a bucket of water. we also had a water baloon fight and surfed many holes and waves that were not possible to surf at the begining of the week. In conclusion, it was a great week. "beasht" (Irish for sweet)

Lachine and the Ottawa

My name is Jackson Conn and I have now been with the keeners for four weeks. This week on Tuesday we took a trip to the Lachine rapids in Montreal to surf the wave Big Joe. The river is really wide and we had to paddle way out to a small eddy near the wave. From there the wave is downstream and farther out into the middle of the channel. It was really fun. Two people could surf the wave at a time. After you were through surfing the wave there was an eddy to catch below the wave. From there to get back to the Big Joe eddy there were rocks to walk back across and short paddles. There are usually ropes to pull yourself back up on so you don't have to get out of your boat but they were broken. It was a lot of work to get back up, but the wave was worth it. When it was time to leave we had to make a long ferry across current. We then made the four hour drive back to the Ottawa River. The next day, Wednesday, was our weekly race day, this week held at Mccoy's Chute. Thursday was bigwater Thursday at Phil's Hole and Friday was our competition. I have one more week here before it's time to leave and I hope for another great one like this week.
-Jackson Conn

Friday, 13, July, 2007; My Birthday and Comp. Day!

So there were two things to look forward to on Friday the 13th! My birthday and the Competition day which went quite well. First of all, for the last couple years I have had my birthday on the Ottawa River kayaking! It was nice to head out to another amazing day and surprising that I had not been out on the river higher than 3 1/2. CRAZY! Secondly, I came 2nd in the competition throwing air loops, air wheels and enders. All in all, it was a great day and canpt wait until week 5!

~Adam~

going away

Well, I'm leaving this weakend and going back home in Eugene, Oregon. It's sad leaving the Ottawa and going back to the rivers where I live. Being with keeners has made the Ottawa my favorite river. The play and all of the rapids are super funto mess around on. Hopefully next summer I will come back.

Ben McKenzie

So long to the ottawa

So, it's been an awesomely epic three weeks, but it looks like it's time to say goodbye. My last week ended great with a trip to big joe on wednesday and crazy beatdown thursday. To cap it all off on friday I broke my paddle( boof in the lorne) and Waikiki was good so i got one last good hurrah in.

Its been fun, Rob

Initiation

This morning, a few of us paddled up to initiation. Since the watter has risen significantly, we jumped on the opportunity to do some steep river running and sweet down river moves. A ton of wave wheels, kick flips and mocho moves were thrown down into oddosy hole. It was a great way to start the morning, even though we missed out on some practice time for the competition. It is rare that we get a chance to play so freely in this spot because oddosy is usually very shallow and dangerous. It was great to be able to work on some more river running skills in a different environment. It is much more narrow and technical than the other parts of the river.All and all it was a great time had by everybody.
By Devon Chalfant (me throwing a sweet kick flip)

bloggity blog (couldn't think of a name and i need to go pack...)

Well after three short awesome weeks on the ottawa, and 2 long not-so-awesome days at either the hospital or WT, i need to bugger off (its an "australian colloquialism" so i guess im allowed to say it) back where i came from nursing limbs, ears and broken gear.

It's going to be hard returning from a country with what seems to have more water then the entire ocean; to a country that only has the water in the ocean, and harder still to ditch all the international mates i've made over the past weeks.

But i suppose i should concentrate on the all the stuff that made it such a sweet winter (summer over here, crazy country...). Soo heres a list of cool stuff which i will write in the order in which i remember them.

Making fires bigger then a pile of fat people. You just can't do that back home!

Playing with snakes that wont kill you in 15 minutes.

Going of big cool ramp thing into a lake! Whoever thought of this was a genius...

Huckin some air on garb and big joe.

And, for want of a more inflammatory term, 'pointing out cultural differences between Australia and Canada'. this is usually followed by the statement "this cuntry's crazy"

anyhoo i need to pack so see ya and this is big joe!

Keener Climbing and Biking

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Eric Marksz, and tonight I will be writing about what goes on at WT on Wednesday evenings. Joe Kowalski, head of Wilderness Tours, had the idea to have Greg, the climbing instructor at WT teach us all sorts of knots and uses for rope. As the weeks went by, and more people arrived at Keener World Domination Headquarters, we were too large of a group to all do Ropes and Knots. The solution was to have half the group go Mountain Biking as well. The mountain bikers went on three different trails near WT, and most were having a blast. The climbers again practiced knots. This week, the second week after the division, the groups switched, and the climbers got to climb the wall and the bikers did the same trails. The climbing was a lot of fun, and some people made it all the way up the hardest faces of the wall. This makes our Wednesdays much more fun, and I look forward to biking next week.


Peace all!!
Eric

Week 4 - Co-ordinators Report

It's hard to believe we are on Week 4 here in Keenerville. The levels have been up and down a few times which has been a great opportunity for the keeners to experience the fear and excitement of both Coliseum and Garberator. On Tuesday, we took a road trip to Lachine in Montreal. It was a long day, starting at 6am and finishing around 11pm, but everyone was in good spirits as long as DJ Rob or DJ Ruth were playing good tunes! I particularly enjoyed surfing with Charlene and watching her big smile from just a few feet away, but really it was just great to be on the water with everyone! This week I have also had the pleasure of practicing my Spanish on Claudia and Gabriel..and even though they spend much of the time laughing at me I do my best to have them teach me what they can!
Though we are happy to welcome some newcomers, tomorrow, unfortunately we have a few people leaving us; Ben, Rob, and Quinn must fly home to Oregon where I know they will be able to only dream of good whitewater, James heads back to Oz where luckily for him there is no water since Left Side Horseshoe has taught his shoulder a lesson, Maddie heads home to celebrate a birthday without us, and Nuka I'm sure we'll see again since he only lives on the other side of the river. It has been a pleasure to have them here and of course we hope to see them again next summer!

Tiff

The camp fire at Keener Village!

So for my second week in keener I had a blast. It is the best atmosphere for learning and also having fun. The camp fires are absolutely amazing. Unfortuatly a move was being watched in Robertsons so I gathered a bunch of wood by myself and set up a teepee. When it was ready to be lit it looked so big...yet it didn't get very big at all. It smoked a crazy amount and will post pictures of it soon. By far this was the best fire that I think that was every SKILLFULLY set up.

~Adam~

Race day wednesday

The start at the boatercross finals from last week

Every wednesday we have a race with all the keeners. It usually consists of running a rapid and hitting a boat placed in an eddy on the way down, then another at the finish. This week we had our race through McCoy's chute, hitting a boat in the hero eddy, running just to the right of Phil's, then going through Right side horseshoe to hit a boat in the eddy at the finish. We normally do a timed run then a few heats of boatercross, but due to the difficult line, we just did 2 timed runs and took our best time. The final outcome was devon in first with 1:12, then james with 1:16, then me and kent tied with 1:17. these races are a lot of fun, and provide good competition and river running experience.

Quinn

Big Joe Rocks

Big Joe is the best! This is my last week here at the keener program and it has definitely been one to remember. We took an extremely fun day trip to the Lachine to surf to epic Big Joe on Tuesday. The wave was huge and beautifully smooth. It was really fun to surf and many of the keeners were throwing huge moves. Also, it was fun to be on such a wide river. (3 miles wide at its widest point) Nothing beats beautiful scenery combined with a couple of nice surfing waves. It was a long day with a 4 hour drive there and a 4 hour drive back but definitely worth it. The rest of the week has also been tons of fun with racing down McCoys on Wednesday and then the level rising to 6ft. making big water Thursday truly live up to its name. I going to be sad to leave, these 3 weeks have been incredible.
~Maddi

Costa Rica

Many people wonder where Costa Rica is.. Some think its a small
country in Europe, and others just think that its an island..
So here goes a little of geography. Costa Rica is in Central America,
an thats just down from Mexico.

My first days here have been excelent. I got here on Sunday with my
brother Gabriel. Moe took us to get our kayaks and we got stuck..so I
had to walk from the beach to WT to get help..that was interesting,
the tractor that pulled it out had never seen something like that...
Monday was a good start day, we surfed push buttom and went down the
Main, Charlene helped me to remember the lines, and its as good as i
will always remember. On Tuesday we had the great trip to Lachine in
Montreal to surf Big Joe! I was really excited and nervous at the time,
but once i surfed it i couldnt stop! Racing Wednesday came up, we did
it at Mcoys, I didnt do so well, but its the fun that counts. After
dinner a group went biking and another rock climbing. The bike trails
were awesome, and i had never montain biked before, so it was great.
And today with big water thursday...Well i had to come back to Yakistan
because i hurt my arm.. But it was worth it because i could surf Phils
Hole! Hope tomorrow im better for competition day!

«~˜*CLÃÜ*˜~»

goodbye

well ive just arrived home and i have to say that keeners has been amazing and has improved my paddling drastically. after one day home im already wanting to go back so badly and im already excited for next summer... well farewell until next year and everyone have a great summer



Nelson(sunshine)

Head Coach's Log: Week 3

Keener week 3 was fantastic! From big surfs in Phil's Hole, to timed racing and boatercross in Colliseum, to First aid/CPR training, and the return of the mighty Garburator--this week had it all. Highlights for me were watching Quinn throw the largest loop I've ever seen in Black's, seeing Aussie James hit HUGE pan-ams on Garb, Devyn's EPIC left-side to right-side Phil's beat-down, Enjoying corner wave with so many talented students, helping the Wednesday race day come together for an unforgettable race down Colliseum, and fun coaching with FARMER Dave N..

Friday's competition results:

A class:
1 Aussie James
2 Keegan G.
3 Cameron Savage
4 Devyn
5 Ross
6 Eric
7 Quinn
7 Kyle
8 Rob
9 Katie
10 Adam
10 Chris S.

B Class:
1 Ben
2 Nelson (Sunshine)
3 Charlene
4 Jackson
5 Josh
6 Zack (Loon)
7 Madison

Signing Off for now,
Stephen Wright

Kayaking

hi i'm Nuka and this is my 2nd week of keeners. this week i did a couple of pretty cool things. First of all i went down the river with a new jackson creeker and it was pretty fun because i had never been in a creeker before. Second of all i was filming at garb for a while. i had to film due to my ear infection but it was still awsome that it was in and i could watch people do some pretty big things during the compition. I got to surf baby face quite a bit which was great because it was at a prime level. and to finish the week off i completed the first aid course so now i can save people's live when the are in need of help.
nuka

Almost Drowning

Last Tuesday we learned how to use "hand of God." So we all had to choose a partner and like flip over and our partner would flip us back up. When Tiffany's partner had to use this on her, they were unable to flip her back up. Tiff waited for a while under water for her partner to flip her back over and ended up scraping her head along the rocks in the current and eventually ended up swimming because she wasn't allowed to handroll up. Then when I attempted to rescue Shaniece her knee popped out of its socket and then she couldn't kayak for like a week. She's coming back tomorrow though so it should be exciting. Claudia is here also now and that's super exciting and I'm just excited for this next week.

-Charlene

keener weekends

I love weekends as a keener. It's rather fantastic, mostly because its nothing like a regular keener day. Don't get me wrong, I like the regular keener days just not the way they start. Usually we have to get up around 6:30ish and probably run about a mile or we swim. Then we put on all our nice freezing, wet, cold, gear and then we go into the water and warm up. We do a bunch of backpaddling and just strech, But weekends...weekends my friend are much different. My personal favorite way to spend a weekend is to go to sleep when ever i feel that i cant keep my eyes open anymore. I sleep until about 11:30, eat a bunch of cereal, watch various movies. By this time I'm incredibly excited to go paddling, so you get a small group of friends together and go shred the Gnar!!!

- Zach King

Speeches on the Ottawa

So, part of the Keener program is giving speeches every monday night, the idea being to better prepare young boaters for the world at large. Some keeners talked kabout things pertinent to WT such as the transportation system and poison ivy, but I talked about the rivers from my home state, Oregon. Oregon has some great boating opportunities, and it 's always fun to share that with other people as passionate about paddling as I am. I was the only one who talked about rivers though; Mo talked about rivers in Ireland, Rafa talked about rivers in Mexico, and Joel talked about his recent boating experience in China with World Class. Talking about rivers in remote and exotic places always gets me psyched to go boating.

Thats all for now, Rob( Sorry the picture isn't really relevant to the post, I couldn't find a picture of our speaches, so I just threw one up of me going up on garb)

week 3 at keeners

this week at keeners was pretty epic.Garb came in finally so all day friday we surfed it and held fridays compitition there. I came in 11 because I flushed on my frist ride.The next James, Kent,and I went back and sesioned Garb for about 4 to 5 hours with hardly no one in the eddy. I also hit my first pan am on it.this is me on garb.
Kyle

Garb

Last Friday Garb came in... its amazing to hear that because Garb is a sick wave. On Friday we also had a competition on Garb, i was having some good runs before lunch then went down to push button to relax for the competition after lunch. So i thought eating alot of food would power me up to you know get first place but i guess thats not the case here. During my practise runs i flushed twice and i wasn't to happy but im like it happens to everyone so i wasn't worried about it. I get on the rock to drop in on Garb and flush off which just got me angry and i know i shouldnt of got angry but i did and flushed the second time and at the end of the day ending up with no points. The moral of this story is never get mad at yourself or you will not proform at your greatest ability!!!!

Christopher Sarantos

Black's

me on my way up

Earlier this week we ran the main a few times while the water was on its way down, and had a lot of fun stopping to play at Farmer Black's hole. It is a great spot where you can throw pretty much any hole move. There were some McNastys thrown, some phonix monkeys, air wheels, and I threw the biggest air loops of my life, joel kowalski told me that they were probably the biggest loops he had seen in his life, so that was really cool. I had been using kegan's allstar because he had poison ivy, and its a great boat. I'm still getting used to throwing around a boat that big on a wave, but the fact that garb is now in helps a lot. I've got to go now, there's always so much to do

Quinn Connell

The Mighty Ottawa

Hey everyone, this is my second week as a keener and I am loving it here. This week has been pretty exciting, with running ST chute, boater cross on colucium and garb coming in. This program has really pushed me to jump a whole level up in every aspect of my boating. ST chute is defiently the biggest rapid I have ever run and garb the most powerful and beautiful wave I have attempted to surf. This weekend I have been taking a CPR cerfification corse with a couple other keeners, it has been fun to bandage each other up. I don't know what else I can say other than I am so lucky have been paddeling the ottowa for 15 days straight and I can't wait to see what adventures this next week will bring.
-Maddi

Keeners Cup

Every friday we have a competition within the keeners, we are divided into two classes, an A and a B. The A class is designed for more experienced boaters with prior competition experience, while the B is designed for intermediate boaters looking to get comp experience. The B class was very close, however, little ben from eugene oregon came away with the glory. The A Class was very tight, we had two rides to show the judges and our peers what we could throw down. Going into finals was Cameron Savage in third place, James the aussie in second with 46 pts over the two rides, and me in first with 50 pts. The finals were also very close, however, James beat me again Just like last week, the final order was Cameron in third, me second, and James numero uno!
Keegan

Keener Raceday

As we do on every Wednesday, we had our weekly Boatercross race this week. We surfed around in the morning, then dead-headed down to Coliseum Rapid, where our race was held. For the first round, we went one-by-one, and were timed. Many different lines were taken, some being big mistakes, such as when I took the Meltdown line after hitting the gate and my skirt imploded, washing me downstream, so I couldn't reach the finish. Judging on our first round times we were put into different heats. There were 3 heats and the top 2 boaters in each heat moved on to the finals. The boaters who survived the second round were Kyle, Devyn, Quinn, Kent, Ross, Me(Redemption!), and we had Katie from the Girls category. In the final round there was fierce competition, but alas, there could only be one winner. The results were as follows:

1st: Kyle
2nd: Cameron
3rd: Me
4th: Devyn
5th: Kent
6th: Ross
7th: Katie

It turned out to be a hardcore and awesome race!


-Eric Marksz

Farewell

When I look back on my entire keener experience as a whole, everything seems to mush together. But the more I think about it, the more I realize what a unique, life changing experience it has been. This was my third year in the Keener Program and I watched it grow and evolve. At the same time I watched myself evolve into a more mature and experienced person because of it. The program teaches teens to live and interact with other teens in a way that really prepares them for the real world. It makes them responsible for all of their actions and requires them to be organized and learn to work with other people. I feel that a lot of who I am is contributed to the experiences that I have had at the Keener Program

Another part of my life that has improved immensely because of the program is my boating life. Kayaking for days on end in the summer with some of the best boaters and instructors in the world has made a big impact. It has made me realize that I'm going to continue boating all of my life.
I could rave on and on about this program and how it is the best program for any teen that loves kayaking but it would take a long time. Thanks for everyone who has made it what it is (you know who you are). Although I probably wont be returning as a Keener to the Ottawa next year, I will be eight-teen and eligable to work. If Im luckly I'll be able to do something involving keeners.
Much love,
Cameron Savage

week 3 comp.... on the BEAAAST!!

Whatta sick way to end the week. The wave, which i travelled half way round the world to surf, was in and kickin for our weekly comp. With huge moves thrown left right and centre we saw some much higher scores then last week's comp on the slighlty trashy, "woah i just threw a move by accident", "is that raft about to run into me", hole left side horseshoe.

Anyways, this magical wave im yappin on about is none other then Garberator if you're wondering.

So with some monster donkey flips by local ottawan bloke Keegan, some huge air blunts by Cam,lil ben winning the b division and having to compete with the big boys next week and some mighty fine lookin panams from the wonder from down under (so im full of myself....); it wasnt long before the rafters started watching us throw down instead of listening to their guides on how to get down the rapid safely.


We're just that awesome.

Anywhoo, heres some pics of ben tearin it up, keegey weegey donkey flippin, me huckin some panam and looking eirily serious while judging.

Aussie James

My Entire Keener Experience

Today is my last day of being a keener and living at the Keener Headcourters of World Domination. The 3 weeks that I was here were the best ever. I got to paddle on the best river all week long and have tons of fun. I got to meet tons of cool kids and instructors that were all so helpful.
When I first got here I had just missed Mini Bus the day I arrived, and yesterday Garb came in!! Wow what a shock, it was awesome getting to surf Big K. on Collisium at 12 ft and then got some 7-8 hole play and Right side and leftside horseshoe and today and yesterday Garb.
It was so much fun getting to see the river drop so much and its still dropping and now -1ft.
On Wed the ramp was put in so we all have been using that a ton, and its so much fun.
The Keener program has helped my playboating so much and also my off river skills like cleaning and public speaking.
I loved living so close to the river and getting to boat so much.
And having Moe Keller around all the time always made it fun, Dave was such a great guest instructor, Joel, Rafa, and Stephen made it awesome.

This was such a great experience.

~Ross McIlwaine

Dave Nieuwenhuis is leaving!!

hi everyone,

For the past week we in the keener program have had the privilage to get coached by David Nieuwenhuis. (Guest Instructor) He was such a big help all week, he helped us with our playboating moves and how to make them go bigger and better. Not only that but, he organised a lot of events such as the friday competition, which was on garb and was the best competition ever. A few pan-ams went around along with some air screws and lots of air blunts. Overall it was a great day.

Unfortunately we have to say goodbye to dave now but we will sure miss him!!

thanks Dave

Devyn Scott

garb is in!

On Friday, the level dropped to -1\2, meaning that garb was in. I was so excited because I have always wanted to surf it. My first surf on it I had no control at all. I was bouncing around tying to stay upright. After a few more surfs, I began to get a feel for the wave and was able to start throwing some moves.
Garb is definitely the best wave I have ever surfed.

Ben McKenzie

Moe & Dave's week review

Keener Cam Savage running ST chute...

What a week here at the Keener World Domination Headquarters. Five full days of awesome. Monday and Tuesday were split between the middle and main channels, race day wednesday, big water bacon thursday and competition friday.

The levels were prime and it was awesome to see all the keeners progress throughout the week. The ramp was re-resurected and Garb arrived just in time for friday's comp.

Needless to say we heard some pretty solid speeches at speach night - everything from ice breakers to farewells to paddling in Ireland, China, Africa and Mexico
Tuesday was highlighted by a few sweet lines at ST Chute at Garvin's on the middle. Big race at Colisium on Wednesday with all the keeners turning up the give'r and gettin'r done. Thursday started with way to much bacon then wishing we hadn't ate so much bacon at Phil's hole. Then the cream.. GARB shows up just in time for competition fridays.... AWESOME!

....just another week on the mighty Ottawa...

Moe Kelleher (Instructor)
David Nieuwenhuis (Guest Instructor)

Keener Week Three

This weeks first notable event was the running of ST chute at Garvins on the middle channel. We first spent some time scouting the different possible lines so everyone could pick their own. Then one at a time most everyone ran it, some people more than once. It was fun. On Wednesday we had our weekly race day. This week it was held at colliseum. First there were timed runs and then there was boater cross. For the course we had to get to a point of the rapid and then to the finish line. The different lines people chose to be the fastest was interesting. Today on thursday was bigwater thursday where everyone had to surf phils hole in mccoys twice. After that we paddled the rest of the main channel. When we arrived back at keenerville the keener ramp had been put up and was ready to be used. I went down it and it's so much fun. Tomorrow is competition day again already and I'm really excited.
-Jackson Conn

Keener Ramp

Hello Fellow Friends,

Today after everyones long anticipation, the ramp was finally put in by Robertsons. We have been long awaiting this moment since the day we got here and we had a wonderful session after a big day on the river. It pretty much started with everyone just hitting the ramp a couple of times to get used to the speed and air, but soon everyone was throwing huge air screws and pan ams off the ramp. The people that couldn't hit air screws just ended up landing on their faces. Kyle and Dave also tried backflips but failed horribly. The ramp is a wonderful addition to the Keeners and will be enjoyed everyday.



Nelson Jones (sunshine)

week tres!

Hey this is shaniece and it has been a pretty interesting week three. I started the week off good by going down the middle on Monday and checking out ST chute. I was very proud of myself by the end of the day because i flipped twice in upper no name and lower no name and rolled really quickly in both! So that was awesome. But then on Tuesday we were all practicing hand of gods and Charlene was my partner... so I volunterred to go first. i paddled out into the current, tipped over and let go of my paddle. My leg had came out of my knee pad thing so i quickly shoved it back in and my knee popped. I immediately swam and realized what i had done! I tried to start swimming to shore but couldn't move my right leg. Joel was down at the bottom of the rapid and saw me swimming and i told him what had happenned and immediatly had my grab onto the back of his boat and he pulled me into shore. he had my sit down and examined my leg. We decided that i should go back to keener headquarters and take the day off and how it does. so for the rest of the day i was icing my leg with frozen hot dogs and taking ibprofren! so today is thursday and i have not been on the water yet because my knee still really hurts. so i think i am going to be seeing a doctor today and hopefully will be back on the water as soon as possible!


Can't wait to tell you about week four!
-Shaniece Seelig

Co-ordinator Report, Week 3

It's been a very busy week with little time for rest here in Keenerville! This morning everyone seemed to be moving at a much slower pace...a clear indication that we are working them hard both on and off of the water, and a sign that we are doing a good job of keeping them busy! We got home from Rafters at 9pm last night after a biking session and a ropes/knots session with our knowledgeable staff at WT. The biking trails have taught us exactly what poison ivy looks like, so I'm hoping that everyone stays well clear of the evil plant wherever they run into it. At the moment my kids are getting 'beat down' probably in Phil's as it is 'Beat Down Thursday', and I'm looking forward to being on the water with them again tomorrow for competition day. I love to see everyone working together on the water, taking care and looking out for one another. I always get to see their excited faces and hear about their day when they get home, but I love to be out there with them on the water and witness what's happening first hand!
I'm sorry to see a few of our Keeners leave this week; Ross has been a great team player, always smiling in the morning before we go for a jog or swim, helping out when needed, and improving his leadership skills this week as Team Leader of Robertson's. Keegan has been with us for a few years, and he has been a very reliable IC (In Charge)by keeping the Whitehouse on top of their duties, and helping me out with suggestions and ideas. Luckily Keegan will be back in August and I look forward to having him IC for me again! Cam will be missed, another of my ICs who also takes on the huge task of movie making with the keener footage. I know that Maddie is very thankful for his generosity in taking her down the Main the other weekend, and I know that he looks out for everyone on the river. I know that you have to train Cross Country Cam, but I do hope that you can get up here again before the end of the summer!
Thanks to all of the instructors (Stephen, Joel, Rafa, Moe, and our superstar guest instructor Davey) for doing a fantastic job this week!

tilly's blog

hey guys!
so far, i've been having an awsome week! today we had a race down colliseum, wow, it was the first ever time i went down their on my own. it was a good experience, and everyone was super helpful and super patient, as usual. i got some really good pictures on blacks, i got the best picture of quinn landing an awsome super big air loop!! congrats on that one! anyways, im still trying to surf baby face, im getting pretty close. thanks for all the help guys! and im getting more confortable with my roll everyday, i am so happy with that. hopefully i get to learn my back deck roll soon. anyways, i just want to thank everyone, ive been having a really awsome time here, its great. i cant wait till tomorow! yeaaaaa!
see everyone all soon,
cheers,
tilly

tilly's blog

ST Chute

Last tuesday half of the keeners went down the main and the other half went down the middle. i was on the middle and it was a great time. I was with Joe and Rafa and about 10 other keeners. my favorite part of the trip was running ST chute. it was really fun and pretty technical which i really liked. i like big water better so this is one of the high lights of the ottawa river for me! for my first run of two i had a perfect line that went straight down under the foam pile and came up perfect. the second one went a bit too far left and i hit a couple rocks but it was still fun.
Now that the water is getting close to garb level i'm excited for that and can't wait!

Kent Bretzlaff

Worldwide Ambitions

By Rafa Ortiz

Kayakers are ambitious. It is a common adjective for all that dedicate their time to the process of learning this incredible sport. We all have ambitions that work as the fuel for travelling to get to a river, anywhere from short distances (Beachburg to Robertson´s, 5 mins) to going around the planet (Australia to Robertson´s, 2 full days of travelling). According to the Mariam-Webster dictionary:
AMBITION applies to the strong desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire .

So I focused in this meaningful word to write about, because I find it is one strong value that has all fighting for high goals. As for the kids, ambitions for learning every day new kayaking moves, as well as improving in their overall paddling skills, lead them to the water everyday and consume their energies until their muscles beg for rest. Instructors, as a main ambition, have the desire to be better teachers every time, with better ways to make people learn, as well as better ways to transmit the love of whitewater.

Joe Kowalski, a man of great ambition, has built the Keener program. In his words, “there aren’t many places in the world that people travel all over the world to visit, and this program is one of them”. Today, I couldn’t possibly think of a better place to spend a summer for a youngster that is keen about kayaking and has a heart driven by ambition.

As for me, putting it in Sir Angus Grossart’s words, and basically my motto for life: “I have a great ambition, of dying exhausted rather than bored”.

Worldwide Ambitions

By Rafa Ortiz, México

Kayakers are ambitious. It is a common adjective for all that dedicate their time to the process of learning this incredible sport. We all have ambitions that work as the fuel for travelling to get to a river, anywhere from short distances (Beachburg to Robertson´s, 5 mins) to going around the planet (Australia to Robertson´s, 2 full days of travelling). According to the Mariam-Webster dictionary:
AMBITION applies to the strong desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire .

So I focused in this meaningful word to write about, because I find it is one strong value that has all fighting for high goals. As for the kids, ambitions for learning every day new kayaking moves, as well as improving in their overall paddling skills, lead them to the water everyday and consume their energies until their muscles beg for rest. Instructors, as a main ambition, have the desire to be better teachers every time, with better ways to make people learn, as well as better ways to transmit the love of whitewater.

Joe Kowalski, a man of great ambition, has built the Keener program. In his words, “there aren’t many places in the world that people travel all over the world to visit, and this program is one of them”. Today, I couldn’t possibly think of a better place to spend a summer for youngster that is keen about kayaking and has a heart driven bu ambition.

As for me, putting it in Sir Angus Grossart’s words, and basically my motto for life: “I have a great ambition, of dying exhausted rather than bored”.

back home

Dear Joe

Thank you for the best 2 weeks of my life! When I was at Keeners it was without question the two most fun weeks of my life. Everything about the program is awesome. The boating is unbelievable up there. It was such a step up from my home river (the Lower Yough)! I learned and progressed so much while I was there. The instructors were awesome. I had so much fun joking around with Joel, he is so awesome, and very good at helping you learn new stuff. He was a great friend. Raffa was tons of fun also. Mo was hilarious with all his Irish accents, jokes and everything but he is also an awesome instructor. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to loop. Stephen Wright was just there the second week but he was so fun and really nice and let me buy his old paddle after mine broke running Anvil Falls. He taught me how to do mystery moves at brain douche, which was the coolest thing I learned how to do! Tiff was a great mom. She would help us with what ever we needed and get us things when we needed them. I really liked having her as a keener mom! It was so amazing. I enjoyed every single day of it! So say hi to everyone there especially Joel and tell him I can’t wait to boat with him next summer!

Ps. thanks again and tell Katie I said hi and can’t wait to see her again.

Sincerely, Jamie Rosenberger

Garvin's Chute

Hello, this is instructor Joel Kowalski. Yesterday, monday the 2nd, half of the keener group went down the Main with Stephen, Moe and David Niewenhuis, the other half came with Rafael and myself down the Middle Channel. Our mission of the day was to prepare for, and descend Garvin's chute. We practised a similar line at Butterfly just upstream and then put it to use on ST Chute of Garvin's. Rafael taught the group how to safely manage the descent of a more dangerous rapid. Everything went smoothly and we all had alot of fun! The other half of the Keeners will be doing this rapid today.

Joel Kowalski

Head Coach's Log: Week 2

My first week back with the Keeners was epic. After 3 1/2 days of driving from Denver to Beachburg with only Black Dog, it feels so good to be back on the Ottawa. It's fantastic to be a part of such a great program, with our incredible students from all over the world! We saw the level fall from 7 1/2 feet on Monday morning, all the way to 1 1/5 feet on Saturday morning! This gave us a myriad of opportunities to enjoy LOTS of variety in paddling: from competition on Corner Wave to mystery moves at Butcher's Knife, from the first Keener decents of Anvil Falls (Middle to Main channel), to a cartwheel-fest in Puppy Chow, from big air at Waikiki to big water at Collisium. It was also fun to see all our students learning the important skills in their Swiftwater Rescue Class--I'm glad ot know that they can now save me when I need it.





Highlights for me included watching Kyle stick his air blunts on Corner Wave, seeing Keegan's improvement since last summer, being a part of nearly all the keeners run Anvil Falls safely, seeing Madison catch and surf Waikiki, seeing Aussie James hit his McNasty in Friday's Competition to with the "A Class", and watching all the Keeners pass their throw rope tests for SRT!

Competition Results for week 2:
B Class:
1 Rob
2 Nelson (sunshine)
3 Jackson
4 Nuke, Jamie, Ben, Quinn, and Madison
5 Tilly and Matt T

A Class:
1 James (Aussie)
2 Keegan
3 Devon
4 Kyle
5 Kent
6 Adam
7 Cameron
8 Ross
9 Katie K
10 Josh
11 Chris S

Stephen Wright
Head Coach
Team JK

keener kayaking

hey my name is nuka and I am a second year kayaker. I live in Quebec and love to paddle!!! My favourite wave is "big joe" on the lachine rapids. My favourite rapid on the ottawa river is Lorne rapids "garb." I am awaiting the arrival of garb and my first trick will be a huge air screw :smile: (joking actually like a blunt)

My favourite music is gangsta and I love to ski. A couple of days ago we had our weekly keener comp. My first run was kinda sketchy but made up for it in round 2. Corner wave is sooooooooooooo coool!!!!!!!!1

Week Dos!

Hello this is Shaniece typing! This is the end of week two of the keener program and it was just as great as week one! I attended the teen kayak camp this past week instead of doing SRT because I'm doing SRT next time it comes around, so I wasn't really able to paddle with the keeners that much but it was still a great week. some of the things that I did was punch phills (with out tipping over!), surfing at the bottom of esbend (doing my first spin!), and sport yakking with stacie! It was soo much fun! It was really cool to try new things and also hear about what the Keeners were doing, like SRT and having their competition at Fluffy Bunny. So overall week two has been really great and I'm looking foward to week tres!
-Shaniece

Dear minions and minionettes. This evening is devoted to the art of mental manipulation. For one to become a great and epic kayaker, one must delve into inside the brain of the machine. The machine itself is a both a crafty and witty space in time, yet it has no confinements. The machine runs on physics but follows no rules. The MACHINE- let it be known- is open to interpretation.

In other news. Tiffany Manchester is great. As is Stacey Bowen. They are really good moms and they care about our wellness. w00t.
-Cameron

Shadowing Kayak School

Hey whats goin on bloggers im Chris this is my second year at keeners and i just had to come back because its a wicked summer camp. This weekend I shadowed kayak school with legendary Corey Volt to see what teaching beginniner students are like. On saturday we we're down at PQ beach teaching them how to get set up in there boat and teach them some strokes and then finally the roll. Today (sunday) we ran the middle and had a pretty successful day. The memebers of the class were Janis, Del, Nick, Shannon and Danielle. You guys were awesome cant wait to start with new kayakers next weekend. I dotn have any pictures of kayak school but here some new pictures of me on corner wave.

phils hole surfing

on tuseday, the keeners went up to Mckoys to do some Phils hole surfing.phils is definitely the bigest hole I have ever surfed or even seen.almost everyone, including me got a pretty good beatdown. My first time going into it i was a little nervous.that was the most violent hole i have ever been in. When i walked back up everyone said that i did a supersick McNasty. KAYAKING IS REAAALY COOOL!


Ben McKenzie



P.S. Stephen Wright is awsome.

SFRT

For my first couple days of the keener program, which by the way is loads of fun, i spent the time kayaking and completeing the SFRT course. the course was lots of fun because i got to learn lots of things that will come in handy someday on the river. my personal favorite was swimming down McCoys. the kayakng was also a great time. we had a compition which i placed 5th in in the a-class. i hope to improve but it was a great start! well it was a great first week and a can't wait for the next three.


Kent Bretzlaff

tilly's blog...

hello everyone!
i am here to talk to you guys about SRT...it stands for Safety Rescue Training...i think.
anyways, i had so much fun! first day, we got to swim McCoys, which was insane, so big...then i learned how to throw a throw rope, how to save someone, and how to do a whole bunch of stuff that will sure come in handi later in my life.
then, on the last day, we had a test about everythign we were suppose to know. luckily, mor then half of us passed. we all studied real hard!
and everyone is so nice. everyone is super patient, and i love them all! i dont think their is one person here that is mean, or has no friends. every body is so helpfull! im so thankful.
the paddling is awsome to. i cant wait to continue, im already learning so much! by the end of my last week, i hope i have improved, i am so proud of myself!
i will go now,
i will write to you guys later!
cheers,
tilly

A Little Bit Of Friday Fun

Friday morning started with some SFRT action with Matt from Wilderness Tours. We started with a test in the morning and then moved right into the throw bag test and mechanival advantage course. We held our competition at Mckoy's Choute, it was a very successful comp, and i'm looking forward to next week. The top four in the A-class were James Aussie, Keegan Grady, Devon Pakistan, and Kyle Hull. The top 2 in the B-class were Rob, and sunshine. It was a sick day!

Peace Out

p.s. nice blog matt, i tinkh i nkwo who ot psell

The Aussie bloke's view on canaadaaa

Soo last Saterday i started the long, hard trip to the ottawa river for the second time, with some differences to the first trip.

1 - I knew how sitting still for 30 hours feels

2 - i packed the night before

and 3 - I didnt know how sitting still for 30 hours feels next to a screaming baby

Now i do. It aint fun!

Anyways, 30 hours, 21 cds, and 4 kilos of toblerone (hell yeah!!) later i rocked up at Wilderness tours, a little tired but still keen for a 9 o clock session because Australians rarely pass up a paddle on a river which is deeper then 30 centemetres. Little did i know that the supposed warm summer waters of the ottawa river are actually quite freezing and swarming with mozzies. luckily it was also swarming with awesome waves, sweet holes and the ole fave from 2 months ago Upper no name, which is still kickin as usual. Incidently, for those who know the drama surrounding Waikiki 2 months ago, it was also working at the same standard i'm used to! :D

So after one week of keeners, i can tell you it is the most exhausting, demanding and jam packed thing i've ever done in a loooong time. in one day i woke up at 6 to go boating, do a run, boat some more, complete a level 3 swiftwater rescue course, go boating again, have dinner, then head back to corner wave again.


SO now that i'm in a country thats national beverage is maple syrup as apposed to foster's lager, where there is not one person fond of vegemite, where every second person i meet asks me to say "put another prawn on the barbie!", and where there is water in almost every direction, and live on the banks of a river that i would travel 30 hours sitting next to a baby to get to; i've came to the conclusion that these canadian ottawan dudes are really lucky bastads.


And i hate them for it! :D

James Rowlinson

2nd week at keeners

Tis week at keeners we all took our swift water rescue class. The book work was borring but the hands on stuff was the best. I was the teathered swimmer alot.This corner came in and all i did was surf it.we also had big water tuesday and i mucho moved into saddlers and lost my paddle but found it later. THis is a picture of me at corner.

Kyle Hull

Week 2 Comp

On Friday we had our 2nd Keener competition at Mcoy's. We had just finished taking our Swift Water Rescue course test before we went and checked the gauge to see where the comp would be held. The gauge was 4.5 ft, so we decided to have the comp on Fuzzy Bunny (aka. left side Horseshoe) and on Corner Wave. We went out for practice runs on both of these features and after about an hour or two we paddled back to Keener Village and drove down to the Lorn for lunch. After lunch we broke off into two divisions A and B, A being higher. We were going to have two runs each, and we could choose which feature to use. We filmed our first rides and then went back the Keeners and watched and scored the rides. After the first ride I was in 4th place in the A class. For my first ride I decided to use left side, and after that ride I used Corner Wave for my second ride. The competition was very fun and everyone had a great time. After the comp we all were very tired, and wanted to sleep.
The levels have dropped so much since I first got here with the level being 12 ft, and now today its at 1.25 ft and still dropping, we all want Garb to come in.

~Ross