There were not as many competitors this year so the event moved a little faster than last year.  Saturday the event started at 9:15am with the downriver race and a few of us were so fast that we beat the timer to the finish line and had to race again!  After downriver racing you hop into a slalom boat and run the course twice and you are crazy tired! Then you squeeze yourself into your playboat for 2 freestyle runs.  You are officially cooked at that point and guess what, you get to do it again tomorrow if you qualify!  Ten men moved on from Saturday and since there were only four women we all moved on to Sunday.

Saturday night we tried to get a good night sleep in the RV but Laya our fat cat kept us up all night meowing and scratching at my face for pets.  We wanted to cook her like a chicken!  Anyway, Sunday morning arrived and we got to the race put in around 8am.  I was feeling good and wanted to better my time from Saturday, which I did by 1 second!  Not what I was hoping for but it's better than being a second slower.  Emily of course beat me in the downriver race by a lot.  She was 4 minutes 12 seconds and I was 4 minutes 30 seconds.  Rachel came in 3rd and Courtney from New Zealand came in 4th. It doesn't seem like a hard race but when you know it's only 4 something minutes you go all out and it hurts.  

The next event is slalom and I was lucky enough to borrow Andy's sweet slalom boat on Sunday which helped improve my time by like 40 seconds from Saturday.  I had 2 good slalom runs and my second run was clean and was 154 seconds and came in 3rd.  Emily of course crushed the slalom with 122 seconds and was 1st.  Rachel who is a slalom boater also did really well and came in 2nd, her best run was 132 seconds. Courtney came in 4th with 168 seconds. When the slalom race was over a bunch of the competitors went across the river to help take down gates before we started the freestyle event.  It was a huge help to get the gates down so the volunteers wouldn't have worry about it.   

The last event of the day was freestyle and since it was finals you had 3 runs and your best one counts.  The level was good but you crushed the bottom on your loops or at least I did. Emily of course killed it in freestyle with 600 points coming in 1st.  I had a 180 point ride with my most signature move the mcnasty flush for a 2nd place finish. Courtney came in 3rd for freestyle with 90 and Rachel in 4.

The Triple Crown results for women is Emily, me, and Rachel.  In the mens class was EJ, Danny, and Nick.  The mens class was super close this year and Jordan came in 4th in C1 which was pretty awesome.  

I had a great time again and am looking forward to next year!  I left CT then headed to FL to drive my mother in law's car and dog back to MA and now I'm hanging out at my sister in law's house in DE and will be back home tomorrow after I drop her car off. Then it's getting ready for the big trip out west!

Photo by: Scott Barnes

Photo by: Scott Barnes

Photo by: Scott Barnes

Photo by: Scott Barnes

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell  

Here is a little info on some of the upcoming events we’ll be attending:

4/28-29 Whitewater Triple Crown-  A premier whitewater competition on the Farmington River in Tariffville Gorge; features a downriver race, slalom and freestyle competition.

5/11-13 Spring Moose Fest-  Join us in Old Forge, NY and watch paddlers run waterfalls and large drops on a scheduled dam release weekend.

5/19-20 Deerfield River Rally / Paddling School Refresher-  Kicking off the warm summer releases on the Deerfield River.  This weekend has a river cleanup, clinics with some of our top instructors and the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour

Late May Elaine heads on her western competition tour encompassing four stops in Colorado and one in Nevada.

6/22-24 Demo Fest-  A great time to meet Team Z members, gain some free instruction, and meet manufacturer representatives and pro paddlers

6/30 Deerfield River Fest; Celebrate guaranteed dam released whitewater on the Deerfield River with American Whitewater and listen to some fun music at night.

• water sports
• Team Z
• kayaking
• deerfield river

I was on a Team of 5 women called Team Broads with Kim Seaman our runner, Nicole Vassar our biker, Nancy Caldwell the hiker, Ali O'Rourke skied and I was the kayaker. We competed in the all women's category against 4 women teams and wanted to do well in the overall Inferno category.

Jeff, Nancy and I arrived Thursday night in North Conway, NH so I could get a low water practice run in on Friday on the Saco River and stopped by Saco Bound Outdoors in Conway, NH to talk about Wave Sport boats. The rest of the team arrived Friday for registration at Flatbread Pizza. We ate, had a couple beers and started to get psyched up for Saturday morning.

The alarm clock started going off at 5:30am and Jeff was up making coffee and breakfast. The race started right at 7am with the run and off went Kim plus the other 65 racers. We immediately drove over to the kayak tag zone so I could get ready. Mark my brother, our buddy Simpson and John were all doing the kayak race so we were all harassing each other while we waited for our runners to arrive. Mark, John and I had carbon wildwater boats and Simpson had a wavehopper. Most of the people competing in the kayak race were in sea/rec kayaks.

John was the first to go his runner came in first with a 48:59 time. A few more runners came in then Mark's runner came in with a time of 55:20 and then Simpson went out before me when his runner came in at 1.04:49. I was thinking to myself that Kim should be coming in any second now but there was no sign of her. Joanne who is soloing the event came in at 1.11:18 and told us that Kim was in trouble and we needed to get to her. Kim started out a little hot with her pace and had a touch of heatstroke by the time she got to the transition zone, but after a quick discussion, Jeff, Nancy and I decided to keep on going and I was soon on my way down the trail, across a mostly dry riverbed, into my boat and down the Saco. Unfortunately my starting time did not get recorded as the tag took place just prior to the transition zone. On the upside, Kim had a very quick recovery and we were still in the hunt.

I passed a fair number of boats and felt very good about my performance. Without the official time it's hard to know for sure but think I was in the low to mid 40's based on factors we could figure and my past performances against some of the other boaters in the race. There were some moments where I had to slow down to wait for traffic jams so it could have been a bit longer. I saw the finish and sprinted as hard as I could fell out of my boat and ran to Nicole for the bike tag.

Nicole went on her way and took a wrong turn, luckily, Jayson saw her going the wrong way and let her know. She went about a half mile out of the way… oops! Nicole got to the base of Mount Washington in 1.16:20 and tagged Nancy for the hike up to the Ravine. Nancy flew up the mountain with a time of 1.06:56 to tag Ali. Ali had to "boot pack" up to the top of Left Gulley in the bowl of the ravine and ski the giant slalom course down. She did it in 36:53 and Team Broads finished the Tuckerman Inferno in 5.05:27.

We pulled together when we needed to and bounced back from a rough start. We had a 3rd place finish in the Tuckerwoman event and a 29th place finish overall in the event out of 66. The good news is that Kim was ok and that we continued to compete and not just give up. We are all going to do it again next year and hopefully we have no hiccups but if we do we are prepared to deal with them.

The next event on the schedule is the New England Triple Crown in CT. We got some rain so the level is going to be great! Come out and compete or just come out and watch!

Practice run

Simpson, Mark and I waiting for our runners.

Mark get the tag!

Ali waiting for her tag.

Left Gulley!

Mark, Astrid and I waiting for our skiers at HoJo's hut!

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

The next competition on my schedule is the Mount Washington Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon which is April 21. I'm very excited about this race hoping to have a really good race run.  I'll post an update about it after the race and keep your fingers crossed for rain!

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

I put together a team of five called Afore Vous (before you). Our team was Bill Simpson our runner, Chris Jalbert biked, I kayaked, Nancy Caldwell hiked, and Ali O'Rourke was  the skier.  

The race kicked off Saturday at 10:30am with 43 overall racers which included teams of 5, duos, and soloists (120 competitors all together). It was snowing and around 30 degrees but reached 40 with cloudy skies by mid-day. The trail runners started from Berkshire East ski area and headed out to the trails surrounding the town of Charlemont.  The next transition was at Zoar Outdoor where the runner tagged the biker or the soloist just kept on hoofing it to their bike.  Simpson tagged Chris and he ran to his bike hopped on it and started passing people.  At that point we were in 30th place and Chris was able to move us into 23rd place and his bike time landed him in 17th place.  While the bikers were climbing up hills the kayakers waited patiently for the bikers to arrive while we trash talked each other.  I of course was distracted talking to people and Chris all most flew by me with out the tag but I was able to slap him five.  I ran as fast as I could to the river and Jeff helped me get in my wildwater boat and my leg of the race was on!  I paddled my brains out for 5 miles and think I passed 3 or 4 kayakers. Jeff was following me on the road in the truck yelling at me to paddle faster. I paddled pretty hard which led me to the second fastest kayak time in the race out of 43 people which moved the team from 23rd place to 16th.  Nancy was waiting for me at the side of the river for the next transition.  I came barreling into shore and we tagged. She had to run like a mile up the access road to Berkshire East then up the steep trail where Ali was waiting for the tag to ski.  Nancy was able to move us into 15th place with the tag and she finished 12th in the hike. Ali skied down the gates and our team finished in 14th overall with Ali's ski and 7th in the team of 5's and she placed 11th in the ski.  It took us 3 hours 15 minutes and 11 seconds to complete it.  We did pretty well for our first team event and brought on Simpson and Chris last minute to race with us.  A couple of our friends soloed the event and am super proud of them Joanne Grogan, Mike Porter, Ryan Shackleton, and John McCarthy they slayed it!

The after party at Phil and Ali's was awesome as usual with lot's of food and drinks!  We all got after it that night and felt it the next day. 

The event was pretty flawless overall the only issue which they couldn't control was mother nature didn't drop enough snow this winter and super warm temps changed the snowshoe and ski event.  A huge thanks to the organizers and volunteers for putting on such a great event!  I'm looking forward to it next year with Team Afore Vous!  

The next event on the schedule is coming up in 3 weeks another Pentathlon this one is the MT. Washington Tuckerman Inferno Race in NH.  We are competing as a team of 5 women called Team Broads for the Tuckerwoman Inferno!  It's going to be awesome!  Team Broads is Kim Seaman 8.3 mile run, me 6.2 mile kayak on the Saco River, Nicole Vassar 18.2 mile uphill bike, Nancy Caldwell 3 mile hike 2,268 ft climb, and Ali O'Rourke GS ski down Tuckerman Ravine.  It's a step up from the race this weekend and we are going to bring it!  

Here are some photos from the race and Jeff apologies for no kayaking photos since he was yelling (he says motivating) at me to paddle faster which he feels was more important than photos!

Getting Ready!

Run to bike transition.

Mike Porter Soloing it!

My fast boat!

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

My 2012 season is kicking off and it's going to be a good one! The Berkshire Highlands Pentathlon Race is on March 31st this is my first race of the season on the Deerfield River.  If you are in the area you should come by and watch the races or bettter yet sign up and compete at http://www.berkshirehighlandsevents.com/events-reader/events/pentathlon.html 

Hopefully I'll get the kinks worked out by then! Check out my website for my 2012 schedule if you'd like at www.elainecampbellkayaking.com

I should get a video out soon from Spring boating!

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

}}

It's been a slow start to winter here in VT with more rain than snow so we've been lucky enough to get some more days on the water. I've been working two jobs this winter to keep me busy and it's working.  We finally have snow so I'll be skate and classic skiing and snowboarding a bunch. That's pretty much it for now. 

Here's a video of some boating from December.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spNm3vpd3FU&list=UUwELn2hgIYbfJztcXu-ep-Q&index=1&feature=plcp

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

• Zoar Outdoor
• Team Z
• kayaking

Equipment I use (all in my basement):

Boxing equipment you need is a speed bag, heavy bag, and double end speed bag. Hand wraps and boxing gloves.

Free weights, kettle bell, home gym, exercise ball, ab roller, exercise band and Timer.

You choose how much weight you want to use. It's better to start light and then increase the weight. Look up how to properly do each exercise.  Youtube has good video on each exercise I do.  If you get the boxing equipment watch a bunch of videos that teach you how to punch properly and how to wrap your hands.

Day 1 

Lower Body:

-Barbell Calf Raise 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Walking Lunge 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg

-Bench Step Up 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg   

-Leg Extension 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg

Abs/core:

-Left/Right Torso Rotation with Band 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Overhead Torso Band pull 3 sets 15-20 reps

All body workout:

Double end Speed bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between

Day 2

Upper Body-Back, chest, shoulders:

-Behind the Neck Pull Down 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Standing Cable Row 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Rope Straight Arm Pull Down 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Dumbell Incline Press 3 sets 12-15 reps

-SeatedPress 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Push ups 3 sets 12-15 reps 

-Pec Deck Fly 3 sets 12-15 rep 

Abs/core:

-Ab roller 3 sets 15-20 reps

-Side crunches on ball 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Seated Torso Twist with kettle bell 3 sets 15-20 reps 

All body workout:

Heavy Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between. 

Day 3

Lower Body:

-Barbel Squat 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Romanian Deadlift 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Leg Press 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Lying Leg Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps

Abs/core:

-Reverse Crunch 3 sets 15-20 reps

-Bicycle 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Ball scissors 3 sets 15-20 reps each side 

All body workout:

-Speed Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.

Day 4

Upper Body-Triceps, biceps, shoulders

-Reverse Grip Pushdown 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Overhead Dumbell Press 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Lat Pulldown 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Tricep Extension 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Barbell Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps

-Bicep Concentration Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps 

Abs/core:

-Plank 5 sets hold 1 minute

-Ball crunch  3 sets 15-20 reps

-Knee Tucks on Ball  3 sets 15-20 reps 

All body workout:

-Double end Speed bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between. 

Day 5

Kettle Bell workout

-Kettlebell Throw 3 sets 15-20 reps

-Body Circles 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Hip Hinge 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Lunge and Row 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Bowling Ball Lunge 3 sets 15-20 reps each side

-Angel Squat 3 sets 15-20 reps each side 

-Heavy Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.

Day 6 and 7 snowboarding or xc/ skate skiing all day affair.

Everyday after I workout we go for a long snowshoe with the dog.

So there you go.  That's how I stay in shape.  Maybe this winter I'll take some video of my boxing routine and post it up.  If you have any questions let me know. 

As for now I get in my Wildwater boat and paddle down the Fife Brook of the Deerfield River when nothing else in running. 

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

Here are some photos from my town.  

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision

Rt.100 in Readsboro Photos: Elaine Campbell

A happy photo after Irene in Henderson Harbor.

Photo: Mike Miller

The week after Irene was the Beaver release weekend.  I headed to NY to paddle the Moshier Falls section which has one scheduled release a year.  It's such a fun run! Pretty straight forward easy creek where you can scout everything and people can walk a drop that they don't want to run.  After Moshier you head over to the Eagle which is a water park for kayakers. It's slide after slide and pretty short so you can hike back up and do it again.  This year the Eagle had it's first race. This was the second race of the King of New York series.  I raced it and was the only girl that raced.  It's a tough race because a lot of people are running the section at the same time you are and I had a few interferences during the race.  Another great weekend at the Beaver! 

After that I headed back up to the Ottawa to paddle for a few days before going back to VT.  I got to the border crossing and realized that I took Jeff's passport instead of mine! They let me into Canada and I was a little nervous about how it was going to be to come back into the states.  It wasn't a problem getting back in they gave me a warning about being non compliant. Anyway Garb was still in so had some sweet times there with NO lines! 

Then off to Gauley Fest but first up was the upper Yough with Team NRS for a photo shoot which lasted all week and was really fun.  We did upper Yough two days, then Valley Falls, New River Gorge and then the upper Gauley during the fest.  The Gauley is so much fun but not the walk out in crocs! Last year when I ran the upper G I got rides out so I never new of this hike out.  I didn't bring my booties and had crocs in the back of my boat. Craig new I never done it before so he gave me a bunch of bull sh*t which was we are all most there.  F no we aren't all most there!  When I finally made it to the top I was so mad but got over it quickly and yes the joke was on me! Thanks Craig! I brought my NRS creek boots the next day for the walk out and made it no problem.  For future reference don't wear crocs for the hike out!  The fest this year was Friday and Saturday night.  It was great times and got to practice more hula hooping (hoping no video was taken).  Every booth had some type of tasty beverage and some fun activity.  It's all ways a great time at the Gauley Fest!  

That's it for now.  Pretty much back in VT full time for the fall and winter.  Looking forward to the fall rain to see the changes to all the rivers and creeks that changed during the flood in our area. If you come up to VT and western MA make sure you scout first since most of the rapids have changed and lot's of debri and wood are now in the rivers and creeks. 

Photo: Bryan Smith

I'll have a video put together soon of some boating.

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell        

In between friends and family visiting I took two quick trips up to the Ottawa. The first trip the level was around 1 so Corner Wave was great. The second trip the level was -3/4 so Garb was in.  It's been 4 years since I last surfed Garb. I forgot how fast, bouncy, and trashy it was.  It's a super ab workout!  I had two days on it and didn't want to leave but had to. I'm hoping to get one more trip up there before the season is over.    

Crazy that summer is getting close to being over. I'm looking forward to the Fall it's by far the best paddling season in the North East.  You get the best of both world's great creeking and great play.  

If your near upstate NY Labor Day weekend plan on coming to Beaver Fest for some fun creek boating! 

Here's a vid from some summer fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfNaFraLk0

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell      

Definition:  Rotation of over 90° at a horizontal angle followed by a rotation with a vertical angle over 45° on the stern in one fluid motion. This is a green water, aerial maneuver. The boat must land in a front surf within 45° horizontal angle range

1. Get on top of the foam pile and start carving down to get speed.
2. As you start coming down the face of the wave use a left reverse stroke to get your boat sideways and engage a bounce by lifting your right knee up hard on your thigh braces pulling the boat up. The reverse stroke plus the bounce will happen at the same time and this starts the spin momentum.
3. When you feel your boat bouncing out of the water your flipping it over your head with a loft forward stroke and catching your stern to slice through the water under you.   
4. You use a forward stroke on the opposite side to pull the boat back into the front surf and there you have it a Flip Turn.

I hope that makes sense for you. Here's a video of me doing a Flip Turn.

 http://www.youtube.com/user/ecampbellVT?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/tga-4M1bdSs

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

This year's fest had a World Kayak Hometown Throwdown through Dragons Tooth rapid on the Dryway. I was the judge and had a great time judging. We had rafts, kayaks, shredders, OC1's and OC2's that entered. People were going for the death slot, hairy fairy, playing in the hole, and other fun moves in the rapid. There was some carnage but not much. After that we headed to the Fest site in Charlemont, MA. I heard that this Deerfield Fest compared to one's in the past for AW had a great turn out for memberships and entrance fee. That's pretty exciting! Lot's of beer was drank thank's to Watchusset Brewery. The silent auction was a huge success and the AW paper, rock, scissors contest is always a big hit. Zoar Outdoor had a contest going on in front of their booth with hula hoops. I'm glad no one took video of this because I was terrible. I've learned there are a few things I'm pretty good at and hula hooping is not one.

I'm back at our cottage in NY with family here for the next 2 weeks so there's lots of sailing and water skiing in my future. That's it for now and hopefully I don't get too broken from water skiing.

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

I decided not to fly with my boat and paddle and borrowed Bryan's Project X 48 and one of EJ's paddles (I missed my Mitchell Remedy)! Thanks guys a bunch for letting me borrow the boat and paddle I really appreciate it! We arrived on Wednesday late afternoon and got settled in but didn't paddle. I was having a wicked back issue which I think was from the day before when I cleaned the house in VT like a mad woman and the plane ride didn't help! Had two days to paddle before the event and had the best time surfing this feature! Personally this was the best feature we competed in all season! I was having the time of my life paddling here plus I loved the occasional working that the hole gave up. I was getting my pan-ams and flip turns dialed in on the wave which was great. The other woman were all paddling real well. Emily was getting really great back pan-ams and Erin was getting her mcnasty dialed in, and Devon her clean blunts, Jess working on her felix and Kat. The comp was looking real good on the womens side. The men were also killing it. Bryan was throwing massive clean blunts and helixes, EJ mcnasties and flip turns, Craig air screws and pan-ams and of course Dane was doing everything!

The comp was Saturday and Sunday. Jeff was the announcer and did a great job! He competed in OC1 and C1. He some how squeezed himself into Dane's OC1 and Courtney a jr. paddled in the classes. Jeff came in 2^nd in OC1 and 3^rd in C1 which he paddled in Dane's OC1 because he couldn't fit into Dane's C1. The women's class was great! Emily killed it with her back pan-am, helix, and clean blunt putting her in 1st. Erin came in second with an entry move, mcnasty, and blunt. I came in 3^rd with a huge air blunt and a bunch of other little things. I struggled with getting my pan-am and flip turn off in time. I was pretty happy even with not getting my tricks that I wanted. This off season I'll focus on getting my tricks off faster which will help in competitions. I was judging the men's class and it was a fun event to judge being the only wave event this season. EJ came in 1^st, Bryan 2^nd, and Craig 3^rd. They all threw down on the wave. Jr men put on a show especially Dane who came in 1^st, Hunt 2^nd, and Alec 3^rd. The jr. woman paddled on the feature downstream which was hole. Taking 1^st was Sage, Lauren 2^nd and Courtney 3^rd.

Thanks to Brett, Devon, Larry and all the other organizers for putting on such a great event! I'm excited about next year!

The tour is over and it was another great one! I judged and competed at pretty much every event and I got to go to Germany and judge at the World Championships. I couldn't of had a better year. I'll miss everyone from the tour but it's like summer camp and I'll see them all next year!

Back at home in VT will paddle the Dryway this weekend and then head to our cottage in NY for most of the summer to paddle the Black River and go sailing on Lake Ontario.

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

Freestyle was on Friday there was only 5 of us so we paddled to get re-seated. I was in second at that point going into finals on Sunday. Finals went well I had a huge air loop (finally), godzilla, a cartwheel so I was at 250 points then the phonics monkey that landed sideways damn you phonics monkey! That would of put me at 420 and in first place but noooo I shanked my big trick again and came in 3rd! Devon was first 300, Kat 270, and me the big trick shanker in 3^rd with 250. I swear that next year the big tricks in holes will no longer shank or flush! Hopefully I'll get some practice in before the competition season starts next year.

I also competed in the team boater cross. Our name was Team Indecision it took a little while to figure out who was going to be first because we couldn't decide. You start by doing 20 push ups (real ones), then running around cones while carrying your boat to the put in, paddling down dodging the 8 balls and then slapping the next team mates hand to go. Billy went first, then Quintan, me, and Sam. We did well and were in second place until Craig passed me on the running trail and now we are in 3^rd. I make it down feeling like I'm going die and slap Sam's hand to go. He keeps us in 3^rd until Greg an 8 baller swamps his boat because his skirt isn't on. He makes it to the finish line but can't paddle his boat to shore because it's completely under water at this point and he swims out of it swims to shore but Justin gets to shore while Sam is swimming and he jumps out of his boat and they take 3^rd and us 4^th. We didn't come in last! Team Indecision will prepare for next year! The slalom boaters came in first with their light little boats damn those racer heads! Second was Demshitz (I should of tripped Craig when he ran by me) and the Frenchies in 3^rd.

We then hit the road on Sunday so I could get home to VT and have a few days to chill out before I leave for Germany which is tomorrow to go judge at the World Championships! Thanks to NRS for donating money to USACK for the US judges to fly over there. Justin Owen and I are the 2 US judges.

It was another great tour and sad that's it's over because it is a lot of fun. I have learned that competing is the last thing that I care about while I'm there. It's really about the friends I see every year, the new friends I meet and the rivers I get to paddle. When I get home from Germany I'll spend about a week in NY at our cottage paddling the Black and then we'll fly to Kelly's Whitewater Park in ID. Jeff's announcing and I'll Judge and compete. Then It's the King of NY series and the Lozer Cup races back home. I'll let you know how those go.

Here's alink to the event:

http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_18251225

Till Next time,

Elaine Campbell

The freestyle comp was on Friday and I made it to semi- finals on Saturday but didn't make it into finals and tied for 6^th place. Emily took first, Ruth, and Haley. Saturday morning I entered the downriver race which was a 4 mile race on Gore Creek. I paddled a new boat that was a whitewater/rec boat which was super easy to paddle but not as fast as the other boats in the race and I came in 11^th. I'll make sure to have a proper boat for the race next year.

Then Eight Ball Boater cross on Sunday. Crazy super fun race and I'm bummed I should of worn my GoPro but forgot. I made it to finals as well as Nicole, Emily, Adrienne, Anne, and Louis. The 6 of us listen to Clay's directions of starting backwards and then you turn around and beat feet downstream while the 8 balls come out and try to stop you from going downstream. There was like 10 people in kayaks, a raft and a shredder adding to the chaos, pretty freakin awesome! I started pretty well then got destroyed by Hobie who pushed me in an eddy and he did a great job keeping me in the eddy until I finally broke free and came in last. Results were Nicole, Anne, Emily. Then they had all the competitors in men and women's finals do it again for a HD GoPro so the 12 of us set up and charge downstream. What a mess I was laughing the entire time. I dodged a few 8 baller's and then Hobie found me again and put the hurt on again. Damn you Hobie! It was so much fun and there will probably be video floating around from the eight ball event that will be a good watch for sure. It was also our 6^th year wedding anniversary on Sunday. What a way to spend it 8 balling! Anyway that's all I got from the Teva Games looking forward to it again next year.

 Here's a video form Glenwood Springs and the freestyle pre-lims with Bryan and me.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/GY9xkwcHpJE

 Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P1nBX851lo

Now hanging out in Green River, WY for an event this weekend. I'm hoping the weather will warm up but knowing my luck probably not.

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

The Reno Fest kicked off on Friday with some high water at the hole which was more like a wave. Jeff and Hobie announced which was pretty awesome having Jeff announce at the event. I pretty much had one good ride then the others were not as good so I came in 6^th missing the cut by 30 points thanks to my best move the flush! Then I firedup the judges booth judging pro men.

Saturday was my 31^st birthday and we paddled Florestin on the Truckee about 3,400 cfs fun wave trains and a really fun dam. Dave Fusilli had the biggest macho move I have ever seen you know Kirk style. We had to get back to the Fest since I was judging the men and Craig had to paddle in the men's final. Birthday partying had to wait till after finals. Men and women's finals was really good. Ruth took first by throwing down a sick ride, Emily second and Erin third. Men was Stephen who just did insane things, EJ second and Dustin third. Then it was time to party! We destroyed the Grand Sierra again by Laser tag, Bowling, Line dancing and doing cartwheels and such in the hall way.

Sunday came pretty fast for Boater Cross. I felt the night before and didn't have a good first run Sage beat me with the paddle to the face on the upstream gate. I got to go again in the Lozer round and I broke out fast and made it to the up stream gate first and finished the race backwards showing off the guns. Then I was up again for semi finals and Emily and I were head to head down to the gate and she had the edge on the inside of the gate so she caught the downstream water first and came in first then I second. Up next was finals this was my 4^th run in a row hungover and tired. Finals was Emily, Amanda, Devon, and me. Emily and I started off again right on each other right up to the up stream gate were we battled to get through it while this was going on Amanda slipped by us. Emily again had the advantage being on the inside came out the eddy first then me then the sprint to the finish. Amanda first, Emily, then me. It was such a fun race!

The Reno River Fest is such a fun time! There is so much to do and so many fun people to hang out with. Jeff had to fly home and he'll fly back before BV. Now just hanging out trying to figure out what to run today and the next few days before I head out to WY for the Green River event.

Photos: Stephen Wright

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

After the Triple Crown we drove to the Dries and I had one day there. It was at an in between level but still pretty awesome! We left Fayetteville Tuesday morning to head to NOC for International Judge Training which went really well. I passed the exam and am an ICF certified Judge and could be judging at the World Championships in Germany this summer if I get chosen as a judge. Saturday I hung out with Endless River Adventures at Nantahala Falls for the WaveSport Open. A fun competition for paddlers to win prizes. There was a good turn out for the level being high.

The Shootout was Saturday and Sunday. A really fun competition just hanging out with friends that I haven't seen since last year. It was a USACK point series and paddled to fifth place woo hoo! Emily, Haley, and Adriene took top three. Then I drove the long ride home like 15 hours! It was great to get home and see the family. I missed Jeff and the pets so much!

Now I'm home cleaning the house and going to get the RV ready for the big trip out west. We leave next Thursday the 28^th for about 2 months. I'll go and visit my family this weekend and am getting some paddling in before we leave.

Photos by Jeff Campbell Triple crown

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

The WS Project X 48 is such a great boat and I'm not just saying that because I'm sponsored by WaveSport if you know me I pretty much tell it like it is and if I had issues with the boat I would be honest about it. It loops huge for me! My Project 45 never gave up the air this boat gives up in a hole and even on a wave. When I had it on Inner City Wave I never got that much air on my helixes, pan-ams, blunts, etc. It releases way easier than the Project ever did. The control is much better probably because your knees are higher up in the boat and it makes the edge to edge transitions way more precise. It's easy to initiate cartwheels, phonix, and mcnasty's and gives big pop with spinny loop tricks. It's shorter and has more volume than the Project did so it may take a few times to get it sorted out but once you do man it feels easy. It's pretty darn fast on the little baby waves and the big waves. It's also a good river runner I had it on the Upper and Lower Gauley, and a few other rivers back in New England at high water levels and the boat isn't squirly at all. It's stable in big wave trains and easy to maneuverer so you don't drop into that big hole that appeared out of nowhere. The new white out outfitting is crazy comfortable. I've had a bunch of people ask me if it's slippery and it is not. It's the same material they use for jet ski seats and boat seats so no it's not slippery and yes it's waterproof. I can also assure you that I've been quite the dirty girl lately walking through mud, sand and way too much snow (knee deep which sucks when you have to pee in the woods) and the dirtiness brushes right off the seat! All in all very happy with the boat the design crew gets my two thumbs up! Here's what I suggest get to your local dealer like Zoar Outdoor demo one and try it out for yourself I'm positive you'll be very pleased with the boat pretty quickly.

I'm bunkered down in Wilmington, DE at my sister-in-laws ready to go home but can't because north of here they are getting pounded with snow and I'm sick of driving in the snow! I'm not paddling today I'm pretty tired so I'll hit up Scudder's tomorrow then drive home. We are supposed to get a bunch of rain Monday and Tuesday in VT so I'm hoping that the rivers will rise and get to paddle around home before I take off for 2 months.

There was supposed to be the New Haven Race this weekend but was canceled because no water they moved it to next weekend but I can't go since I'll be competing in the New England Triple Crown which is one of my favorite competitions. Any who that's it for now I'll let you know how the Triple Crown goes and everything after that because the competition season has started!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf4iFPZyceI&feature=player_embedded

Till Next Time,

Elaine Campbell 

Here's some photos from cold weather boating at Dummerchuck in VT taken by Anna Bruno.

Enjoy the start to a new season!

Elaine Campbell

The winter's in VT can be long with out a job so I decided wouldn't it be fun to get a seasonal job to keep me occupied in the winter. Well I did and it's a great job! Now I'm out of Jeff's hair and he's out of my hair. He's had a hard time transitioning me not being home everyday. Now he has to make his own breakfast, lunch and let Brook in and out in and out. I'm working at a Nordic ski shop called Timber Creek in West Dover, VT. We rent cross country skis and snow shoes. There's about 10 miles worth of trails. It's a pretty sweet job and I'm really enjoying xc skiing!

I just finished the Wilderness First Responder course which was a 70 hour long course held at Zoar Outdoor and was by Wilderness Medical Association from ME. I passed so I'm officially a Woofer! We had two instructors Gabe and Steve who both are whitewater boaters. I took the class so if I'm ever in a situation where someone needs help on or off the river I will have some knowledge on how to help them. I learned a lot like how to properly clean wounds, reduce a shoulder injury, how to stabilize someone with a spine injury and so much more I could go on forever. The class consisted of classroom work, labs, and simulations. This is a great course for any whitewater paddler to take. More often than not we are in remote places paddling and if someone gets hurt we really should know what to do help them. I'm confident now that if someone gets hurt I'll be able to help them waaaaaaaay more than if I didn't take this course. If you have a chance go to the WMA Website http://www.wildmed.com/ and find a course near you. I can promise you that you'll be happy you did it.

That's pretty much it for now. Winter's going well except that the Patriot's are out the playoffs. We have another storm on the way so the Spring run off looks real good. My new Wave Sport Project X should be arriving soon hopefully I'll get some free time and get it to a pool session.

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

I had a great 2010 of kayaking! Did my first overnighter in CA, turned 30, had my 5 year wedding anniversary (love you Jeff), paddled a bunch of new rivers, and have an amazing new playboat the Wave Sport Project X! There's more of course but I don't want to bore you with everything. That's all I got for now maybe I'll get in some more boating but I'm looking forward to some snowboarding, snowshoeing, and boxing training.

Enjoy the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7WT4o-4VY 

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell

The forecast has some more rain predicted so I'll get to boat some more before it's gets to cold. I also just got a GoPro so I'll get more video of creeking and river running.

Here's a video of Dummerchuck on the West River in VT from this week.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uq-PpK098s

Till next time,

Elaine Campbell