Last Week of Keeners

With a scrape and a swoosh my boat slides down into the flat water next to Keenerville. I have made it with only a minute to spare (had I been late I would have won the fabulous prize of running Norman's without a skirt)! The Keeners have just been briefed on the trip that we will be taking tomorrow to the Lachine rapids on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal.

Our fabulous head coach Stephen Wright has just explained (with the help of a beautiful diagram) which waves to catch and how to catch them. He has also discussed the possibility of skirt implosions and broken back bands and the not-so-much-fun experience of swimming at the Lachine. It is with this background that we begin a very unusual flat water warm up.

We begin with three rolls of any kind. Then we progress to rolls without a back band or  with our knees out of their braces. Finally, we roll with our skirts completely off our boats. After emptying our boats we proceed to baby face wave to practice air screws. All of mine turn out to be major face plants, but even though I feel as though I have been slapped in the face I am really excited to be attempting the coolest trick on the planet. Eventually we paddle down to lunch and Garb. A torrential rain begins (which is awesome because it is really cool to paddle in the rain) and we surf and then head down the rest of the river. Hopefully the rains will bring the level up just a bit for the last few days of this Keener session.

Emptying out Boats after our Warm-up pre Lachine! 

My name is Jessie and this is my last session and also last blog ever as a Keener. I am sad to be leaving and I will miss this wonderful program so much! Thank you to all the people who make this program as amazing as it is and thank you Mom and Dad for sending me. I plan to have as much fun and kayak as much as possible in the next few days...

Luke Week 3

Hi guys, it’s Luke again on the third week of keeners. Yesterday I had the misfortune of slamming my thumb on my boat and injuring it in a way that makes it hard to grip my paddle. It isn't too bad, but I decided to take the day off today to attempt to nurse my thumb back to life so I can enjoy Lachine more tomorrow. 

One of my photos from today: Anna (our Keener Mom sitting in the Garb
Eddy in the Rain.) 

Even though I wasn't on the water, today wasn’t a total bust because I got to take some sick photos at Garb while everybody else was surfing. I managed to get a couple sweet shots before it started raining cats and dogs. It poured, which will hopefully bring the level up a little bit for our last few days here. Luckily, being a relatively inventive person, I used my rain pants as a camera cover and continued to take photos in the rainstorm. My camera stayed dry while my legs got soaking wet. Tomorrow we get to go surf Lachine and it’s going to be a good day!

Kalem Week 3

Hey everyone its Kalem again this is my last blog post for this session, but im lucky enough to be staying for the last session too. Normally, instead of being at Keeners I would be sitting at home eating popcorn, watching TV and being bored out of my mind. Home for me is Beachburg, Ontario, which is actually 5 minutes from Keeners. Keeners is in the same town as my home, but because I get to hang out with people and get to kayak all day, and get taught by the best coaches, and don't have to cook my own food thans to the WT kitchens, Keeners is way better than sitting at home. We even have popcorn at Keeners.

Last week, I had the opportunity to see what paddling a duo was like. The "duo" is a kayak that fits two people instead of one. I paddled with my fellow Robertsonian, Tim. Since it was on thursday, or "Big Water Beatdown Thursday", we ended up testing our limits. Some of the challenges in paddling the duo were figuring out how to control it, and working together with a partner. We both tried being in the front, and in the back, and both ways were pretty much the same.

Tomorrow we get to go to WT for fresh fruit and hot breakfast in the morning, because we are going on  a Keener roadtrip to the Lachine rapids in Montreal. I have never been before, but I am sure it will be awesome!

Tim and I trying for Left Side Phils in the Duo. Its harder than it looks! 

Zacks Last Blog

Throwing the double "Brown Claw" before dropping into Phils.
Yeah, the "Brown Claw" was also in the Olympics! 

Hey guys its Zack Michaels. Tomorrow we will be going to Lachine and surfing big joe and pyramid wave. Last year we also went to lachine for our road trip. Big Joe is the biggest and greenest wave I have ever surfed. Lachine is a lot of fun because it is so big and green and fast. Last year I couldn't throw any tricks, but I have gotten a lot better this year. I can at least spin and maybe blunt sometimes. I'm very excited to have another chance surfing Big Joe and Pyramid wave tomorrow. At the same time I'm really sad to be leaving keeners. I really hope to come back next year,  I think I will enjoy myself as much as I did this year. I feel like I have gotten so much better this year, and will get even better next year!

Co-ordinators Report, Week Six!

It is hard to believe that we are already in the last week of the second session of Keeners. The summer is flying by, filled with long days on sunshine spent on the water.  This is one of fullest sessions- we picked up Kira a week ago, and Jordan Sanford returned for another Keener session this past Sunday, bringing us up to 23 Keeners!

Last weeks highlights were a field trip to Pembroke to see the new Batman movie and a trip to Wal-mart to stock up on some snack foods. My big purchase was tupperware bins with locking lids to combat the army of Chipmunks that constantly besiege our Keenerville kitchens. The chipmunks are still around, but have had decidedly less to snack on. Another highlight was having Thomas "Deuce" Fahrun on the water as one of Keener Coaches. Deuce was one of the original Keeners with Joel and Nick Troutman, and it is awesome to have him back with the Keener program. We are excited to have him coach next session as well.

Our Fearless Leader: Sir Stephen Wright. 

Big Water Beatdown Thursday started with a breakfast of bacon, and a game designed to build communication and trust between the group. The Keeners were paired off, with one Keener blindfolded. The other Keener was then given the task of walking the Blindfolded Keener through a maze/obstacle course- without touching them! They were only allowed to use verbal cues, and they needed to stay behind their partner. This exercise was particularly useful when Kalem Kennedy and Tim Truesdell decided to take out the topo-duo- a two person kayak affectionately known as a "Divorce Boat." In the words of Tim, they were "looking to get beatdown twice as hard." Luckily for them, I think it worked!

Tim and Kalem rocking the duo- trying hard to surf Left Side Phils. 

This big water beatdown we moved away from surfing Phils, and changed it up, taking rides in Left Side Horseshoe, and practicing seal launches off the jump rocks below Chopping Block. It was a nice change of pace, and a good chance to work on some new skills, as well as try existing skills in different features.

Jordan Launches off the Jump Rock

Ziggy surfing in Left Side Horseshoe

Friday's competition used almost every wave on the river- the "A" class competed with two rides each on Corner Wave and Garberator, the "B" Class had two rides each at Babyface and Corner Wave. The Coaches changed it up by taking 1 ride each on all four waves. There were a lot of ties, and a lot of zeros, as the level was challenging. Once again, Stephen Wright took the win for the Coaches class, followed closely by Joel Kowalski.  Nicole Diviney got her first official spin in Competition, and had some of her best rides ever, as did Eve Preucil for the "B" class. In the "A" Class, Luke Eckert took home the win with 90 points. The winning moves were an Air Blunt on Garb, and a Left spin on Corner Wave. Luke started using a Jackson Rockstar this week, and it has made a huge difference in his paddling!

The weekend was leisurely, with the ladies having an early morning session at Garb, and lots of work by Tino, Luke, Sean and Duncan on the Keener Videos. I know I am excited to see them when they are finished.  It was Tino's birthday on Sunday, and the girls banded together to make a delicious chocolate cake with strawberries to surprise him. Well done ladies!

There has a lot of practice of boat emptying drills to get everyone ready for our trip to the Lachine rapids in Montreal tomorrow. The LaChine rapids are on the St. Lawrence river which runs through Montreal is a 4 hour trip from Keenerville, but well worth it. The rapids host the infamous Big Joe and Pyramid waves, big green glassy waves that you can get some of the biggest tricks of your life on!

Jessie practicing boat emptying drills. 

Last Night's speech night was filled with farewell's and "Thank you's"- to the coaches, co-ordinators, Joe, and of course, to everyone's parents for sending them here and allowing them to be a Keener.

We are all looking forwards to our last week together, and it will be sad to see this group go.

Have a great week, and be sure to check back for more blog posts! For daily photos and updates, check the Keener Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/okskeeners

Duncan- a little delayed.

Hi, it’s Duncan again. So that’s week two over. To be honest it went very fast. I’m very tired and all my muscles hurt. I guess that is a sign that we have been working hard and paddling loads. Today (Friday)  was competition day again. I was in the "A" group, but due to the competition being on two of the hardest waves I’ve ever tried to catch (Garb and Corner wave), I, along with 2 other people in our group got a score of 0. We do our rides, and then watch the video of them together afterwards to judge them. On Saturday I tried some video editing for the first time. It was fun and took a bit longer thanI thought it would but the finished product looks good. Its cool to think I helped make something all the Keeners will get to see. We got a new house mate this week, Jordan who is from Massachusetts. The majority of people in our house are from America with a couple from Canada. I am the only Scottish person at Keeners, but our coach this week, James, is from the UK. The bedrooms in our house are small and often hot so it can be hard to sleep. Luckily we have fans. The kayaking on the Ottawa is great and I wish I had more time here.

Practicing Boat Emptying Drills

Listening to Stephen Wright explain what we will do next! 

Duncan.

Last week of keeners :(

So today is the last week of keeners and all of the girls just figured out that we are all getting Ben Marr t-shirts!! We are all so excited,(hopefully he isn't reading this) but he is our idol! For those of you that don't know, Ben Marr is an amazing kayaker and last session he was a keener coach!

On another note today we went cliff jumping testing out the safest ways to jump off cliffs and some fun front and back flips. Today it was speech  night and one of the prompts was "name a memorable moment" and I was thinking about it and realized that there are so many amazing moments that I couldn't pick one! This made me realize that I really don't want to leave keeners! Anyway this is my last blog until next year bye for now!!

Jessie posing with a picture of Ben Marr, our Idol!! 

Thanks to everyone for all their help and to my parents for letting me come and play!!

Nick Coddou "ABQ" Week Three

Hey everyone its Nick again for my last blog post. :( Last week was great- I started getting my lefty blunts more consistently and now I am trying to get my helixes and air screws. These are pretty advanced tricks, so it is pretty cool to be trying them and maybe succeeding.  I have one more week here at keeners and I am trying to make every last second count! To do that,  i've been asking as many questions to all the coaches day and night about different tricks and how to get better. Every year that I have come to keeners its been twice as good as the year before. I think that is because every year I am getting better as a kayaker and the more complicated tricks aren't as confusing to understand.

I feel after keeners I am 20% more positive then I use to be because all the coaches and everyone here has a great out look on life and they are always positive about everything! Hopefully I will be back next summer for another great year at keeners.

Going for A "Macho Move"/ Wave Wheel above Phils hole. 

Sincerely

       Nick Coddou  

pilar lira blog for session 3

yo soy pilar lira vengo de chile y ahora estoy en  el colegio keeners bueno lo que hice hoy fue nadar primero si nada y luego con el remo realmente me asuste mucho como que me vino panico esenico porque tengo malos recuerdos con los remolinos en el rio futaleufu. Luego entre al agua y me fui a sorfiar a una ola facil me di cuenta de que sorfiar es super divertido en chile lo sorfiaba porque me obligaban entonces hoy descubri lo divertido que es sorfiar despues bajamos el rio nunca lo habia bajado entonces me giaron por la mejor linea fue super divertido yo creo que ahora estoy disfrutando mucho el rio porque antes en el rio donde yo aprendi odiaba hacer kayak pero me di cuenta de que es unico el kayak y es super interesante y muy divertido y encuentras personas muy amorosas encuentro que este rio es super seguro y muy bueno para aprender y si no fuera por lorenzo andrade un instructor de keeners nunca habria venido este colegio y nunca habria conocido este rio!

Nicole M: Week 2 of Keeners

What an exciting week at oks keeners! Today was our instructor Tino Spechts' birthday and all of the girls in Yakistan came together and made him a birthday cake! It was awesome. Some of us also went down to The Lorne to surf the wave Garberator at 6 A.M!!  (lets just say not all of us are morning people!) For the rest of the day we watched movies and played on the slackline set up outside of yakistan house. A slackline is a piece of webbing like material that is suspended over the ground, inbetween two poles. It is about 2 feet off the ground, and you try to walk across it. It is hard to balance and a lot of the time you fall, but it is super fun!  Not all of us are perfect, but we were getting better and we had a blast and worked up a good appetite for another delicious meal at Wilderness Tours. Mm... Steak Night!  When we got back we got to eat a cake that the kitchen made for Tino also, he must be awesome-look how many cakes he gets in one day (3 so far!) I am very excited for next week and the many weeks to come at keeners, this is and experiance of a lifetime and I am so glad I have the opportunity!

Kira's First Week

Hey everyone, my name's Kira Antonyshyn and I'm from Toronto. This was my first week at Keeners this year and it feels great to be back! I didn't realize how much I missed paddling until I was back on the Ottawa. This year the water level is pretty low creating a completely different river than what I was used to paddling in last year. I surfed Garb for the first time this past Monday and it felt awesome- it was the beginning to a great week. The other Keeners in this session are really cool and I've had a lot of fun getting to know them. The instructors we've had this past week have all been really great as well; I've only been on the river with them for five days and I've already learned a lot. I can already tell that I'm a lot more comfortable paddling here, I was even able to paddle down the last four major rapids of the Main Channel backwards. I have been working on getting my bow stall and I'm hoping that next week I'll be able to get a blunt and a kick flip. Overall, I've had a fantastic week and I can't wait to keep kayaking. 

Until next week,

Kira

More Memories

Hey there! It's me, Jordan, again signing in for my second blog post here at keeners! It's crazy how fast this past week came and went. This week was amazing; between getting a loop on satler's on big water beat down thursday, homing in on my kickflips, and getting second in the B class today for competition friday, I would say that it was a very successful week! Today was competition friday and I had a couple bad rides on push button and baby face, I reedemed myself by scoring a fourteen on my last ride on push button that pulled me into second place! I have improved so much even just from last week; I am now comfident that I can catch the waves 100% of the time and my rides are getting longer and smoother. We have been working really hard on our edge control and it has helped me with my control on the waves as well as on my flatspins and shuve its. After seeing my improvement this week, I can't wait to see what I will be able to do next week. I am so fortunate to be able to work with instructors like Stephen Wright, Clay Wright, Joel, Tino, Rafa, and other wonderful kayakers. I know that the people that I meet here as well as the memories I make will stay with me for the rest of my life. I love keeners!
Untill next week,
sincerely,
Jordan

hey everyone its matt from toronto again and this week was pretty sick. on sunday i did a bunch of air screws on the ramp for the first time ever. then on monday it was speech night and mine and everyones speeches went well. on tuesday we saw the dark night rises. it was a sick movie but i think the second one was better. beat down thursday was a lot of fun cause i got beat down a few times. today was a sweet day too but this weekend should be even better. thats all 4 now peace

Another Day on the River

Dropping into Satlers.... 

And Dropping into Phils....

Another fun bigwater beatdown bacon Thursday.
 I started this day of with a few runs down upper McCoys. My first run through I surfed satlers and soon followed it with a salters punch to left side phil's. I then rescued my friend Thomas  after everyone surfed left side horseshoe. After that some of us (including me) won the "special prize" of running the last four major rapids backwards. At the jumping rock we practiced seal launches and waterfall tucks unfortunately on my second launch we were meant to throw our paddle and tuck, but when I landed my paddle came down and speared me in my left ear. The rest of the day went fine and I am looking forward to next week when we rappel of the bungee tower.

Eve's Big Water Beat Down Thursday

Learning how to make a Z drag in Ropes and Knots

Hello, it's Eve again. Today was our second Big Water Beat Down Thursday. To start the day off each keener ran two different lines down upper Mccoys, either through Sattler's or Phil's. My first run I tried to surf left-side Phils. I didn't make it, and flushed pretty quick, so my second ride I tried to surf left-side again, and this time I made it. Our next challenge of the day was to surf Horseshoe on lower Mccoys twice. That was amazing. Almost everyone got some really great surfs. I had so much fun doing that I went for a third, incredible surf. Before lunch we ran Mccoys, and the keeners who have gotten onto the water late for the past few days recieved their punishment; to run the rest of river backwards, starting with the Lorne. After lunch we split up into two different groups, group A surfed at Garb for a bit while group Pie surfed at Pushbutton for a bit, before heading on down the river. I was in Group Pie. In some flatwater, we found a nice tall rock with a clean drop down to the water, and the coaches thought it would be a perfect place to practice a seal launch. The first ride we practiced setting ourselves up with our paddles as if going off a waterfall while Clay pushed the boat off the rock. For everyone's second ride we practiced throwing our paddles as our boats fell through the air towards the water and brace ourselves against our boats with no paddle. At the end of the day, group Pie got to surf on one of the holes there, where most people got worked. It was awesome! :)

Garb, definitely one of my favourite waves

Zack, Kalem and I watching the other Keeners get beatdown at Phils Hole. 

This weekend a Tim, ABQ, and I took an early morning paddle down to Garb on the Lorne. We woke up at around 5:30 and were gone by 6:00. We ended up paddling for 4 1/2 hours and the others got to surf Garb for the first time. I threw my first actual blunt of the year over Nick, which was hilarious and felt pretty amazing. Sadly I did not stick it but I am very happy that this week I have been able to throw quite a few air blunts that have been totally vert but i have only stuck one of them so far. Whenever I throw them I just come down on my stern and eat it so hopefully I will be able to adjust my technique so that I will be able to stick them.

Tim bwbt

Hey, Tim again.  Once again it is the infamous Big Water Bacon Thursday.  Today Kalem and I attempted to get beatendown in a jackson duo (a double kayak) for double the beatdown.  Unfortunately, it was a lot tougher to catch Phil's Hole in it so the both the leaders of last week's beatdown were no where near the narliest beatdown.  Instead, Zack stepped up with an over a minute hand surf in right side Phil's to take the award.  Overall another sick day on the Ottawa and I'm looking forward to my remaining days here, where I can hopefully learn more tricks on the wave Garb.

Marleigh Week Two

Hey, It's Marleigh again. It's my second week here at keeners and it is awesome! We finished our swift water rescue training today. Joel pinned a boat to the bottom of a smaller rapid and we had to escape from it. We also had some random rescue situations. Today we did a lot with pinned boats. A "pin" happens when your boat or body gets stuck under something- like a rock or a log on the river. You can also get pinned to a rock by the force of the water if you are at a bad angle. Stephen was pinned on a rock to the left of Waikiki, so we had to throw a throw rope across the rock to pull him up and out in order to save him. After Chopping Block Joel got pinned on a rock, and we were able to pull him out.  It was pretty fun getting to save the coaches for once, instead of having them save us! Overall, it's been pretty great.

Week Two Patrick Murtha

It's my second week here at Keeners and now that I'm settled in it is obvious that this is going to be a great session. Tomorrow is big water beat down Thursday and it is going to be great. For those of you who do not know what big water beat down Thursday is, it is when the Keeners, led by our great leader Stephen Wright the most mysterious man in the world, (according to the squirt boating championships) surf the biggest holes and waves around. Normally, this means McCoys rapids, like phils hole. We do this in order to become less afraid of scary water. We also do this so that we know what to do if we do get trapped in a big hole. Until next week Patrick.

Week 2

This weekend I wasn't able to paddle because I was taking a first aid course. Although I didn't paddle I was glad to obtain the new skills. I was also glad to rest a bumb shoulder. We also had the opportunity to practice going under a log, it was fun, and also made me more comfortable knowing that I would greater my chances if I were ever in that position. Today we did more Swift water Rescue Training and practiced getting in and out of pinned kayaks as well as rescuing them. We also worked on tethered swims and rescuing unconscious boaters who are upside down. Tomorrow is another big water beatdown day and I am looking forward to swimming in the pourover by garb.

Robert's 2nd week

We're already in the second week of keeners, and many new events have happened. I learned many new things this week, one of them was that I learned my back-dack roll, which is pretty sweet because it will help me do new things such as a kick-flip off the wave in Garb. I'am really looking forward to learn new tricks such as a roundhouse, blunt, or an airscrew off the keener ramp. Tomorrow will be Bigwater Beatdown Bacon Thursday, which will be something new to me, since I did not have the chance to go on the first week due that I was learning my roll.  I'am planning to go left side Phill's and probably going to get beatdown, but that what it is for, so I'am really excited about it. I will be posting next week to see how everything is going on in keeners.

kalems 2 week

Throwing tricks off the Ramp

hey everyone its kalem here again its 9:00 in the morning and I just had four beautifully toasted waffles complements of Walmart. Last night we went to Walmart to stalk up on the junk food  then finished of the night by going to the movies to see the new batman. Today some of the keeners are going to run a different channel called the middle channel. The water is kinda low so some rapid might be a bit rocky but it will still be pretty wicked. There is a bigger waterfall on the middle called Garvins that has lines like dragons tounge, and ST chute which some of the Keeners might get to run. The other keeners will be finish the end of their S.R.T (swift,water,rescue) Course. SRT is super fun, and you learn a lot. I did it last year.

Duncan from Scotland!

About to drop into Phils Hole, or stopper, as we say in the UK

Hi it’s Duncan. This is my first time at keeners and this first week his been great. I really love being taught by such great instructors. Today was competition day as well as having my first try at a competition. I tried my first kick flip and blunt. I was in class A which meant we were scored against American freestyle score sheet. In the precompetition practice I got a score of 30 on my best ride but on the actual competition I only scored 5, which was ok since some people in my class scored 0. Hopefully I can do better next week.

Luke, Week 2

Starting this Monday was a new beginning for me at Keeners. For the first week I was paddling my friends old playboat and it was definitely holding me back with my paddling abilities. I rented a beautiful Yellow Jackson Rock Star from Wilderness Tours and the difference in boat control was unbelievable. I started having a super good time throwing the new boat around and now there’s no internal mental excuse for me to not be able to do anything in my kayak that everybody else here can do. Having that mental barrier gone has helped me immensely and I have already found myself trying new things that I never would have thought possible in my old boat.I'm excited for the rest of the week, to be able to continue pushing myself. This weekend, Tino and I also started doing "1 hour edits", in which we filmed for an hour, and then had one hour to edit our footage. The subject this weekend was the Keener Ramp. I think we got some pretty sick shots, and even though the one hour challenge was hard, I'm looking forwards to going back to finish the edit. 

Filming A Ramp Session

Me with my old boat... on to the new !

Keeners second week

Me playing the Log Game while Clay Wright instructs us on what to do. 

Yesterday at keeners we played the "log game." The log game is a great learning experience. Logs are a very dangerous threat on the river. You can get trapped or impaled by them and they don't look very harmful. In the log game you have to get over or under a log that is held a certain height over the river. It is really fun and very enlightening. Tonight we went to see Batman. It was awesome. Keeners is the best.

Week 2 of Keeners Begins

The fun never ends at the Keener program! Week 2 began with a Manic Monday the highlight of which was playing in the death slot. The death slot games involve two coaches moving a log around in a narrow slot while the Keeners practice boofing over or sliding under the log. This comical endeavour is a fabulous opportunity for the Keeners. We have the opportunity to deal with what would normally be very dangerous situations in a completley safe environment (the death slot is not at all scary) with supportive coaches. As we attempt to get over/under the log the coaches can give us tips and even lift the log if we get stuck. All in all, the log games in the death slot are very fun and hugely beneficial to any kayaker who seeks to pursue a future in creeking.

Log Games are fun! Photo by Rafa Ortiz

Today we woke up to a nice cool, cloudy morning. Most of the Keeners went for a refreshing run and then all of us completed some dynamic stretches. We will go down the main and probably surf some garb or push button this morning/afternoon. I will be focusing on sticking a blunt. This evening all the Keeners will go to the movies and we will see Batman!

Week 2 By Nicole Diviney

Good morning/afternoon/night readers!

Week 2 has begun and today the sky is looking surprisingly grey. Nonetheless, everyone is really excited about their tremendous progress and about today's trip to Walmart and the cinema! (or movie theater, as they constantly correct me here). Yesterday was Monday and so we simply ran the main channel, surfed, and received a scary but necessary "lightning talk" from Stephen Wright. The lightning decorating the afternoon clouds was sublime above our colourful heads.

As far as on-river skills, I am very happy to have managed my first spin on Sunday. I may have credited myself for managing one before, but I do believe that I was merely shuv-it-ing my way through the wave. I am also rolling much more consistently, as I only swam three times yesterday (four if you include the intense log session). Ah, yes! The log thing was super fun. We got to paddle through a narrow channel, which at first intimidated me, but ended up being fine. We had to kayak under a log, which got closer to the water as every person completed level 1. I was told off for "loving" the log too much, as I was hanging onto it for dear life. It was a fun and different experience though, and so I'm happy we did it. It was good preparation for potential stumblings into unforeseen obstacles on the river!

All the keener girls, and keeners in general, are still getting along. We spent a nice weekend (if we were not enjoying the exciting course that is First Aid). We went swimming, paddling (baby face spin, oh yeah), watched movies, ate, and in general always had something to do as we are all great company and the Ottawa river is a delightful place to be! Well, I shall tune in next week for more news!

Peace

Playing Log Games in the Death Slot. Photo by Rafa Ortiz. 

ND

second week of keeners!!!

Playing on the ramp over the weekend! 

Hey everyone its Nick again with an another amazing week at keeners with even more amazing people! For my 2nd week at keeners I got the biggest macho move (a wave wheel to loop over waves) of my life! and I also am getting kick flips finally thanks to the help of Tino! They are awesome. Over the weekend me and a few friends woke up at 5:30 and paddled down to Garb and had the whole wave to our selves for about 5 hours. As we were there I got some lefty blunts a back stab and a bunch of spins. After and before the weekend I really feel like I'm improving my paddling skills everyday! hopefully my next blog I will be able to report to you guys that I have gotten an air screw and a helix maybe!

keeners session 2 week 2

hi my name is calista and this is my second blog this session for Keeners. This is my second year at Keeners and iI have to say that it has been amazing! Today we  ran the main channel like we do every day but today we did something a little different: Instead of just running the rapids or surfing waves, we squeezed our boats and oursleves under a log to practice going under them. This helps us learn the saftey of which logs are safe and which ones are not. Today we also  had a chance to learn about the saftey of lighting , what to do and where to go if there is lightning on the river, or if you're stuck in a situation where most lighting is most likley to hit. At the end of tonight we had speech night. My topic was on ear infections. Tomorrow we are going to the movies to see Batman. Thats all for this week, I will blog again next monday
calista

Nicole M

     Our first weekend as keeners was amazing as was expected, today started by all of the girls making breakfast and planning out our day. A few of the girls went out to surf babyface at around 10:00 but the rest of us just stayed and chilled with a bunch of the other people, cleaning the house a bit. We had a lot of people in first aid training but the rest of us that were still here had a video shoot going down the ramp we have here at around noon.

     After the video shoot we went back to our cabin and got ready to go to dinner at wilderness tours. once dinner was finished we watched a kayaking video made by some of our Keener coaches. in the auditorium with the other kayak schools that wilderness tours has and then made our way back to Keenerville, now we get to watch a movie before going to bed. All in all, it was a fun weekend and I am excited to start my second week at Keeners.

Here is a screen shot from Stakeout- a kayaking movie
made by our Keener Coach Joel Kowalski. 

Thomas' first week at keeners

Coach Rafa Ortiz took this photo at the Lorne Rapids. Try and Find me in it! 

Hello, my name is Thomas. This is my first week as a keener and I loved it. I learned so much even if at first I was a little nervous. Thanks to the help of some amazing coaches. This week we had Stephen Wright, Tino Specht, Clay Wright, Joel Kowalski and Rafa Ortiz.  They are the world's best. I learned my back deck roll and how to surf. I got my first surf ever on push button. But, the thing I am the most happy about is that I have gained a lot of confidence in whitewater which can help me learn new tricks. I hope I have just as good a second week as my first week. I am so grateful to be here with the best coaches in the world.

hey every1 its matt from toronto! yesterday was competition friday, all the keeners had three turns on push button too surf the wave and get the best score. i did alright and came in second in the B class. it was a lot of fun and i learned a tun about the system and the names of tricks. today me and 6 other keeners had first aid. i learned how to save lives and how to help ppl in life threatening situations. tomorrow i have more first aid and monday is speech night. i cant wait for next week to see what else will do!

Competition Friday

Hello Dear Readers,
My name is Jordan and I'm a Keener here for the first time! I really love it here so far; every day is a new adventure about to unfold. The words "Anything can be possible just around the river bend" have never been more true. Today's adventure was Competition Friday, and it was my first competition ever. For the competition each kayaker got three tries on the wave for 45 seconds each during which time the kayaker tries to do as many tricks as possible. Each trick recieves a score and the points add up to get a final score. I was in the B class and this was my first competition so I was happy with my score of 4; I got recieved 1 point for catching the wave and 3 points for getting a 180 on the wave. Today was a first for me, but it definitely won't be the last. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds, and what unfolds just around the river bend.  

Beatdown Thursday

Keegan Grady Films Foxy surfing Right side Phils at
the Phils Hole Rodeo last summer. 

Today was Bigwater Beatdown Bacon Thursday. We spent the morning playing in the different features on the McCoy Rapids, right outside Keenerville. There are lots of different features to play on and to push yourself in. I started by surfing sadlers it was really smooth and not that bad. My second run I went for a bigger Beatdown in Left side Phils. I got worked for a bit but it was fun. I wanted to surf Rightside but we had to head down. All in all it was awesome. I'm excited for next week.

Edward Returns to the Ottawa!

The Beautiful Ottawa River.. Right outside Keenerville

I am finally back here on the Ottawa river, which has become my favourite place in the world. Starting up my third year it has gotten to the point where I am no longer the newest kid around. All of the original keeners that I spent my first year with have moved on to work at Wilderness Tours. The start of this year so far has been pretty amazing. In this past week I have pushed myself more than ever before. In just the past 4 days I have almost gotten blunts on Pushbutton, they are much harder to get than on Garb, which is unfortunately not at its prime. Today, I also surfed two holes that I have never surfed before, Satlers and Centre Slot, which was a great learning experience. I think I used this Bigwater Beatdown Thursday to its full potential and desensitized myself to some of the few things that worried me in the past. I have 6 weeks left, lets see where that can take me!

Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday

Bacon in Yakistan!!

Hello from the Ottawa River! My name is Eve Preucil and I am from Idaho. Today was Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday. In honor of the name, most keeners started the day off with a breakfast of bacon before heading off to Mccoys to throw themselves into the biggest hole they can find. I, unfortanatly had to miss out on the bacon as I am a vegetarien. The whole idea of Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday is for Keeners to become more comfortable in huge, seemingly scary, whitewater holes or waves and also so that when they are in situations like that, they know what to do to stay safe. At Mccoys, each Keener had to  choose at least three different lines to run, either hitting Sattlers, Right-side Phils or Left-side Phils. So far Beatdown of the week was tied on Right-side Phils by Kalem and Tim. After that we headed on down to run the Lorne before eating some lunch. After lunch we continued Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday by swimming in the pourover at the Lorne to see who could have the most downtime. As we continued on down the river to the takeout we took part in various activities such as swimming in the whirlpools and surfing or punching through large holes. All in all, it was another awesome day in the Keener Program!

Tim on Thursday!

Hey, It's Tim from NYC.  This is my second year as a keener. Today was Thursday, just an average day of the week for most, but for us Keeners a chance to brave the river gods in Phil's Hole on a day known as Big Water Bacon Beatdown Thursday.  Every Thursday we start our day off right with bacon.  Today,  Edward and I made candy Bacon preparing ourselves for a great kick off to the Thursdays that would follow.  Today I received the biggest beatdown award tying for a first place finish with a hand paddle (without my paddle) beatdown, which lead to my first swim in a year.  After a minute of pure terror being tossed and flipped, breathless, I pulled my skirt and swam.  There was no escape from Phil's, at least in my boat.  Overall a great day, once again a great experience from the Ottawa.

Keeners First Week

           These first few days have been a lot of fun. The first day was interesting, not knowing who would show up, as well as everyone else’s paddling abilities. After we all got over that first few awkward hours though everyone realized that everyone had that chill kayaker mindset. Getting back on the Ottawa was great everyone is a solid boater and it has been extremely fun so far, although we have practiced emptying boats and swimming. Today we started SRT and practiced with our throwbags and swimming in and out of pourovers. Tomorrow will be interesting though with Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday, I’m a little nervous but I’m sure it will be a bunch of fun.

Magical Marleigh !

Hello There,
My name is Marleigh. I'm from Idaho. This is the first week at keeners. So far it's pretty awesome.We have been running the Main Channel everyday and surfed some sweet waves. Today a few people and I started Swiftwater Rescue Training, which is just a series of drills and exercises to learn water safety skills. It was quite fun because we swam through lots of different rapids. Today we swam through the Lorne, which is where the Garberator wave normally is.Well so far, this trip has been awesome, and I cannot wait to see what comes next! :) Marleigh

First Impression of Keeners

Nick Coddou (ABQ) goes off the Ramp while Black Dog chases him. 

This is my first time at keeners, it also is the first time that I have paddled a big water river, like the Ottawa River. My first impression when I got here was the beauty that the river held, plus all of its surroundings, although I was super nervous to go down, because I did not know what to expect. When I passed the first rapid, and got through it, I realized that nothing bad could happen. One of the things that can happen, is that your kayak flips and you get to roll, and in the worst case scenario is that you get to swim, which is not that actually bad. When I stopped thinking of the things that could go wrong,  I started to gaze upon how great  the river is and how thankful I am to be here. I am starting to learn new things thanks to all the great coaches, and I would love to learn more. I am really pumped to learned a different roll, as well as going off the ramp, which I have not have the chance yet. It has been great this passed days and I cant wait for the next two weeks, and going off the ramp.  

Sydney's last blog- The Rouge

Hey, it's Sydney again ! This will unfortunately be my last blog.
This past Wednesday all of the Keeners went to The Rouge river in Quebec. We put in below the first sister and had the option to run any of the last six. I didn't run the second one because while I was watching some guys run it, I noticed they were having a hard time with how strong the current was. One of them even put a huge dent in the front of their boat ! I decided that it would probably be better if I didn't run that one because if the guys were having trouble with how strong the current was, that I probably would too. I put in just below that one and ran the third sister, it went great ! The fourth sister was a decent sized waterfall. When I hit the bottom of the drop my paddle got pulled out of my hands and I had to hand roll up. The fifth sister went over fine but it fed into the sixth one which I didn't have such great luck on. The sixth sister was more of a pour over and I got stuck in it, while I was stuck my skirt imploded and I fell out of my boat. After that I got pushed to the bottom of the river and hit the river bed, then I came back up but was pushed under right away again. I came up to the top again and Tyler threw me a rope and pulled me out right before I was pulled under again. It took awhile for my boat to come out but when it did my friends emptied it for me. It took me a few minutes to get over it but then I found myself laughing about it. Then everyone went to run the seventh sister. Overall, it was a great day filled with lots of fun and great friends !
Sadly, this is my last day here and I am leaving tomorrow, Thanks for reading my blogs ! (:

back for more by Patrick Murtha

Me on the Keener Ramp last summer. 

Hi, my name is Patrick "Patrack" Murtha and this is my second year at Keeners. I find it appropriate that our picture from last year is still the background for the main blog. This is because we were the best group of Keeners ever, of course. In fact, last year is when I got the name "Patrack". It happened when we were chillin after a day on the river, we were talking about the worst nicknames we ever had. When it came my turn to talk I said the worst name I ever had was Patrack; (I had been called it for about three days at another kayak camp) so what do you know everyone selected the worst nickname I ever had to be my nickname. then when I returned home and told my friends about it it caught on with them too. However even after one day I'm sure that this year will be just as good as my last one here at Keeners.(Even though I doubt I'll be shedding the name.) 

Luke: Why it is worth Trying.

Today started out with the reoccurring frustration that occurs when you mentally push yourself to do things that you initially don’t want to do.

I was having a hard time today giving up my longer surfs to try tricks that usually made me flush off the wave. I began to get super frustrated with myself for not trying anything when Tino shouted out to all the keeners who were at pushbutton “You miss 100% of the tricks you don’t try!” That made me realize if I never tried any tricks I was never going to learn.

Coach Tino Specht watches Stephen Wright Demonstrate a Loop at Push Button.
The level now is a little lower than when this picture was taken! 

The next surf I went out on pushbutton and tried a blunt, missed it and was promptly flushed off the wave. I wasn’t discourages however because I knew I would be able to get it if I kept trying. My next surf I managed to throw a nice blunt and stay on the wave. I was super happy and ended up having a great time for the rest of the day.

Back to the Ottawa

This is me going off the ramp last year: So excited to be back for more fun! 

Hi everyone, my name is Jessie and this is my second year as a Keener. There are 8 girls here (a new record for the program) and it has been fun getting to know everyone. Yesterday was our first day on the water and my first day back on the Ottawa. We began the morning practicing basic skills and play boating fundamentals in the flat water. As we paddled a bald eagle soared overhead. Then we proceeded to run the main. Today we paddled to the lorn and surfed some Garb (which was hard to catch but still super fast and fun). This afternoon we ran McCoys and then everyone swam in the football eddy. Finally we practiced rescuing swimmers and emptying boats in moving water, which proved to be both challenging and immensely amusing. Both days were a fantastic start to my stay with the Keeners and I am very excited for all the excitement and fun coming up in the next three weeks!