Kate's Final Post: (Swift Water Rescue Training)

Last post for MAX!

So the session is ending off and this will be my last blog. Today we went to the gatineau river as the river trip. The whitewater there was a lot more shallow and the waves where significantly harder to catch. I managed to pull of a lopsided loop and several pirouettes. The rest of week before today was a bit more boring and therefore this blog will be shorter. If your're wondering why it was boring, we simply did SRT (swiftwater rescue training) where we basically swam a lot of rapids/threw throw ropes/ walk across the river currents and get out of foot/gear entrapments. Other than this the only thing else that stood out this week was the friday competition in which I failed at because I was going for a bunch of moves (which I did in trails) but got washed out on the simpler ones. I was at garb and going for
( R-spin / L-spin / L-shuvit / R-shuvit / R-Roundhouse / L-Roundhouse / L-Blunt / R-Blunt / Airscrew ) If I reached to the airscrew during the competition I would be really happy. Luckily I managed this during the trails on my free time during weekends. Thats all. TOMORROW IS BEATDOWN!

Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye?

Hey guys! It's Julie again. Unfortunatly, this will be my last keener blog of the year. Recently, we've been getting in plenty of swiftwater rescue training. Even if I don't feel like I can get to safety on my own, I have loads of faith in the other keeners that they will assist. I'm really excited for tomorrow because we have a day trip to go paddling at the Gatineau river. Also, there will be poutine, which is awesome! However, something I'm not looking forward to is saying goodbye to all of the great friends I've made during my time here. We only have a few days left, which is crazy because the past week and a half just flew by. It almost feels unreal that after getting into the routine of paddling everyday and having such strong relationships with other people, that I will have to go back to my normal life. I have such an amazing experience that reality hasn't kicked in yet that my time here won't last forever, and I'm dreading the time where I'll have to pack up my things and say farewell to everyone and everything I've experienced until next year when I return. On a positive note, I'll keep striving to get the most out of my time here in these last few precious days. I've had an awesome time telling you guys about my life at Keeners. For now, it's all said and done, it's been real, and it's been fun!

-Julie

The End to a Great Summer

Hey guys it's Jack here with my final blog for this session. Today was one of the greatest days on the river I got a ton of huge vertical air blunts on Garb and a few lefty blunts, which are my offside blunts. Hopefully I can get my backblunts down so that I may come closer to completing my goals.

I am super excited because tomorrow we are taking a road trip to the Gatineau River, one of my favourite rivers an one I have paddled frequently. Unfortunately this year I did not get to paddle there due to my new puppy and the fact that the takeout campsite doesn't allow dogs.

I want to thank everyone who gave me this wonderful opportunity to come to this amazing camp so thank you Mom, Dad, Grandma, Kem, all my aunts and uncles and everyone else.

Jack :)

Ben's Final Week as a Keener

Hey guys, it's Ben White, back for my Week 6 post on the Keener blog. Sadly, this will be my final post on the blog as a Keener, as I'll be too old to come back next summer. Nevertheless, these past 6 weeks have been some of the best days of my life. Coming into the program, I had a fairly limited skill set when it came to playboating and big water kayaking. I've since learned how to bow stall, stern stall, right blunt, left/right roundhouse, back deck roll, basics for an airscrew, clean spin, and air loop. I am also much more confident running challenging lines, like punching right side Phil's or doing the Hero ferry on McCoy's. Since I arrived 37 days ago, the water level has gone from 14 feet to -1.5, providing me and the group with a myriad of playspots and fun lines, from Minibus to Garburetor. These past couple weeks, I've been devoting the majority of my time to cycling on waves in order to learn and perfect the blunt. Today on Garb, I cycled to the top of the foam pile and threw my first air blunt. It was an awesome feeling, as I could finally see all of my hard work pay off. For those who don't know, a trick with "air" is when you and your boat are completely aerial at some point during the trick. I've been having an amazing time on the Ottawa, and I think it's safe to say that I've fallen in love with the river's warm, deep water and world-class whitewater. When I go back to my local (very small) playspot in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, I'll probably drop to my knees and cry, wishing I was back on the Ottawa. First world problems, I know, but it's true. I'd like to say thank you to all of the awesome coaches, friends, and paddlers I've met through the Keener program for making my stay on the Ottawa an unforgettably amazing experience, and especially my parents for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Keeners has been super solid!

Popcorn time, Ben

Tuesday, Week 3 by Chris

Sadly this is going to my final week at Keeners. I had a great time here, nothings better than getting to kayak everyday for 3 weeks. Although I probably should have taken a day off this weekend, as I am very tired and sore this week, who could pass up the opportunity to kayak when you are literally right at the base of McCoys. I also unfortunately have an ear infection, so if you come to Keeners make sure to use the ear disinfectant everyday after paddling. I got lazy and stopped using it and look what happened. Keeners has been an absolutely amazing experience, getting to run the river everyday, meeting teenagers who like kayaking as much as you do, get to paddle with world renowned instructors, and just learning a ton of new stuff. My favourite day of the week was by far, Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday, is was just so much fun pushing yourself to run lines and do stuff your normally wouldn't. If you told me I'd be hand surfing Right Side Phil's at the beginning of the session, I would not have believed you. I was a little hesitant about coming to Keeners at first, but I am so happy I did. So any of you guys thinking about coming to Keeners but aren't quite sure, just do it, you'll love it, guaranteed.
-Chris

Sarah Week 3

Hey guys its sarah here for my last blog post of session 2! Im really sad that this session is almost over but so much has been happening that i keep forgetting its almost over. Last thursday it was big water beat down thursday and i got beatdown of the week! I got beatdown twice in right side phils. Once was by accident because i was trying to hit the tongue and the second was on purpose. The first one was quite short but i got thrown around alot and then flushed out. the second one was really long and felt like i was in a washing machine. On friday during the competition i got some spins on push button and started to learn how to roundhouse. Im also working on my double pump to get into a bow stall. Unfortunately ravenclaw came last in harry potter week but it was still really fun! Friday night we went to the fair which was awesome and we got to go on a bunch of rides. Ive now started my SRT and its actually kinda fun (surprisingly). Yesterday we did throwbagging and wading and i learnt alot! Im excited to go to the gatineau tomorrow because i like running new rivers. bye for now!
-Sarah

monday week 3 by Pablo

The last week begins. I'm exited for what's ahead, but sad that in four days I'm not going to see all the good friends i've made during my stay. On the more positive side of things, today we started our first day of SRT training (swift water rescue technician) and I'm felling pretty confident about my awareness of hydrology and already feel much safer on the water. I'm also glad that i'll be able to finish the second day of it considering last year I had to leave early because of the unfortunate accident. Even better than getting to finish SRT is that by staying for the entire week,  i will be able to go on the keener trip which might (hopefully) be on the Gatineau river. Anyways I have to go to bed now because I started this blog late and unfortunately its not that long as a consequence. have a good one - Yannick, AKA Pablo

SRT at the Lorne

*Late Post* Enter Session 2

Enter session 2. Super excited to have a new set of keeners here for another 3 weeks although I do really miss the friends I made last session. One thing I wanted to talk about in keeners is relationships. Don’t worry, not the ones you think. I want to talk about relationships in terms of friendships made here in the program. I find that all of these blogs are all about what we did this week or how the day went but I think It would be nice for all you readers out there to get into the psychological aspect of keeners not just the physical aspect.

To begin, I have been in keeners since the summer of 2010 when I first started kayaking. Since that point I have improved immensely in not only my kayaking but in my overall personality and social well being. I came to the program as a chubby 13 year-old kid who didn’t do much in terms of physical activity. Looking back I can see how much I have changed and it makes me realize that it is not only the program that has changed me, it is the people in the program. The people that I met 3 years ago in my first weeks of keeners have become some of my greatest friends, as well as most of my best friends in the following years. What people look past most of the time are the bonds you create living with these people for 1, 2, 3, 6 or even 9 weeks.

I have already been here 3 weeks and I feel like I have made a couple of friends that I would like to hopefully hang out with for the rest of my life. It is so awesome how this community of tightly knit people changes you. I truly believe that if it weren’t for the fact that the people here weren’t so awesome I don’t think I would be a kayaker, not the one I am now at least.

My best advice would be to come to keeners with the expectations that you are going to meet some people that will change you permanently. I can say this for not only people in past years but even one or two people I have met this year as well already. I think that this is such an awesome part of the sport and the keener program because I haven’t met people like this anywhere else in my lifetime. I am pretty proud of who I have become as a result of meeting these amazing people and I am looking forward to where else they take me!  

With that being said I hope you feel like this program will be sick for you if you’re a kid wanting to improve yourself both on and off the water. To anyone else I hope this post says something else about the program you didn’t already know. Thanks for reading!! 

-Edward

Charlie Dupuis' Week 2 Summary

So a lot has improved since the first week in general,

I managed to nail my white water roll a lot, practiced on using patience when flipped over to roll and overall gained more confidence on the Ottawa. I even got to go down the main channel, which now is more of a fun thing to go down rather than a scary thing to be afraid of. I also didn't flip on Big water beat-down Thursdays! Despite the fact it would have gained a lot of points for the Harry Potter week theme if I did get beat down, me and Isaiah did some scouting and managed to find the best lines down upper McCoy's, which turned out to be a blast. Pretty much, thanks to practicing and listening to the instructors, I managed to gain more confidence on the river, with surfing and rolling.

Running the Phils Touge on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, during the week, we did loads of other fun activities, including the Harry Potter week. We split into different houses/groups for the week and gained points from challenges and competitions which leads to one house winning a prize. I was part of Slytherin, which won the prize this week. We also did a few field trips from the 2nd week, we went to the Pembrooke mall to go see Despicable Me 2 and shopped at
Walmart. On Friday, we went to the Beachburg Fair after kayaking, I went on a couple of rides and watched a bit of the demolition derby event happening. Overall, it was a really fun week, I improved on the water and I had fun going on the trips.

Now that there is only one more week, this is probably my last blog post. I had a great time with the kayaking, and I really enjoyed talking with a lot of the instructors and other campers. It was interesting going through this experience that I probably wouldn't have the chance to do elsewhere. Thanks to everyone who made this unforgettable.

2/3 done.

Jahn Aka Jah--n

hey guys its jahn again. I realized today why I was so sad it was because this is exactly half way through Keeners. That is so many days that I just cant get back. These days have been some of the most amazing days of my life because of the amazing support given by all of the coaches. This week some of my paddling friends came up to paddle the Ottawa river it was so cool to get to paddle with them today it was only around 15 degrees outside so we all suited up in dry tops and dry suits to paddle today. Last Thursday was really fun because it was big water beat down bacon Thursday unfortunately i didn't get beat down but we did get to watch a pretty good one.

Borrowing Layers from Claire to help stay
Warm on the Water. 

week 2, day 3

cheering for others on thursday while i keep
my ear dry to heal faster! 

Hi there its been a great first week here, and the second week is no exception. On Monday I was finally able to surf Garberator after 4 year of punching the menacing wave. The sensation of this amazing surf is like no other. After flushing off the wave and flipping before getting there I was finally on the huge thing. You can ask any one who was there my face had a look of "i thought i was going to die but while having fun" Jhan pearson. I must say in all honesty it was probably the best rush of adrenaline I ever had in my life. On the less intense side of thing, but just as fun, Tuesday we all went to see despicable me 2 which I must admit, it was worth watching. After that we went to the great wal-mart to buy what ever food we wanted and now we have so much we can barely close our cabinets, the junk food is so abundant. Sadly though I learnt today that I have a ear infection that is quite painful and really just drains you of all energy, making the day on the river not as fun as it could of been( that is putting it lightly) hopefully the pain will vanish with the ear drops Anna gave me, what would we do with out her, t'ill next blog post I'm out.

swissies (toms) blog week 2

Whats up kayakers and non kayakers of the world, this is my second blog of my first ever session of keeners. My second week of being a keener was super awesome. Its still hard for me to understand some of the English but i'm definitely noticing it getting easy for me everyday.

Practicing how to rescue a swimmer. 

In this past week we have done so many different things testing so many different skills, such as going over or under a log jam, to purposely getting beat down in one of the biggest holes on the river, but overall my favorite on water activity was competition Friday were we go to a certain wave or hole in the morning and have time to get a routine planed out. Then in the afternoon, we all get a certain amount of time to do every trick we can to get as many points as we can. This helps us to get practice under pressure and helps us to train because some of us may move on to other competitions so it is good to have some practice with that.

Something new and interesting the coaches have came up with for this week was a Harry Potter theme week. They divided us into  4 team from Harry Potter:  hufflepuff, ravenclaw, slitheren and my team the best of them all, gryffindor.

The way it works is there are challenges everyday that allow everyone to gain big points for their team. As of yesterday Gryffindor was in the lead, but things can change very fast points wise because teams may also loose points if they misbehave.

 Overall, i'm having a great week! There have been lots of new things to do and I cant wait to see what will happen tomorrow and the days to come.  There is only one bad part so far which is that my  schlampe (friend) is leaving tomorrow. I'm kind of disappointed about it,  but i will meet new friends and still have a good time :) thanks everyone how your having as much fun as me.

Nicole Dannecker Week 6 Blog

Playing the game of "war" as part of a morning activity.

Hey everyone its Nicole again here with my sixth week keener blog! Its hard to believe that it is already the beginning on the last week of second session I guess its true when they say time flies when you’re having fun, especially since our amazing keener mom Anna Bruno helps us make the most of our keener experience both on and off the water by giving us solid advice and planning extra activities for us to do such as our Wal-Mart/Movies trip or taking us to the Beachburg fair this past Friday. Keeners would truly not be the same without her in the family. Then there are our amazing keener coaches Clay Wright, Tyler Curtis, Devyn Scott, Claire O’Hara and Stephen Wright, unfortunately Stephen and Claire will be leaving us this week. I for one have learned so much from them and I hope to paddle with them again one day! The coaches are one of the reasons that this program is so truly unique, they are some of the best paddlers in the world and they are able to relate to us when teaching us tricks whether it be getting a loop, or trying to get onto a wave that you can't seem to catch. They push us to strive to do our best and I have never achieved more in my kayaking career than I have this summer under their guidance and assistance.

          Though there are many challenges while in this program from the physical challenges such as paddling every day for three weeks to the mental challenges such as the Monday night speeches I could not think of a better way to spend my summer! The encouraging environment that surrounds all of us while we are here makes it easy to try new things or get up and speak in front of all of the keeners that you have only known for a couple weeks and feel comfortable and confident. The keener program is truly the experience of a life time and I am truly grateful to all of the people who made it possible for not only me but the other keeners to come and have this experience. 

David's 2nd Post: Beatdown day and Reppeling

Hey guys I'm back for my second post at OKS Keeners!

As you may know from my last post, I paddled with the teen camp last week to learn how to roll. Well this week is my first week on the river with the keeners, and so far it's been a blast!

Today was big water beat-down day, so everyone did things that we were afraid to do or haven't done before (get trashed in right-side Phil's, etc). To start off the day everyone had to run Makoy's three times, and every time had to be a line that we have never done before. My first line was the Right-Side Sneak, my second was Phil's Tounge, and my last line was to punch through Left-Side Phil's. I got pretty beat-down in my last run and I ended up swimming.

After our three runs at Makoy's rapid we all ran the main channel of the river. It was my first time running the main, and I liked it a lot better than the middle channel. We also got to simulate a waterfall and practice the falling position by jumping off a 10 foot rock in our kayaks. Needless to say i got to practice my whitewater roll a lot.

Anyways, this past week has been awesome and has gone by so quickly! Make sure to check back next Thursday for my last Keener blog!

Getting Beatdown in Left Side Phils. It was an experience. 

Harry Potter Week by Sarah

On my way to winning "Beatdown of the Week" in Right side phils. 

Hey guys its Sarah here again! This week has been super awesome so far and I've done so many new things. On competition Friday last week I tied for 3rd place in the pushbutton group. This weekend I refreshed my memory by retaking the Standard First Aid course which was surprisingly fun. This week is a Harry Potter themed week so on Monday we got sorted into the four houses. I am in Ravenclaw with Luka, Ben, Edward and Isaiah. So far we're in last place but the challenges have been really fun so it doesn't really matter. I was in the competition at the pourover near garb where we had to see how deep we could go by swimming in the pourover. I got third place with 14 feet deep. I also ran the middle channel for the first time on Monday which was really fun and it was great to see a different part of the river. Today I broke my paddle on my practice run in the race down the death slot. What happened is that i flipped right at the top and my paddle snapped while i was underwater. In the race down coliseum I came third overall which was really surprising to me because I know there are many people who are a lot faster than me! Today I was also working on my backdeck roll and learning how to bow stall. After learning how to backdeck roll yesterday I can do it most of the time on flatwater now which is pretty cool. Nicole taught me how to double pump to get into a bow stall and even though i cant quite get it yet im going to keep practicing because a bowstall is one of my goals for this session. This evening we learnt how to play quidditch so that we can play tomorrow as our morning activity. Im excited to play because i've seen my city's university team playing it and it looks like a
lot of fun!

thats all for now, i should get some sleep before big water beatdown thursday tomorrow!

Kate: Week Two!!!!!

Hi everyone,

It's Kate Rowan here at Keenerville, on the amazing Ottowa river, loving my second week. Since my last blog so much has been going on. A couple of my highlights have been my acsidental surf in Right Side Fills (a really sticky and fast movinmg hole). I also acheived my first spin and shuv it. On competition Friday I tied for 8th with 5 points which was 4 points more than I expected to get! Yahoo! After a terific day playing the log came in a sketchy looking canion called the "Death Slot" (nice name right?), I performed my speach about Big-Water- Bacon-Beat-Down-Thursday and won with the best speach earning me a delicius ice cream sandwhitch. Thank you Stevo!

To add to all the fun I've been having, this weekend all the other first time keeners and I completed our Standard Frst Aid coarse, which though not incredibly stimulating, definatly taught me something and was by far the best and most interesting first aid coarse I have ever taken. To me, learning how to do a loop or a bowstall doesn't really matter. What I want to take away from keeners most, is the ability to go home and feel confidant that I can be safe and independant on the river. Most of my time at keeners I havn't really felt scared at all when going into big waves and holes that most fear with eat them regurgitate them, swallow them again then puke them up in some other random spot down stream. For a while, I was a little put off by my lack of fear. I thought I might not be fully understanding the hazared of the river. However, today we went down the middle channel to play around at "Garvins". As I looked down into the crevas-like-hole draining and filling with pounding water every second, a heavy stone of fear dropped in my stomach. It's funny that feeling fear would be reassuring. In the end I did run part of Garvins and it wasn't quite as intimidating as I expected!

Upon reflection, I have had an amazing past week and a half so I would like to thank and comend first and most importantly my mom and dad for working to give me this expereince! I would also like to thank all of my spectacular coaches: Claire, Stevo, Clay, Tyler and Devon! Finally, a big shout out to our awsome keener mom, Anna!

Max's 2nd BLOG

Today was really hectic. This week is themed for harry potter and slytherin/hufflepuff where taken to the middle channel while the others did the main. Before the channels split I got a chance to surf river right side horseshoe which twisted my neck out of position the 5th time! 3 times I injured myself at horseshoe LEFT/RIGHT, once when swimming and once at Phil's right. My injuries seem to be happening more often and my hand is fully scraped of all skin. My favorite part today which probably scared my whole group was when I was running Garvins and flipped in the middle after hitting the rock on the side and being moved backwards into a whole. I managed to roll up and stay calm, avoiding the possibility of scraping or dislocating my head and shoulders on the slide down. The ride went fine. Today I was also practicing the handroll which always works in flat water but in rapids seems to fail. I can't wait for tomorrow because I will be chosen to do the beatdown competition and plan to stay underwater in horseshoe while TRYING... not to roll up. Horseshoe has become my favorite wave but always seems to be very sticky and therefore will be my choice for tomorrow. I hope all my injuries heal up before the beatdown. It will be tons of fun.

Hi, Julie here again! It is week 2 at keeners and I have honestly learned so much already. My accomplishments of the week were not only doing a spin on a wave, but more importantly, I started learning how to swim! The other keeners have been extremely supportive in teaching me to swim, which feels really awesome. The good news is that I'm beginning to feel a lot more comfortable on the water, and I've started feeling more at home around my peers. One of my favourite experiences so far was going to the mall, where all of us went to see a movie and get some shopping done. Also, I'm super excited that the theme for this week is Harry Potter, since I'm a huge fan of the books and movies. To sum it up, I've been having an awesome experience and I'm really happy to be here. I'll keep trying to push myself to perform at my best on the river, as well as open myself up more to the other keeners.

-Julie

Jack's Second Blog

Hey it's Jack writing to you from Robertsons after a morning full of chaos. We were all given the task of making a breakfast for the coaches. Istambul made a 3 layered pancake cookie of destiny. They had wiped cream, berries and nutella. Our house made a McMuffin an omlette and fruit, White house made 4 kinds of eggs, and yakistan made a awesome omlette and candy bacon. All around everyone had fun. I have to cut this short because I am going out on the water. Thanks for reading and check next week for my next blog.

Jack :)

Keeners is Hard: Keener Co-ordinator Report

Welcome Back to Session Two of Keeners!

As  sit in the thunderdome, our common area, listening to the sounds of Keeners playing in the water behind me, I am struck by something we sometimes neglect to mention: Keeners is hard!

For all the fun of this program, I think many of the kids are surprised by the challenges they encounter on and off the water. From my perspective, I think the challenges and the very reasons this program can be hard for kids is what makes it so successful, and such an influential program on kids lives. I thought rather than chronicaling the first week of session two (how did we get here already?!) I thought I would take the time to list out what I see as being some of the challenges for Keeners.

Reason Number One Keeners is Hard:

1. Physically- Keeners is a lot of work! These kids paddle all day, everyday, pushing themselves to try new things, using muscles often neglected during the rest of the year, and it makes sense that at the end of the day, or the week, they are sore! We try and stretch everyday, and do yoga at least 1-2 times a week to try and help our bodies heal. Ice and rest are encouraged for those more than just a little sore- but Keeners and the Ottawa are so much fun, it can be hard to take time off the water!

2. Living Space: Not many kids are accustomed to living with 20 other teenagers , who all love kayaking. This can lead to some rowdy moments, and it can be hard to find some alone time or downtime. Each of the Keener Cabins has a common area, in addition to one big hang out space called the Thunderdome. This does help give options, and allow for some time in smaller groups, but it can be overwhelming to spend 3 weeks with someone non-stop. The upside to this is that living, eating, sleeping and kayaking together for three weeks is what contributes to the friendships that come out of the Keener program.

3. Sleep: The days are long, and having lights out at 10:30 initially sounds way to early to go sleep- yet by the end of the first week, Keeners are asking me to remind them to go to bed even earlier. No matter how tired you get from long days on the water, sharing a room or a set of bunk beds with someone can be a new experience for some, and can have moments of frustration: Turning the lights off, keeping your space clean, accommodating someone elses needs... so hard! Learning to live with others... Keener life skill.. Check!

4. Food: At Keeners, the kids make their own breakfast, typically eggs, cereal, bagels, oatmeal, and then receive dinner and lunch at Wilderness Tours. Lunch is Hamburgers, and dinner is on a rotating schedule. For Breakfast, kids receive food 2-3x weekly from the WT kitchens, and have to ration out their portions amongst 6-8 people per kitchen. People can become territorial about milk, Vector, and Bacon, but learning to work together to cook and eat and survive goes a long way.

5. Public Speaking: Listed as a fear worse than death for many... The Keeners get to confront this one head on every monday night when we do Keener Speech night. I give out topics ranging from information from FA lessons, the importance of scouting, recognizing Poison Ivy, and topics such as "giving more than you take" and what makes you a better person. The take away from the Keener program, for me, is helping kids to realize that at the end of the day, it isn't only about how you preform on the water that counts, but who you are off the water.

6. Chores: Every morning, before you are allowed on the water.. Chores have to be done! Kitchen and common space clean up, picking up trash, sweeping out the bus, making beds.. all part of the daily routine. It helps to realize that even at Keeners, you have to earn your play!

Expect to be pushed in this program- both off the water and on, so that you grow not only as a boater, but as a person.

Sydney smiles in the canola fields. showing that is well
worth all the hard work to be a keener!  

Maddi's First Blog

      Hey guys, my name's Madeline, I'm from BC, and this is my first time at keeners. I started kayaking when i was nine, which was also the first time i came to the Ottawa. Since then I've been kayaking on different rivers at home, and coming back to the Ottawa with WT almost every year. So far keeners has been pretty awesome, it's nice to be back on the Ottawa, and kayaking everyday. This week i ran Phills for the first time in a while, and did a few window shades in left side, coming in second i think for beat down of the week. Kate was first, getting surfed in right side for at least 50s. That was pretty awesome. Competition Friday was super fun too, i came in second on push button, which is probably the hardest wave ever... i think. Can't wait for the next two weeks, and to learn more about kayaking, and have tons of fun.

until next week
Maddi

Charlie Dupuis' 2nd Week

Hey there, my name is Charlie Dupuis, I just turned 18 and I'm from Orleans, ON, and this is the beginning of my 2nd week in the Keener program. I was aware of the Keener program when I participated in Teen Camps last year for 1 week, which was a whole lot of fun.

I'd like to start off on talking about my first week, since I didn't get the chance to. My first week was honestly a bit confusing and exhausting, yet still very fun. Most of that would be because of how difficult it was to get out of my comfort zone and to meet new people, which I'm assuming is something a lot of people go through anyways. But Iv'e met a lot of nice people here at this camp, especially the camp instructors and supervisors. It's really cool to meet professional kayakers and world champions and having the chance to talk to them. Not only that but on the water, I got a huge improvement since the Teen Camp session last year, I managed to get my roll during the first week, and I did a little bit of surfing too. Still swam a LOT but still, loads of improvement from my last time in a boat.

My favorite thing about kayaking going down the rapids, it's like a roller coaster ride for me almost. Though I may be the least experienced kayaker in this session, I still enjoyed going down the Middle Channel friday, despite being a little rough in the morning, especially the storm. Kind of ruined my mood for that morning due to the thunderstorm overnight. But later that day, running the rapids was a huge blast for me, and I ended up connecting really well with the Teen Camp group I paddled with. Not only that, after the paddling on the river, since it was friday, we all had pizzas for dinner back at the Keener village, and since it was my birthday too, I got a birthday card signed by everyone and we all had the best vanilla cake ever! That was awesome.

So now that the 2nd week just started, and I'm ready to paddle, and practice even more. Managed to get my First Aid Training complete, which I found was pretty fun, doing the scenarios. I'm hoping later this week that I manage to improve my white water rolls and surfing, and that everyone continues to get along throughout these last 2 weeks. This session is filled with a great group of Keeners and instructors, hoping for the best! Also wal-mart and movie tuesday, yay. c:

1/3 done.

TL;DR : IT WAS A FUN WEEK.

Nicole Week 5

       Hey everyone its Nicole again with my weekly keener post. Its been a great week getting to know all of the new keeners who came for second session. Even though it was hard to say goodbye to the keeners from first session, I feel like this session is gonna be great and we will love it! I was really happy this week because I finally got the hang of getting my bow stall and surfing on push button!

Next week I hope to get surfs on Garb and maybe I could even get closer to getting a cartwheel on Push Button. I am really excited to meet the keeners who are arriving this weekend and I am sure that they will fit right in to our Keener family. I would like to thank all of our coaches, Anna, the WT staff, and all of the keeners who have made this possible and my parents for putting up with my endless rants on how excited i am to be here and of course giving me this amazing opportunity!

Jahn Pearson week 1

Hey guys its Jahn with the weekly post on Wednesdays. I thought instead of talking all about the paddling, I would talk about keener living. Keener living is truly amazing because you are right next to MCoy's and even better, baby face a really great wave. When you first get to keeners you will meet Anna your keener mom. Anna is a really good boater and a nice person in general.

Anna working in the Thunderdome. 

The accommodations at Keenerville are great ! You will be assigned a cabin which has 3 rooms with two beds a piece and a common area with a kitchen, couch and tv,  a bathroom and a kitchen table. I am living in Whitehouse, Yakistan belongs to the girls, and then there is Robertson's and Istanbul. Once you are here you will paddle with some of the greatest paddlers in the world. I must say that it is very humbling to paddle with such great paddlers. A side note is that no matter what, you will have an extremely hard time sleeping the first 2 nights.

On a personal note, I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to come here: dad I appreciate you.

David Aka muzzy thanks for the yo-yo and the stuff i really appreciate it.

Till next Wednesday- Jahn.

swissies (tom's) first blog

 Hey peoples of the earth tom here writing my first blog as a keener. I am 14 years old and I'm from Switzerland witch is ten and a half hours from the wonderful and world renowned Ottawa river. This is my first time I have came to OKS keeners, I was introduced to this camp by my uncle Philippe Doux, he told me this is the best kayaking schools in the world he also told me it is were I would be able to learn new kayaking skills crazy fast as well as be able to speak and understand English much better.


At the beginning of the week  things were quite difficult for me due to the language barrier, even when the coaches would speak for me it would be at time hard to follow along with their instruction. Now most people understand and for me they with speak slow so I have time to think and translate what they are saying.

On a different note the kayaking here is much different. For example the types of features we surf  need a different technique.In others words, we have holes where certain tricks can be performed and here on the Ottawa there are mostly  waves, so just the kayaking alone is something i have to get used to, let alone the language difference.

Even though there will be a few chalenges for me still to come, im ready and can't wait to get out on the water for another day.  You have just read swissies first blog and to see what happens in the future you will have to read my next two blogs hope everyone that reads this is havving as much fun as i am here at Keeners. :) .


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David Koyrakh's Post

Hey, my name is David. I am 14 years old, from Minnesota, and this is my first time at OKS.

I got into kayaking after going to the Banff Mountain Film Festival's Radical Reels tour about a year and a half ago. The videos showed me how amazing kayaking is, and were one of my main inspirations to start. A few weeks after seeing the film festival I bought a kayak, and went out on the lake behind my house almost everyday. I also went to local rivers every week or so.
I learned about the Ottawa Kayak School through kayaking videos, and I decided that I really wanted to go after doing some online researching about it. After some convincing, my parents were willing to let me go. I signed up for keeners, and my dad and I went on a three day road trip to get here. My dad is going camping/kayaking for a week with his friend and taking a whitewater class here at OKS for one week.

I've been having an awesome time here. I have been paddling with the teen camp this week to learn how to roll, and so far I rolled in whitewater three times. I will join the keeners on the river soon (one or two days?).

Anyways, that's all for today. Make sure to check back every Thursday to read my blog!

Sarah's first blog

Hey there! My name is Sarah, I'm 16 and I'm from Ottawa. Even though I'm from Ottawa I had never been on the Ottawa River before Keeners because I paddle on the Madawaska which is near my cottage. Today was big water beatdown Thursday and I had a super fun time! In the morning I didn't do any beatdowns because I went with the other group to practice skills. We ran the bottom of McCoy's and then I got some surfs on Baby Face. After that we ran The Lorne then surfed at pushbutton. I got my first ever spin on pushbutton and it was really exciting! After lunch I ran the main with the group and we swam in the whirlpools at the bottom of butcher's knife. I got a lot of great rides and managed to go pretty deep and far. I decided to go down Norman's without a skirt on (the other options were backwards or eyes closed). I ended up swimming but so did everyone else that went with no skirt on. I also went with no skirt down the last rapid and managed to stay up until I hit the tongue even though my boat was completely underwater. I'm so happy I got to come to Keeners and I'm having an amazing time!

Kate's First Blog

Hi, Kate here!

This is my first year being a keener and it's keeners and It's awsome. My kayaking career began when my mom encouraged me to fly from Vancouver B.C, where I live, to Ottowa to take the teen camp. That week I fell in love with kayaking. About 6 months later, around Christmas time, I desided I wanted to do keeners but I new I needed a white water roll. So... being the slightly impusive person I am, taking on something which in the moment seems easy but quickly in practice proves to be very difficult, I signed up for keeners and attended some rolling sessions at a pool in down town Vancouver. But in order to get your white water roll you actually need to get some experience on the river. For this, I needed a boat, so I borrowed one from a family friend and pro kayaker. Sadly water levels and instructor comitment didn't pan out resulting in me teaching myself how to white water roll in the waves of the Pacific ocean.

Now, here I am at keeners and this is day 3. I came in not sure if i had a white water roll (seeing as I hadn't actually ever rolled on the river). Today coach Clay and Tyler let me join the more experienced paddelers in keeners run the main channel. It was so much FUN!

The best part of my day unfolded when I made it through Coloseum. Pablo was swimming and Hannah, Jack and I were in ideal possitions to resque his boat. However, Jack, Hannah and the boat were being pulled by the current toward Centre Slot, the next rapid. I was reaching out for Pablo's boat when an unexpected wave hit me causing me to flip 3 feet from the rocky shore line. I went for a couple of rolls but none such worked out. I ended up being sucked down Centre Slot, for my first time upside down. I was able to crank out a roll just at I was hitting the hole which I needed to punch through. In a flurry of confusion I paddeled my brains out listening to Hannah's comands! (Thanks Hannah!). In the end all was well though apearenly Hannah and Tylers stress levels were getting a bit high!

Hi , Yannick here, and i'm back for an'other session at keeners and i'm as stoked as EVAR!! I've been following a chiropractor for my back injury I sustained last year and feel confident about tackling the rivers biggest features. The first day wasn't   to harsh but great to get back in to the rhythm of thing at keeners. I'ts also great to see new faces and the old ones too as well as sharing laughs with everyone. I cant wait to get back  on the river tomorrow and throw down on the waves now that i know my back can handle it. t'ill Monday,  keep on keeping on!

Julie's First Blog

Hi, my name is Julie. I'm 15 years old and from Mississauga, ON. This is my first time at keeners and also my first time writing a blog. So far, the keener program has been an awesome experience. Even though I had a rough start to the session by having a nasty swim down the Lorne, everyone has been extremely supportive in helping me improve my swimming ability. However, I had a great second day. I paddled the Lorne even after I decided I was uncomfortable with the idea after the dreadful swim on the first day. Also, I got in a lot of practice surfing as well as rolling. My coaches have been very helpful in encouraging me to push myself to do a spin on a wave. It still needs work but I've made that my goal for the time I'm in the program. For now, I'll try to continue and push myself within reason, as well as hopefully learn to swim!

Race day wednesday

Hey guys its Max.Wednesdays are meant for racing (usually whitewater) and where split up into groups which raced different areas including colosseum.Today I personally got some bad sunburn and ripped a lot of skin off skin from my skin which made races and paddling harder. Today we ran into a thunderstorm at lunch and came up with lots of rain. I am hoping to reach my goal of getting a loop and airscrew. Speeches on Monday where also hectic with everyone doing icebreakers. I am really excited for tomorrow's big water bacon beatdown where we go into the larger holes on the river and try to get through them without swimming out.Can't wait for the rest of the days and hope I don't get injured. Currently my favorite wave would have to be the garb.

Tom Schwartz First Blog

Hello-
My name is Tom Schwartz, and this is my first year at Keeners. Yesterday was my first day on the Ottawa River. I surfed Babyface, Push Button, and Garberator. I really liked Babyface, except for the line and waiting for the rafts to go. I am really looking forward to Big Water Beatdown Thursday because I want to see how well I can do in the big water. I would also like to work on my flatwater skills and flat spins.

Warm-ups: Time for Flatwater drills! 

I have already become friends with Isaiah and Pablo who are in my cabin in Whitehouse. I am really looking forwards to my next three weeks on the Ottawa and with the Keener Program.

More Blogs to come! Tom

Jack's First Blog For 2013

Hey guys it's Jack writing to you from my cabin Robertsons which is a new setting compared to my last year, where I spent my three weeks in White House.

Nose Plugs. They go on the
outside of your nose to keep
water out. 

Today was my second day on the river and it has come apparent to me that I need nose plugs. For the past 8 years I have never once had to use nose plugs and now I can see why people cannot live without them. My nose is stuffed and a bit uncomfortable from the day on the river.

It was an awesome day on the river, the water level is just under zero so garb is at it's prime surfing level. I am hoping that the level holds because I would like to be able to blunt and back blunt, which today I may have slightly accidentally done. All around the river has been great and I hope it continues.

Keeners has been so much fun so far Maybe too much fun because it hurts to laugh, due to laughing constantly. It has been a blast and we are only to days in! I am looking forward to the next three weeks of fun and adventure.

That's all for now,

Thanks,
Jack :)

Race Day Wednesday by Canon Shaw

Hey guys, Canon here for our third and final week of keeners on Race day wednesday.

This week f
or race day we were on the Lorne rapid racing house to house for the win in a huge 4 leg race. After Lunch we scouted the rapid for the best line, split into our different houses and choose which legs of the race we were going to run. The first leg of the race consisted of one or two people in each house starting on shore and racing to get in our kayaks, once in your kayak we had to race across the rapid and boof off a ledge to a check point. The second group then had to paddle out into the current across the river and tag a check point on the river right side, after successfully tagging te first check we then had to paddle down stream to tag the next check point. The third group then had to paddle into the current and down to a sand island in the flat water, once they tagged the boat on the sand island they then had to back paddle all the way to the next little rapid down stream, once there they had to jump out of there boats and run across an island to tag the last person in the house. The forth and final group of people then had to surf out onto a wave and successfully do a spin staying in the wave before they could paddle down stream to the finish line.

The Girls Tag off At Push Button. Too bad
Istanbul dominated them in the race. 

In the end Istanbul took the win for the day and concluded our last race day here at keeners.

Until Next Time by Jarand

Hi guys!

Showing off my sunburn.. One thing I won't
miss about the Ottawa! 

This is my last blog-post this session, and sadly this is the only keener-session i am going to this year.
It has been 3 amazing weeks, many kayak hours, good food, sleep, and the best people to hang around, and kayak with. It is just two days left of keeners, and it is not hard to tell that we all have mixed feelings about that. We have become a big family, on three weeks, which is pretty amazing.

It was raceday Wednesday today. We competed individual at Mc. Coys, and house-teams at the Laurn. Raceday helps us
to keep the concentration while being exhausted, which can be hard. It also "forces" us to look at the river on a
different way, and look of the fastest lines, instead of the most fun and safety lines. I've learned today that
a good line-choice is well as important, if not more important than fast paddling and good powerful strokes.

I really want to thank  my family back in Norway for the financing. I also want to thank Anne Mette and her family in Toronto, for having me and Fredrik in their apartment one night, we had a great time!
And at last I want to thank Wildernesstours, Ottawa Kayak School for making this amazing program, and gave me the opportunity to be at this fantastic place, with these amazing coaches and these fantastic people!

Ashley's Last Blog

            Hey it's Ashley again for the last time this session. I'm really sad to have to go but I'm looking forward to coming back again! Today was the third competition Friday. We split into two groups competing at three different waves. The group I was in stayed at McCoy's all day on either Baby Face or Corner Wave. I surfed at Baby Face which is such a great wave but really hard to catch. The other group was at the Lorne competing on Push Button. We practiced all morning and I got two spins. Unfortunately I didn't try any spins in the competition because I missed the wave twice and the third time I didn't really know what was happening, which was very obvious in the video.

            This week was definitely my favourite week because so many great and fun things happened. We ran the main all week, which I preferred over the middle. My favourite day this week was Big Water Beatdown Thursday by far. I had never intentionally gone until Phil's so I was really nervous to get beatdown in it. But I wasn't afraid once I rolled back up after being surfed for a little bit and couldn't wait to do it again! That's what Thursday is all about and I am glad to be more confident in bigger water. Every day this week I was living up every minute because I knew the end was soon to come. Now it actually has and while it's really sad it's also really awesome to look back on. I'd like to thank the instructors so much for being so fun and helpful and I hope to come back soon!

Going to miss these ladies.. can't wait to paddle with them again! 

Isaiah First Post

Hi, my name is Isaiah Galbraith. Today was the first day of paddling. It was a fantastic day on the water. I have been loving the water so far. Today we scouted the Lorne and Colliseum, this was the first time I have ever scouted these sections. In the past I have only had the opportunity to follow other instructors down the river but I have not been able to scout my own line from rivers edge. It feels great to be able to pick my own line on huge rivers.

I feel very comfortable about reading rivers and finding my own line that I run in the end. I am looking forward to picking more of my own lines during this session. I am also looking forward to paddling on garb this year too. last year when I was here, I didn't really have much of a chance to surf garb due to low water levels.this year on the other hand looks fantastic!!

Outfitting boats on day one to get ready for the river

 Right now it is a little high, but the only thing that's going to make the wave better is for the water to drop just a little bit more. The best part though, is the water is always dropping slowly this time of year so I know I will be in for a huge treat with garb. Can't wait!!!!

Thys first and final blog

Hello, my name is Thys and the reason this is my first and final blog is because I am only staying at keeners for 1 week.

I am using this time to help me remember my kayaking skills and to fell more comfortable on the water. I am now working at WT, but only on the weekends. My main job is to help out with maintenance. Maybe some day I will be good enough to be a raft guide. Until then I will keep working my way up to it. I hope to gain more confidence on the river by remembering where to go on the rapids and have fun with it.          

Robert's Final blog

Hey my name is Robert, and this willl be my last  blog as a keener. This is was my last year I could be a keener, which is sad because I wish I could come for a longer period.

  On my last week so many incredible things happend, that it is very hard to put into this blog. Some of the highlights of this week were the meltdown line, race day Wednesday, BWBBT, pretty much everything. On Monday and Tuesday we ran the main channel trying new lines as well as rescue activities. The rescue activities were awesome because they were challenging and fun. I was the only one to manage to get out of my boat, after a heavy beat down,  in a small eddy (not even Juanito could do it). The best lines from those days were definitely the meltdown line, as Stephen said "you go to China", and the kick flip of destiny in Normans, which I was super close of achieving but fell on my face several times. With the week begging so great, I could not believe that it could get any better, but I was wrong. On race day we had an incredible house race, which was close, but at the end the Istambul Straight Killers won. I almost messed up the race for my team because when I got to the sand island I did not see Devyn's boat, and I sprinted a long way and touched the wrong boat. At the end I still managed to sprint back touch the RIGHT boat and started back paddling with Fredrick a few feet away.

  When Big Water Beat Down came, I was so stoked because I had one goal, to get beat down. The only way that I was going to get beat down was to do something that I had never done, and the only thing that cam e to my mind was hand surfing Phil's. I had never done it and was scared, but after I went down I wanted to do it over and over again. The end of the week was also as great as the week had begun. Competition Friday we started with all day surfing either Corner Wave or Baby Face. I chose to do Corner Wave because I could do more clean spins both sides. Today's competition was pretty close, I finished with 36 points which got me a 4th place.

   Both years that I have come to keeners, it has taught me so much, as a paddler and as a person.  The first time I came I did not even know how roll and this last day I was able to to clean spins both sides, shiv its, roundhouses and I got one loop, which is pretty amazing. This program has also taught me to really appreciate evryhthimg on the river as well as off river.

I hope that I can come back to paddle the Ottawa river and work at WT.
Hope to be back soon, "Pura Vida".

Andrew's Final Blog

Hello,
My name is Andrew McLeod and this will be my final keener blog this year. I have had such an incredible experience; from the whitewater to the friends I have learned so much in such little time. The underlying reason for this is the quality of the instruction we receive, it is what really makes this program so special. One of our instructors that I have really come to benefit from is Tyler Curtis. Tyler is a professional kayaker who has won multiple freestyle events including the Canadian championships five times! This gives him the experience that is a necessity in any instructor. He taught me many things from bigger loops to getting more air in my blunts. We also share Alberta as a common kayaking destination, with this he could give me insights on some the waves I had been struggling with in my own backyard, just through lecture!


This past week was awesome with lots of fun, low water play such as corner wave or baby face. These waves are located about a two minute paddle from my room! This offers a prime place to visit after dinner for an hour or two. It is going to be so sad to leave this incredible group of friends I have made over the past three weeks, they will truly be my friends forever.

I would like to thank my parents for this incredible opportunity, I have improved exponentially as both a boater and a person.

Fredrik's last blog

hi, this is my last week at keeners. I want to stay longer. I will miss my beloved popcorn time.

this week has been so fun. so much good kayaking. corner wave is in for the moment and is my favorite wave so far. today we had five popcorn times after some phils surfing and ran to a field of canola. The weather today was so nice and hot. i really love the warm water down here. we also swam the boof line in lauren and got some down time. we also surfed garb but it is not perfect. after we got off the water we saw some video clips from our beat downs. i really want to go back next year. i am getting very tired but its only one day left.

Sydney's final blog

I'm sad to say that this is my last week in the keener program this summer. After this I will be traveling down to North Carolina until September. I live about 6 hours from the Ottawa River in Elora, Ontario and I spend my summers here so it's sad that I won't be here anymore until September. The last few weeks have been amazing! The first Tuesday of this session some of us including myself were surfing mini bus and running the main at 14. Yesterday, we were playing at garb and the level has been around .5 lately. We've had all different levels this session and it has been such an amazing expirence. I've never run the main above about 4 before keeners and now I've run it up to 14 and almost every level between. I got to play at different features everyday because something different was in everyday. This opportunity has been absolutely amazing. I loved last year here as well but I feel like I've gained so much more from this year. I learned how to bow stall this week, my roundhouse is consistent and I'm working on getting it to a blunt, I got some loops at blacks on Tuesday and I'm starting to get along with push button! I've met so many amazing people here and I know even more people who live around the world now that I could paddle with someday. The coaches we've had have been so helpful and our keener mom has been amazing. I don't have anything bad to say about this session and I can't wait to keep paddling for the rest of the summer and bring my new skills with me!

Week #2, Post #2!

Hi guys, Jarand writing!

This have been one of the most awesome weeks in my life. This life is a dream life; kayaking all day, eating restaurant food, and social evenings! A good variant of the principle eat, sleep and paddle! I am really recommending OKS keeners!

Scouting Iron Ring our first BWBDT

This day has been incredible; bigwater beatdown thursday is really a bigwater beatdown day! We started the day with Swift Water Rescue, which is super fun, and also very important when you are on the river. We paddled down to the Lorne and ate lunch when SRT was done. Then, after lunch started the real BWBDT. We paddled down the rapids against coliseum, were we went out of the kayak to scout. That was the first time I saw the wave Kaihuna big! It was ENORMOUS! We were told that we didn't had to paddle down this big rapid, but everyone had to swim it! There were mixed feelings in the group, but this was a challenge many finished very well. All swimmers came down safely. I was full of adrenaline, and I thought that this highlight of the day. I was wrong.

We went up to our kayaks again, and we could choose how we wanted to run this rapid. Me and 4-5 other keeners paddled down into the eddy next to Kaihuna. We decided to surf it. Matt rode it first. It was incredible. After Matt
came Canon, and then me. It is definitely the biggest wave I've ever surfed. It was probably not the longest surf but it was intense! We were all very exited. It was the greatest day of the session so far, definitely.

Last blog next week!
Jarand

Vincent's Last Post

Hey my name is Vincent and Keeners has been an experience of a lifetime! In the morning of BWBT (Big Water Beatdown Thursday if you were wondering) of week 2 we swam McCoy's. On the same day we did some SRT skills. We practiced gear entrapments and foot entrapments. I did well with both skills and it was fun! TC had us stick our foot in a rock and we fell down and went back up. For our gear entrapments Joel held us down and we had to escape out of all of our gear. It gave my breath-holding skills to a test.

Intentionally swimming coli was probably the most EPIC swim I ever did. I swam through the meat of Big Kahuna! For the second competition Friday we split into 2 groups. One group was on S-bend (small hole on the middle channel) the other group was on Chopping Block (wave on the main channel in the butcher's knife rapid). I got a 0 on my ride but it was still fun! I am still learning how to compete and for this competition I will change my strategy so that I do the tricks I can definitely do first, and then progress to the tricks I am not as good at.

Monday was a good day on the middle channel. On Tuesday, we went on the main and we played this game that we had to get out of our boat in complex eddies. That eddy was on the Lorne above the boof. I didn't succeed so I swam the boof. I pushed my boat so I wouldn't get any water in it. I went over and had 10 seconds of downtime in the boils below the boof. Later that day we went to pushbutton (small wave on the Lorne) . I got one of my goals is to land a blunt! Now I am shooting to get my blunt more consistently. Our final race day was great. Our first race was on McCoy's and I place 4th with a time of 1:10. We had to catch the hero eddy and touch a stick in order to continue. Hero Eddy is a small eddy above Phil's Hole. The line I took was hugging the river right side and there was a sneak to avoid right side Phil's. My line below Phil's wasn't the fastest. I took the smallest waves and was a bit too far left to hit the football eddy with the fastest line.

Me below little trickle on the middle channel

I am sad that there are only 2 days left of keeners but I am also glad that I will be able to carry these skills to my home rivers. I am proud with all the progress I made and I hope to get my bow stall because I am really close. I also hope to get an airscrew because I am halfway there. I had stellar coaches such as Devyn Scott, Stephen Wright, Joel Kowalski, Tyler Curtis and Juanito.   I am sad that keeners is coming to an end but I am glad that I could bring back all of these skills back home. I made a lot of new friends, gained confidence, learned new skills with life and kayaking.

See you next year!

Vincent Packer