Kalem starts second session of Keeners

hey everybody its Kalem. I'm so pumped to be back at keeners for my second year. So far I'm having a blast and learning or at least starting to get the hang of some new flat water and wave tricks. I am pretty stoked to see some returning keeners and some familiar faces. Edward, Marleigh and Eve were all here with me last year, which is sweet. The first speech night was lots of fun and it always helps to get to know some of the other new keeners. Every first speech night we give Icebreaker speeches which is to introduce yourself and tell about your background, and what they like to do other than kayak. I wish the water level was a bit higher so waves like Garb and Babyface were prime- right now they are both starting to get really green which makes it harder to catch them and to surf.

Last Year's Keener Coach Nick Troutman throws an airscrew on Gladiator
This wave is on the Ottawa, but only when the water is really high! 

My goal for this session is to stick and airscrew- I'll be back next week to let you know how I am doing!

Zacks first blog

Hi it's zack and I have had a great couple of days on the river. Keeners is a great experience. Today we paddled the Lorne then drove up to Mckoys rapid. I ran the triple Beatdown line in which your supposed to hit saddlers hole then left side Phil's hole and then ferry over to right side Phil's. I managed to get into saddlers then left side Phil's but wasn't able to get into right side. Later I party hand surfed left side horseshoe with Kalem. I managed to stay in for a minute or so then got flipped and hand rolled back up. Keeners is awesome!!

Calista Returns to Keeners

Normans: My favorite rapid! 

My name is Calista. I  live in Kitchener and kayaking is a huge part of my life. Here is my story: I  started kayaking both flat and white water when I was 6. Since then I have been in kids camp and this will be my second year of Keeners. Today was the first day of  the three weeks that I will be here, and I have to say that it has felt amazing to get back on the water again!  Today we ran the main channel and I have to say that normans was my favourite rapid of the day! It has big wave trains and fun little swirly at the bottom I cant wait until tomorow!

Nick (abq) here with day 1 of keeners!

I first want to start this blog by giving a huge thanks to my wonderful parents for helping me go to keeners for my third summer, thanks!!! Now to the first day of keeners, we started by getting all our gear and boats down at Wilderness Tours then we all got on the water and started out with a great flat water warm up. After that we went to go run the rest of the river and i had my first surf on garb which was awesome. I also found out that my boat is to big for me, but i guess that means i will be throwing bigger tricks, so its all good. Well there is my first blog. check this site again next Monday to read more about my amazing adventures on the Ottawa!  

Me rappelling off the bungee tower last year.. back for more fun this year. Thanks Mom and Dad! 

Nick Coddou

Co-ordinators Report, July 16th

Hello there!

It has been a quiet weekend at Keenerville, after a busy last week of session one. The highlight for the last week of session would have to be the Rouge trip- no surprise there if you have been following the previous blog posts! The Rouge River is a mere 3 hour drive from Keeners' Ottawa base, and is a great river to give the Keeners an introduction to creeking, and other styles of river than our big friendly Ottawa.

Otis Runs the "3rd Sister " while Anna and Tyler set Safety. 

Connor styling the Fourth sister

Coach Ben Marr gives the go sign as Joey Brown lines up the "6th" sister. 

The section of the Rouge we ran is known as "The Seven Sisters", named for a series of drops, or waterfalls. For the majority of the Keeners, this was there first waterfall, and there is hardly a better place to try one! The drops are all varied in style, with some good boof lines and a small slide. Everything was a little intimidating at first, especially to be using play boats! There were a few swims, and lots of chances to practice safety. All in all, everyone had a great day. The highlights of the day were definitely watching coach Rafa Ortiz get a beatdown in the 3rd sister, Archie's beatdown at the 6th sister, and going for a Quebec classic- Poutine!- post river.

We were all sad to see the first session Keeners go on Saturday, as well as say goodbye to Coaches Tyler Curtis and Ben Marr.

Session 2 Keeners put on the Water for the first day of warmups! 

A whole new group of Keeners arrived on Sunday to kick off Session 2. We have boaters from Scotland, Costa Rica, Canada, and the US: This session even has a record 3 Keeners from  New Mexico, and 8 female Keeners! It is great to see returning faces, as well as all the first time Keeners.  Sunday morning also brought back Keener Head Coach Stephen Wright for the remainder of the summer, as well as Keener Coach and Kayaking Legend Clay Wright. We are super excited to have them back on the water with us. 

Tonight will be speech night, I know I am looking forward to learning a little bit about each Keener, as well as hearing one of Stephen Wrights famous speeches. 

Stephen Wright gets ready to get on the Water

 Coaches for the week are Rafa Ortiz, Joel Kowalski, Stephen Wright, Clay Wright, and Tino Specht.

It should be an awesome week to start off session 2. The water levels are low, and Garb is green, but Corner Wave is still awesome, and Push Button just keeps getting better. It is hot out here, and lucky for us, there is no better time to be on the water! 

Rafa Ortiz brings the excitement! 

Hope to see you out there- check back for more updates soon! - And be sure to check the Facebook page for more photos and daily updates!!

Last week here

Hi, it's me Thys and this has been a great three weeks. During my time here I've learned more skills to improve my kayaking and have gained more confidence on the Ottawa river. I didn't learn any tricks, but I'm better at surfing in push button and a bit in baby face. On Wednesday, we went to the Rouge river and went down the water falls. It was a three hour drive to get there, but it was worth it. The people in this program were very supportive and helpful. I like to thank every one how has helped me these past weeks for their support and patience with me. It is a great program and next year I will be working at Wilderness Tours.                     

The Rouge River- 7 Sisters

Yesterday the keeners took a road trip to the Rouge river, in Quebec. On the river, there are the seven sisters; a series of seven waterfalls and drops.
The drive up took nearly three hours, but was well worth it. We began at the second sister, which allowed us to run that one, as well as the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. At each drop or waterfall, we got out of our boats to scout it so that we'd have the best possible line. Before running that line, we'd set up safety at the bottom.
Most of us ran every one of them, because we encouraged eachother to push our boundaries and try new things. For many, yesterday was the day they ran their first waterfall, and it was quite exciting.
All of us had a blast, and the day came to a nice end when we stopped for poutine on the way back home.