How To Overcome Fear At Keeners by Owen Koppe

If you are an average Keeners there is something that is scaring you. An independent poll stated that over 90% of Keeners were worried about Big Water Beat Down Thursdays. On Thursdays Keeners will get the opportunity to get trashed in the legendary Mcoys Chute wear there are some of the scariest holes that I was personaly terified of. Here are some steps to overcome fear at keeners.

1. Remember swimming is the worst outcome (Keeners swim Mcoy's before running it in kayaks)

2. There are always multiple Keeners who are ready to come to your rescue if you. For example, my skirt imploded while surfing left side Phil's and there were several Keeners who came to take my boat and paddle.

3. The biggest holes have so much water flowing through them that only in the strangest circumstances you will get body surfed. No Keeners were body surfed on my first beat down Thursday.
 
4. The Ottawa has massive flat water sections that you will wash out into.

5. If something does go wrong someone will have it on video which makes everything better.

6. If you win the best beatdown of the weak you get enternal glory and a red ribbon to wear proudly.

7. Remind yourself that you came to Keeners to push your limits.

I hope this helps you have a great Keeners sesion!
Thanks,
Owen Koppe

The Amazing Macho Move--Cameron OConnor

 The Amazing Macho Move

The macho move is truly one of, if not the most, macho move on the river to this day.  Combining two amazing tricks in themselves, the double pump and the loop over a set of waves, this trick looks awesome and feels totally rad!

First things you will need to be able to do!

·       Double Pump

·       Wave Wheel

·       Front Loop

Step One: Finding the perfect spot!

To make this trick work, you will need a set of waves, two to three waves in length.  The larger the set, the larger your trick will be. Make sure the surrounding features of the river are safe as well, if your chosen location is to shallow you could hit the river bed and hurt your gear or even worse yourself. 

  Some perfect Macho Move waves on the Ottawa River!

         Step Two: Double pump into bow stall!

Over the first wave you will want to rise the bow of your boat high above the peak of the wave, then slam the bow down on the back side.  This double pump motion will allow you to obtain a bow stall in between the waves. 

             

Step Three: Throwing the loop!

This step brings the whole trick together! From the bow stall in-between the waves, you will now want to square up with the wave in front of you! This will allow you to set-up for your loop over the following wave.  As you and your kayak approach the top of the next wave, you will want to get your hands and paddle high above your head and throw the loop!  When you are mid loop, soaring through the sky, you will want to open up, at the hips, for the landing of the loop, same way you would in a play feature. 

(Thanks to all the amazing Keeners and Coaches in the photos)

Another country, another river | by Nicolas Meire

As you know, not all countries are the same. For me, each country is like a fingerprint, always different. Now you can change the culture or the landscape, you will never find two identical countries. And one of the many changes you can find is the river. I had never kayaked beyond the borders of Spain or nearby countries like France. But a few days ago I took a big step. Not only a step in the world of kayaking, it was a step in my life. A few days ago I left the borders of a continent from which I had never left, Europe. I had never made a fly as long as I did recently. Nothing more or nothing less than traveling to Canada. That was the beginning of a great adventure. An adventure that would take many years to complete. An adventure in which I will travel will make many trips to countries around the world, but this was only the beginning. On this adventure, I will travel to Canada to paddle probably with some of the next figures of this sport, and learn from some that were before. But what I was going, i never had left Europe, but if he had visited a large part of the countries of the old continent. So the change I noticed when I arrived on Canadian soil was brutal. The change I notice especially in the river, which is where I am spending most of the time. A river in a country like Spain next to a river like the Ottawa River, is like putting a mouse next to an elephant. My first impression paddling in the Ottawa River was to think that it was in a lake, since the Ottawa River has easily the same width as a great part of the lakes of Spain. Millions and millions of liters of water passed daily through those long kilometers. That was something that in Spain would be unthinkable. But it was not only the width of the river, but many more things were different. For example the waves. In Spain you usually find waves that cross almost half the river, and maximum two waves one next to the other. In Canada no. Here you can find many but many waves in the same height of the river, since the river is wider and will allow more space for more waves to be created. Also the wave type changes. In Canada, having more water you usually find more waves than hole, and in Spain the other way around. Many and many more things changed, such as the time when you eat dinner. In Spain, dinner is usually between 8:00 and 10:30. In Canada this changes completely. In Canada it is usually dined between 5:00 and 7:00. For not only dinner, in general all meals change time. But going back to the subject of kayaking, what impressed me the most about reaming in this river, is that I was not rowing in the big river. If the Ottawa River were a tree, I was rowing on a branch. In short, that river that seemed giant was not a small part of the river really. I also heard that to cross the big river they used boats with engines. But as I said, this is just the beginning of a great adventure that I still have to travel.

Why McCoy’s is so epic! - Cian Butterly

   

McCoy’s rapid is definitely one of the best rapids on the Ottawa simply because there’s so much to do there such as.....

   Epic Beatdowns

Both Saddlers and Phil’s hole provide some of the best beatdowns out there. It’s impossible to watch any keener video without seeing some boast getting trashed in right side Phil’s. Despite the crazy power these holes have, they are still ridiculously safe. All of the water that runs through Phil’s flows straight into a gigantic eddy making rescues super easy. 

   Corner Wave

By far one of the nicest play spots on the river. Corner wave is steep and green. For epic clean blunts and spins this is the place to be. Even though it’s diagonal, can be hard to catch at certain levels and the eddy is real difficult to catch. This wave makes up for it by just being pure awesome. 

   The Football Eddy

Swimming this huge swirly eddy is one of the very first things that we do at keeners. Not only is it super fun, it also teaches valuable whitewater swimming skills that are absolutely essential for the next 3 weeks. 

   Horseshoe

Depending on the level horseshoe can be whatever you want it to be. A hole, a wave, a really sticky and beaty mix of the two. Anything your mind can conceive; horseshoe can do it. 

   Baby face

This beautiful introduction to surfing bigger waves is easy to surf and just unbelievable fun. Babyface is great for practicing new moves and having a great time overall. 

But the main reason why McCoy’s is so epic is that it’s right beside keenervile!

How to Handle Beatdown Thursday’s Like a Pro- Olivia Norman

Over the years that I have attended keeners, beatdown thursday is always a day to overcome. If you didn’t know, beatdown thursday is the day where here at keeners, we try the hardest lines, and put ourselves in places that we are scared of. Not to worry though, because here on the Ottawa, the water is deep, warm, and very, very safe. I have attended three previous keener sessions, making this my fourth. Each session I become more confident on the water, and slowly, the things that had me in tears  now hardly seem scary anymore. This last thursday the coaches and I noticed that without hestitation I was ready for anything the river threw at me, and could keep a level head in big water. I would say that there are a few keys to this final product, including:
-Accepting that your fear is irrational
-Going for what scares you ( the longer you wait in an eddy the worse you feel)
-Postitive encouragement of others and a good attitude
-Practice
All of theses key points are great ways to go about beatdown thursday, and you will feel so much more confident if you simply smile, and go for it. In the end, I now finish every thursday at keeners with a great appreciation for my friends, coaching staff, and the great day I’ve had.

How to (not?) Cook Popcorn in the Microwave at Keeners by Sam F.

Step 1. Make sure not to have any butter or oil, and a non microwavable bowl with no lid

Step 2. Fill bowl with popcorn

Step 3. Set timer for 10 minutes (you can stop earlier if the burning smell gets too bad)

Step 4. Cook popcorn

Step 5. Quickly open the microwave door when you realize the plastic bowl your friend chose is starting to melt

Step 5. Find a microwavable bowl and repeat steps 2-4

Step 6. Discover that without any cover the popcorn will shoot out of the bowl and all over the microwave

Step 7. Take the bowl out of the microwave and find a plate to put on top, and a paper towel tube to put in between the plate and bowl to help vent

Step 8. Repeat steps 3 and 4

Step 9. Find out that the paper towel tube you put in as a vent is now starting to smoke and remove the bowl from the microwave

Step 10. Make sure the cardboard is not on fire, and wait for the smoke to clear from the microwave

Step 11. Give up on the paper towel tube and plate and put the bowl back in without a cover

Step 12. Wait for your popcorn to cook, ignore any burning smells at this point

Step 13. Open the microwave door and eat any non-blackened popcorn out of the microwave

Step 14. Pretend to enjoy

How to get better if you live somewhere without whitewater- By Magnus Kron

If you live somewhere without whitewater it's always kind of a struggle to paddle and even harder to get better. Being from Florida this is something I deal with, so here are the best ways to get better if you live somewhere without whitewater.

• Paddle whenever you get the chance, while most people have a home river or something very close to them, you probably don’t so really try to paddle whenever you travel or go anywhere with whitewater.
• Take advantage of your time on the water, since you don’t get to paddle regularly, whenever you do make sure you’re pushing yourself and challenging yourself on the river
• Challenge yourself, run lines or rapids that force you to make big moves and get you scared, or challenge yourself to make harder moves on easier rapids
• Make friends on the river, knowing friends that live on or close to good rivers is super helpful because they probably know the river better than you do and can show you the best spots and lines on the river