Eli Speigle (NRA senior leader) launches into the air with a big bounce on High Tension wave

Tracy D'arbeloff competing at the Level Six Capital Cup

“I just want one good pass at a trick” said Eli Spiegel shortly before doing an enormous Pan Am on the Ottawa River yesterday. Unfortunately the water levels aren’t right for Bus Eater wave here on the Ottawa right now like we had hoped, but with really high water we’ve found no shortage of big water paddling opportunities. Some locals are saying that right now, the river is as high as they’ve ever seen it. At this water level some features like “Short Bus”, a high water version of Bus Eater have come in, and obviously we’ve been able to run some huge rapids as well. Between our experience on the Ottawa, the Level Six Capital Cup, and paddling the New River in West Virginia, we’ve found plenty of big waves to surf. Team Trials here we come!
So much has happened in the past week that it’s hard to look back to our experiences in West Virginia on the New River, but it’s certainly worth talking about. On the New River we were able to play on features like Upper Railroad Wave, the Ender Waves, and Surprise Wave. “I think that might be one of my favorite waves” said Keegan Grady (NRA senior leader and Canadian Freestyle Kayaking team member) after we surfed Surprise Wave for the first time. We were somewhat disappointed that the Dries of the New River didn’t come in, but all these other play boating opportunities have obviously kept us happy during our stay in West Virginia.
After all these great play-boating opportunities in the U.S., our group was well prepared for the Level Six Capital Cup in Ottawa city. We got a little spoiled from staying in a hotel in the city over the weekend, but it was well deserved after we ripped it up in this pro-class event. Keegan Grady took first in junior men’s pro class, Isaac Holden took third and Steven Forster took sixth. Alex Shallhorn took second in junior women’s pro class and Tracy D’arbeloff and Palmer Miller tied for third. Julia Fisher (NRA Spanish teacher) got third in women’s. Jason Craig took forth in men’s pro class and over all, ever one in our group did to the best of our abilities.
After saying hello to Canada with this event, we’ve continued practicing on the Ottawa every day. Yesterday we took a trip to the Gatineau River in Quebec. For many of us, including me, this was our first time in a French-speaking region of the world. Halfway down this section of the Gatineau, deep in the silent, mysterious woods and swamps of Quebec, we encountered High Tension wave. This is one of the best waves that our group has ever played at and probably one of the best in the world. During our play session here, the wind kicked up spray from the crest of the wave and cold temperatures and rain beat down on us hard. But the weather didn’t stop us. Everyone in our group was doing HUGE tricks and many of us were landing freestyle moves that we had never done before. Palmer Miller, Tracy D’arbeloff and Katie Kowalski were doing solid bunts. Eli Spiegle was doing Helixes and working on Bread and Butters, Steven Forster was working on his KY Sequence, and I did some of my first Airscrews. These are all some of the coolest moves in freestyle kayaking.
Steven Forster on Bus Eater on the Ottawa
After spending as many hours as we could at High Tension wave, we paddled down to the takeout and waited for Tino to do shuttle for us. By then it was late enough in the evening that the cold started to close in on us, and we were all wet from kayaking, so most of us ended up huddled together for warmth in a nearby outhouse. By the time it started getting dark, Tino arrived with the oh so warm and cozy van and we were on our way back to Keenerville on the Ottawa.