Where to go slalom training in Europe? - Summer holidays beckon!

Username · Post by **Username** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:29 pm

Hello,
I'm after reccomendations for sites to visit for slalom training in Europe this summer. I'm heading out in August, driving, I need to go to Munich first of all and eventually end up in Belgium for a polo tournament... In between I want to do some slalom paddling! At the moment I'm thinking of stopping at Augsburg on the way down to Munich, then heading over to the Czech Republic and spending 5 or so days there before going back to Belgium. Anyone any reccomendations for places to paddle/camp/etc? I'm a bottom-end-of Div 1 girly paddler with a somewhat dodgy roll and swim at HPP occassionally, and don't want to spend the entire week swimming; my partner in crime is irritatingly better than me though so need some bigger stuff to keep him entertained.

Any advice gratefully received!

Train2Win · Post by **Train2Win** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:25 am

Hi, summer canoeing road trips are great for bringing on confidence and always good fun. So, I'll give you a summary of a few sites that you might want to consider..

Augsburg: 1972 Olympic course, regular World Cup venue. Challenging White Water Course (the Eiskanal) with some good stoppers, nice eddies and fast water. There is also a long back canal which is white water for a large part (around grade 2). This would be an ideal site to train on as a Div 1 girl as you can do lots of gate work on the back channel then progress on to the main course when you feel confident enough. Its also good fun to swim down the course, as long as the guy in charge doesn't see you!

Prague: World class race site. Challenging site, not as big as Augsburg, but with continuous white water. The site has a lot of small to medium sized stoppers set close together and a medium sized drop at the bottom Awesome training site as you can recirculate a lot as many of the stoppers are small and you can paddle back up the course a long way. There are also flat water gates.

Roudnice, CZ: Good training site with small to medium features, ideal for Div 1 level.

Good luck deciding, there are lots of other sites but I haven't got time now to list them all!