Cam Smedley (Rfort Fotos)
PEMBERTON, BC – The past two days at the Innergex Rutherford Whitewater Park in British Columbia have been filled with adrenaline and whitewater as Canada’s top slalom canoeist and kayakers made their four best runs in pursuit of claiming a spot on the National Team.
Highlight performances included blistering fast race runs by canoeist Cameron Smedley of Dunrobin, Ontario who narrowly missed setting the fastest run on day 1 of the competition. Kayaker Ben Hayward stunned the crowd and coaches by winning the 4th and final run of the team trials by a margin of 7.07 seconds. Five-time Olympian and 1999 World Champion, David Ford produced three consistent race runs and grabbed the first overall spot on the men’s kayak team.
CanoeKayak Canada’s slalom high performance committee has crunched the numbers and assessed them against performance standards to officially name 5 athletes to the Senior Elite Team and 3 athletes to the Senior A Team.
Ben Hayward (Rfort Fotos)
The Senior Elite Team will represent Canada at three World Cups in Europe starting June 6. Both teams will head to Europe for World Cups 4 and 5 before making their way back to North America to compete at World Championships in Deep Creek, Maryland, USA from September 17 to 21.
Senior Elite Team
Men’s K1
David Ford (Edmonton, AB)
Ben Hayward (Edmonton, AB)
Michael Tayler (Ottawa, ON)
Men’s C1
Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON)
David Ford (Rfort Fotos)
Women’s C1
Alexandra McGee (Ottawa, ON)
Senior A Team
Women’s K1
Jazmyne Denhollander (Chilliwack, BC)
Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB)
Thea Froehlich (Ottawa, ON)
International Race Schedule
| World Cup 1 | June 6 – 8 | London, Great Britain | Senior Elite Team |
| World Cup 2 | June 13 – 15 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | Senior Elite Team |
| World Cup 3 | July 20 – 22 | Prague, Czech Republic | Senior Elite Team |
| World Cup 4 | August 1 – 3 | La Seu d’Urgell, Spain | Senior Elite & Senior A Team |
| World Cup 5 | August 15 – 17 | Augsburg, Germany | Senior Elite & Senior A Team |
| World Championships | September 17 – 21 | Deep Creek, Maryland, USA | Senior Elite & Senior A Team |
CanoeKayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada. The organization’s vision is to be a Canadian sport for families, communities and champions. From supporting clubs to developing a competitive National Team, CanoeKayak Canada works to grow a sport which is a rich part of Canada’s heritage.
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Media Contact:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, CanoeKayak Canada
613.314.1352