Strenuous kayak schedule

Press, 2 June 1989, Page 26

Strenuous kayak schedule

It’s 5 a.m., still cold and very dark when kayaker Clare Cosson wakes with the thought, ‘T’ve got the boats on the car, I’d better turn up.” An hour later, she has joined Katrina Day and Tracey Wemyss at Kerrs Reach for a flat-water training session. These women, plus Lucy Forde from Palmerston North, will form the first women’s kayaking team to attend a world championship in the United States later this month.

They put in three hours training each day, including weights, aerobics, swimming and . canoeing, to achieve the required fitness, speed and skill levels. All this for four minutes of negotiating a series of gates in turbu-

lent and rocky rivers.

Every week-end, in order to train in white water conditions, the women travel to the Buller River and do nothing other than paddle, rest, eat and sleep. Cosson, an outdoor

clothing designer, says she loves the lifestyle of intensive training for a competitive sport. However, Day emphasises the sacrifice involved: “For 40 weeks of the year you have no social life and little money.”

The New Zealand kayakers are self-funded whereas many of their overseas competitors are sponsored by governments or sports organisations. In spite of operating on a shoe-string budget, the women enjoy the freedom of being their own agents.

They say many sponsored European teams are placed under restrictions during the championships, such as being prohibited from playing social sport for fear of injury. Last year, Cosson and Day attended the preworld championships to check out the rivers, facilities and competitors they will be facing again on June 25. “We saw ourselves as nobodies and the Cana-

dians and Americans as mega-gods. But when they realised we posed no great threat they were very supportive,” said Cosson.

Over 20 countries will be competing on the Savage River, Maryland. New Zealand is sending three teams including the KI Women’s slalom. They are not expecting a high placing in the championships but feel it is important to gain experience. “You can train all your life but it is international experience which counts,” said Day. They hope to emulate the Australian women’s team, which after 10 years of attending world championships has improved its standard enormously. The championships are also a great social occasion for dedicated kayakers.

“Everyone is on the same wavelength so it’s not hard to meet people,” said Day. The women are looking forward to the challenge of a different country and staying with “all-American families.” But the real excitement for Cosson is the race itself. “Kayaking is such a precise mind sport. You have to concentrate otherwise there’ll be time penalties,” she said. It’s 10 p.m., Cosson arrives home from the gymnasium and retires to bed. Tomorrow requires another 5 a.m. start — driving to Murchison for a week-end of the sport she couldn’t be without. MARGARET McLACHLAN