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The Event:
On August 20th to the 23rd 2009, 39 competitors from all over Canada and part of
the United States (Ohio and Michigan) gathered at Summer Ski Lake in Newmarket,
Ontario, for the 30th edition of the Canadian National Barefoot Championship.
The event was scheduled as follows:
• August 20th - Practice and site familiarization.
• August 21st - East vs. West competition combined with the Canadian Easterns
and followed by the National’s jump event.
• August 22nd - National’s slalom and tricks.
• August 23rd – Canadian Open (8 best men and 5 best women).
The Site:
The last time that the Canadian Nationals were held in Ontario, in 2006, the
site chosen by the local organizing committee was Summerski Lake in Newmarket,
just a few minutes from the city of Aurora, about 45 minutes from Toronto.
Summerski Lake, Newmarket, Ontario
Owner, Paul Roberts explained
to me that this 30 acre man-made lake is actually an abandoned gravel pit that
was filled in by a near-by canal. The water is very clean and conditions are
most of the time very calm.
The site is not only appreciated by the skiers for its calm water conditions,
but also by the spectators who have a great view of the skier’s entire 15 second
pass. Also, in boat camera feeds to on shore televisions provided all of the
spectators with a front row seat. Spectators and skiers are also welcomed to
camp on site. Organizers also appreciate the fact that a lot of the set-up is
already done, like docks, electricity, jump, porta-potties, gas, etc…
If you have any questions
regarding Summerski Ski Club, send an e-mail to Paul Roberts at
info@summerski.ca
Weather Conditions:
Some were worried about the weather conditions for the weekend. Eastern
Canada has received a lot of rain this summer. Temperatures were comfortable
during the weekend with only a bit of rain on and off, but nothing to hold back
the event for. The only inconvenience was that practice and familiarization was
cut short on Thursday because of wind and rain during which a deadly tornado
passed by in the city of Newmarket just minutes away from the site making
headlines all over Canada. Saturday was a bit windy, but the course was moved
slightly to adjust to a bit rougher conditions that we are used to seeing at
Summerski Lake, but many personal and Canadian records were still broken so I
guess it wasn’t that bad…
Boats:
The main towboat was my 2008 Sanger DXII equipped with a Mercruiser
MX6.2 Black Scorpion engine.
The second towboat, a 2005
Sanger DXII also equipped with a Mercruiser MX6.2 Black Scorpion engine, was
generously lent to the organization by the Weekes family.
The main towboat was equipped
with a Fly High Tower Extensions (also know as the Super Fly High or SFH) and
was offered to skiers in every event except for the last event of the
tournament, Open Tricks, because the main towboat was out of the water and the
second towboat was not equipped with one.
Record Breaking Performances:
During the course of the event, 11 Canadian records were broken (pending), 21 if
you count records that were beaten more than once!
• Danielle Tipping set a new Girl’s slalom (11,2 pts) record
• Nicole Blackmore set a new Women’s 1 & Open slalom (11,6 pts) & Tricks (2100
pts) records
• Cathy Tuleck set a new Women’s 4 slalom (6,4 pts) and tricks (1050 pts) record
• Duane Godfrey set a new Men’s 4 jump (10.1 m) and trick (1850 pts) record
• André Berthiaume set a new Men’s 5 slalom (4,9 pts) and tricks (630pts)
records
• Ross Holden set a new Men’s 7 slalom (4,0 pts) and tricks (735 pts) records
Team Canada girls
Banquet:
On Saturday night, a banquet was held at the Howard Johnson Hotel in
Aurora located about 12 minutes from the site. Medals and certificates were
awarded with videos of the athletes’ performances from the 2 days past in the
background.
Quebec Footers
Open Men: (George Weekes (ON), Paul MacDonald (ON) and Gordie Croteau (QC)
Open Women: (Danielle Tipping (BC), Nicole Blackmore (BC) and Katie Godfrey (ON)
RSWS Skier Award:
During the banquet, Ron Scarpa Watersports gave away 5 days of training
in their facilities to a young promising athlete that Water Ski and Wakeboard
Canada Barefoot Committee had selected prior to the event based on the following
criteria:
• Must be Men/Women 1 or younger
• Climbing the Canadian and World ranking list
• Committed to remaining in the sport and working towards the National Team
• Dedicated to promoting barefooting in his/her area
• Demonstrates a willingness to help at tournaments and events
• Advancement likely with professional training
• Not currently attending a ski school
• Upholds a high standard of sportsmanship on and off the water
Congratulations Melissa Spence
who was the athlete that was chosen and without a doubt meet all the criteria
mentioned above.
Paul MacDonald and Melissa Spence
Melissa Spence (ON)
Next Year’s Nationals:
It has not yet been confirmed where the 2010 Canadian Nationals Barefoot
Championship will be held. Possibilities are Calgary (AB), Les Cèdres (QC),
Newmarket (ON) or somewhere in British Columbia (BC). Usually, locations toggle
between the Eastern (QC/ON) and the Western (BC/AB) provinces, but because the
Western provinces have skipped a turn because of a lack of resources due to the
fact that the Canadian and world water ski championships were held in Alberta
this year, it is unclear if it is their turn or the East as planned. This will
have to be confirmed with the National Barefoot Council.
Sponsors:
Special thanks go out to all the sponsors, for who without their
generous contributions, the 2009 Canadian Barefoot Nationals would have been
possible.
Sponsors were:
• Spinner’s Water Sports Equipment (email: spinners_watersports_equipment@msn.com)
• Vortex Wetsuits (http://www.vortexwetsuits.com)
• Dryland Marine (http://www.drylandmarine.com)
• Ron Scarpa Water Sport (http://www.ronscarpa.com)
• Summerski Ski Club (http://www.summerski.ca)
• Ski and Wakeboard Ontario (http://www.wswo.ca)
• Q107 Radio Station (http://www.q107.com)
Organizers:
Special thanks go out to Mike Spence and Terry Jones who really gave
their best to make the 2009 Canadian Barefoot Nationals the success it was. Many
other people were involved during the event but I will not risk naming them to
make sure I do not forget anyone…
Mike Spence and Terry Jones in action
If you would like more
information, you may contact me by email at
danieljrlariviere@yahoo.ca or PM me on the
under 1FootDan.
By: Daniel Jr Larivière(AKA: 1FootDan)
Other Pictures
courtesy of Mike Spence and André Berthiaume…
Judging crew
Starting dock
The future of barefooting (Phillip MacDonald, son of Paul and Jennifer)
Gordie Croteau (QC) d his signature “Flip run”
Paul MacDonald (ON)
George Weekes (ON)
Travis Godfrey (ON)
Kyle Swed (MI, USA)
MenVII skiers Ross Holden (ON) and Louis Simard (QC) getting ready for their
slalom passes
Katie Godfrey (ON)
Getting ready for the first pass of the day…
When the judges are happy, everybody is happy…
Always funny to see the number of license plates that referred to barefooting
all in one place…
Morning glass at Summer Ski Lake…
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