When Brett Sands (Captain of the Australian Barefoot Team) asked if we would let them train at our site the week before the World Championships, we were a little hesitant at first.  Then we got to thinking.  What better way to get them back for being such poor hosts to the US Team in 1998 than being even worse hosts to them.  An eye-for-eye ya know.

So we pumped them up giving them the impression that we were supplying them a boat, a jump, a place to stay, and transportation (all the things that they were accused of not supplying the US team in 1998).  When they showed up,  they got a big surprise.   Instead of supplying them a Flightcraft, we supplied this Basscraft, minus a motor.

To make things worse for them, all 7 team members had to stay in this 8ft x 10ft cabin.   Here's a picture of the team out on the front porch.  105 degree temperatures and no air conditioner.  We told them to look at it as a team building opportunity.

All kidding aside, we were pleased the Australian's thought our river would make a good training site.  And we were even more thrilled to find out that they all visit Barefootcentral.com on a regular basis.

We did think about getting them back; but only for about a second.  Then we thought how childish that would be.  Why should the US have to stoop to tricks to gain an advantage.  We are supposed to be the best of the best.  And as small as this sport is, we need to help and encourage each other as much as possible, and avoid creating any more bad press around our sport.

I've always believed that:

To be considered the best, you need to beat your opponent on his/her best day.

So we decided to open our doors to the Australian team and offer them our best facilities.  We ended up making some great friends and watching some amazing footing, and we're going to share some of that with you.

Training Videos
Training Pictures