Rosalyn - Junior World Championships 2006

The Junior World Championships were held in Solkan, Slovenia from the 7-9 July. The Qualifications were on Friday and semi-finals and finals on Sunday. After having two solid runs I qualified 20th. I was happy with that and I felt I could still improve my paddling for the Semi-final. In my Semi run I lost focus a little and hit two gates at the top of the course, as well as paddling slower. This moved me down to 30th place. I was disappointed not to have improved on my Qualification result, but I feel that I have learnt a lot from the race. Racing and training in Solkan with the team was a great opportunity for me to focus solely on my paddling for a while and I have improved my skills since leaving Australia.

We also had the opportunity to race in Ivrea, Italy, in an under 23’s competition. The course there was a bit crazy, but loads of fun. The Italians were very friendly and ran a casual but competitive race.

Other than the races, the team also traveled around and trained at a course in Tacen, Slovenia for a couple of days. Since visiting this course last year it has been one of my favourites, as the water is quite big, and the town Ljubljana is very picturesque. We also spent a day in Bourg Saint Maurice, France which is now my all time favourite course. It is long and exciting, with a great atmosphere. After getting over some initial nerves the whole team had a great time. I managed to get a bit of a working in a couple of holes, but it wasn’t too bad – it just added to the excitement.

Overall I had a great tour and can’t wait to train up and go back next year!