State Title Entries Required by Tues 25/11
The business end of the single craft season has arrived… State OC1/OC2 Titles will be held at Terrigal this Saturday Nov 29 (the day before the OC6 race).

See PDsingle or Billy for the full program and course maps but essentially we have:
– 9:30am Short Course 10km
– 1pm Long Course – either downwind 24km or an 18km triangle depending on conditions

Race entry is $20. Entries must be made beforehand so please email Billy by Tue 25/11 with:
– what event you will be entering
– if you need to use a club OC1 or OC2 (subject to transport being available)
– if you can assist with transporting a club canoe

East Coast Low Whips Up Big Winds
A weekend of dangerous winds unfortunately saw the PD Ocean Skills Workshop postponed.

The winds were caused by what is known as an East Coast Low. This is effectively a mid-latitude cyclone. Watch this animation and you’ll see a deep low form off the NSW South Coast on Saturday and stay there for the weekend.

There are major races every weekend between now and the end of the single craft season on Dec 21. In the New Year the focus will move to DB and OC6 but I will look to run the workshop if a convenient weekend arises.

Nats Road Trip is On!
Monday 24/11 is the last day to sign up for the OC1/OC2 Nats Roadtrip.

Training

What should I be doing?
Free Speed – At the start of the season Despina had never been on an OC1 in her life. She is now however ready to take on her first short course race at this weekend’s State Titles.

Focussing on free speed throughout the season now has her paddling faster and more efficient than ever. Focussing on Fabio has unfortunately been a waste of time.

To ensure she doesn’t overlook free-speed in the excitement on Saturday, Despina is going to have a free-speed warm-up routine that she will practice this week. This is where during her 10 minute warm-up she spends two huts each focussing on different parts of her technique… twist, engage core, catch, blade acceleration and leg drive, exit and recovery. She goes through this twice and then spends the remainder of the warm-up switching on her balance by gradually moving her body to the right.

Recovery – Pablo can’t believe the State OC1 titles have come around so quickly. His goal for the season was to do his first Long Course race and this weekend is it! To freshen up for the race Pablo is only going to do two sessions this week, both on the OC1.

Not-So-Free Speed – Ernesta’s goal for the season was to make herself the best OC1 paddler she can be. It’s been 12 solid weeks of training but it’s all coming together nicely. This final week before States is all about quality for Ernesta so when she is doing her interval speed work she is going give herself more rest between sets.

Sign-up for PD single craft training sessions
See the PD Single Craft Training Session article below for details. Info on the tag-along sessions is also included here. Sign-up for PD sessions by going to the Training Schedule page. If you have any questions please see those taking the sessions as listed. For use of club canoes please see Billy.