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All the latest news and kayaking TiPs from Training in Paradise
BLOG
All the latest news and kayaking TiPs from Training in Paradise
#101 - TIP TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS: A QUOTE FROM COACH FRED LOYER
In spring and summer 2019 we helped former NZL men’s kayak squad coach Fred Loyer optimize the performance of the NZL men K2 1000m…
#100 - TIP PADDLING CLINIC: A QUOTE FROM SOUTH AFRICAN JUNIOR LIZZY CONRADIE
Lizzy visited us on Lake Bled last September with the South African team in preparation for the Youth Olympic Hopes Regatta in Bratislava. Together we did some technical work on land and on the water, some race pace session and even had a lot of fun together on top of all the work!
#99 - VISITING THE CHINESE WOMEN’S OLYMPIC KAYAK TEAM
We just had the honour to meet with the Chinese women Olympic kayak team again. After being a small part in their successful 2019 season where they qualified all the possible 6 places in the women kayak category for Tokyo, we are now looking to continue our cooperation to bring these ladies to the Games in Japan in the best possible shape.
#98 - TIP COACHING CLINIC: A QUOTE FROM SOUTH AFRICA
In September we had a small group of athletes from South Africa visiting us on Lake Bled. The young guys were here to finalize their preparation for the Olympic hopes Regatta 2019 in Bratislava, but also to get a chance to learn from our coaches and get some paddling technique advice.
#97 - TIP COACHING: A QUOTE FROM MELANIE SCHEMBRI WAITE
After last week’s quote from the super-fast Chinese paddler Yu Zhou, about our stroke analytics, we want to share with you a different story today. The story about coaching a different kind of athlete.
Melanie holds dual Maltese/Australian nationality, and after being a professional violinist and amateur athlete in various sports for most of her life, she chose to have a rest from music and spend some time to learn to paddle fast in a sprint boat.
#96 - TIP TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS: A QUOTE FROM CHINESE CHAMPION YU ZHOU
In 2019 TiP team has helped the Chinese ladies sprint kayak team with some biomechanical measurements and analysis over the winter and spring months. All culminating in an intense training clinic with the ladies while they were on an extended training camp in Europe (Olympic center in Walcz, Poland). All this was done to optimize their technique and team boats set up.
#95 - TIP TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS: A QUOTE FROM COACH FRED LOYER
In spring and summer 2019 we helped former NZL men’s kayak squad coach Fred Loyer optimize the performance of the NZL men K2 1000m.
The pair of Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie led by coach Loyer placed 6th at the Poznan World Cup I, Kurtis finished 3rd and 4th in his K1 at the U23 World Championships as well. The couple didn’t qualify for Tokyo 2020 OG at the Szeged Worlds, but eventually qualified for the Games this year at the Oceania qualification.
#94 - AN AMAZING TRAINING CAMPS SEASON FOR TIP
It’s almost a wrap the 2019 season for us. With only the Canoeing Olympic Hopes competition in Bratislava and the Canoeing Marathon Worlds in China to go, we are already looking backward to an amazing season for our team and looking forward to planning an even better Olympic 2020 season!
On the training camps front, we have offered either a complete coverage, logistic assistance with accommodation and training facilities or simply just providing electric coaching boats to a variety of big and small teams.
#93 - NEWS ABOUT TIP PROJECTS DAYS BEFORE 2019 SEASON STARTS
After a mild winter, it is time for us to open the doors and start also TiP’s training camp season. In fact, the first big group is arriving on our lakes in two weeks time. The honors to be the first visiting group in 2019 goes to the Radley College Boat Club. The large team led by Sam Townsend will be escaping the grey British weather for a spring camp on Lake Bohinj. They will be followed on the same lake by the hard-charging rowers from the Holstebro Rowing Club from Denmark. Even though we do have also some sprint kayak paddling clinics for guest from all over the world scheduled too, April seems to be now traditionally rowing guests dominant.
#92 - ANDREA AND JERNEJ SPEAK AT THE LARGEST CANOEING COACHES CONGRESS IN THE WORLD
The two most prolific members of our team, Andrea Pace (biomechanics) and Jernej Župančič Regent (coaching) have just returned back from the VII International Congress of Coaches of Sprint Canoeing. The Congress in Catoira (Spain) is the largest congress for canoeing coaches in the world and our guys were invited to present among the main speakers.
#91 - SPRINT PADDLING PHENOMENA EXPLAINED PART 4 – MANAGING THE FORCES
After a short break from our Friday’s technical posts, we continue today with our series about meta-technique for kayakers.
For those who lost the touch with the series, here is how we developed the meta-technique posts.
#90 - THE META-TECHNIQUE EXPLAINED: PART 3 – MANAGING YOUR PADDLE
Hope you liked our last blog from the Friday technical series where we introduced the meta-technique for sprint kayakers. If you have read it (and haven’t got scared by the fancy title) you may also be interested in the article we are publishing today!
Last time we have described what meta-technique for sprint paddlers is (kudos to our biomechanicist Andrea Pace for coming up with the whole theory). Today we are explaining the first 4 meta-technique phenomena (the manage your paddle ones).
#89 - SPRINT PADDLING PHENOMENA EXPLAINED: PART 2 – MANAGING YOUR BOAT
Today we continue our Friday technical blog with the next part of ‘Sprint Paddling Phenomena explained’ series. A while back in the first part of the series we described The Basic Sprint Kayaking technique. In the second part of the series, we had an introduction to the Meta-technique for Sprint Kayaking. In the third part of the series, we described the first group of phenomena regarding the meta-technique in sprint kayaking – the phenomena regarding your paddle.
#88 - VIOLINIST FROM MALTA SPEEDING ACROSS THE WATERS OF LAKE BLED
Right in the middle of Training in Paradise summer, during the hottest week of the season, we hosted Melanie Waite for a week-long paddling clinic on Lake Bled. Melanie is an acclaimed violinist and also an avid athlete with experience from various sports. She only started paddling in a sprint boat a year ago, but she fell in love with the sport and is planning to have a strong shot at seeing how fast she can paddle in this skinny boat. Mostly used to very high-level athletes it was a great challenge for us to organize a clinic that would offer a strong base for Melanie to work from in the future. We believe we have done a good job and gained a lot of experience too.
#87 - PADDLING CLINIC FOR A DANISH VIKING
In July we had the pleasure to welcome Kent Klitgaard on Lake Bled. Kent is a PhD student and research assistant at Aalborg Universitet in Denmark. He visited us for a technique clinic to improve his paddling skills.
Kent knows a ton about sport and paddling and has been competing in a sprint boat since his childhood. Still, he was looking for some advice on how to improve his technique. So for us, it was first about finding together what would his own ideal stroke look and feel like. Then it was about finding the best way of changing his existing patterns into the patterns he should use to paddle faster.
#86 - WEEKEND READING: SPRINT PADDLING TECHNIQUE WITH TEAM TIP
Today we are finally publishing all 3 the books and articles written by TiP biomechanic expert Andrea Pace in one place, shared also by the European Canoe Association. All of them discuss sprint paddling technique.
If you really want to understand more about the kayak sprint technique you have to take the time and energy to dig deep into the book we use as our blueprint when working with athletes: Complements to the Base Technique in Canoe Kayak: Methods of evaluation (in English and Italian).
#85 - FRENCH JUNIOR PADDLERS TRAINING FOR THE 2018 JUNIOR & U23 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS ON LAKE MOST NA SOČI
The previous week we had the pleasure to host the French Junior Sprint Canoeing team on lake Most na Soči. Their decision to visit us was quick and as their coach Yann Gudefin says »a great idea« to bring a bit of diversity into their training sessions.
#84 - THE META-TECHNIQUE IN KAYAKING: PART 1 – INTRODUCTION
We are glad your response to the Basic paddling technique article last week was very positive, dear readers. We know there are a lot of experienced coaches and athletes among you, so we will continue to dig deeper and continue our exploration of the perfect stroke.
#83 - THE BASIC SPRINT KAYAKING TECHNIQUE
What do we teach to a kayak beginner? And to what do champions turn to in training when they feel something is not ok in their form? They both go back to basics. Because the basics is where everything starts and everything can break.
In today’s technical article we write about the basic kayaking technique. Why are the lessons we teach to beginners also the cornerstones on which we insist on with advanced paddlers?
#82 - THE PADDLING TECHNIQUE – OUR DEFINITION
In today’s article we have defined what paddling technique is. We know definitions are boring but today we have to introduce to you the terms very important to us: basic technique, the meta-technique and the micro-technique.
All our future technique blogs will discuss paddling on one of these levels. In short: basic technique is the simplified version of paddling and what most of us do well; meta-technique is the hidden cornerstones of paddling that many can see, few understand and only champions do right.
#81 - FRIDAY’S TECHNICAL BLOG STARTS A SERIES OF ARTICLES ON PADDLING TECHNIQUE
We will spend spring and summertime on our blog writing about paddling technique. In our Friday blogs we will take you onto a voyage of understanding what is kayaking technique, why is it so important, where to start changing it for the better and finally when and how to train for it. At the end of our journey, you will have a lot of tools to evaluate and improve paddling technique.
#80 - COORDINATION FOR PADDLERS
In the past three Friday blogs, we have discussed three fundamental abilities for good paddling: rhythm, balance, and mobility. There is one more motor ability we often neglect when talking sprint kayak training: coordination.
The simple definition of coordination would be the ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently. Champions are not only super fit, but also super efficient in using their entire body to propel their tiny boat as fast as possible. In practice, all motor abilities are interconnected. Coordination is directly connected with strength, balance, speed, and mobility. While in some sense rhythm is a part of coordination itself.
#79 - RADLEY COLLEGE ON LAKE BOHINJ
Radley is an all boys college from UK that sent their rowing club (follow them on Twitter: @RCBC) to lake Bohinj for a week’s training camp during school holidays. The boys were training mostly in big crew boats which meant seeing 3 eights on the lake each session along with other 4- and 2-. A very special view, as it has been 2 years since the last 8 on lake Bohinj (NZL women eight training for Rio games).
#78 - MOBILITY FOR SPRINT KAYAKING
We started our technical blog 11 weeks ago and since then we have discussed a sprint kayaking related topic with you every Friday. In the first few weeks we covered some basics like performance evaluation, intensity zones, dry land training exercise types and session construction. In May, we will start discussing paddling technique.
#77 - HOLSTEBRO ROKLUB BACK ON LAKE BOHINJ
A big group of Danish rowing Vikings was back in March on lake Bohinj for their annual Easter camp. It is so nice to see when high performance teams decide so often to come back to train with us. And is interesting to see how what feels almost like winter for us, feels just fine and like spring for the Danish Athletes. Despite fresh mornings in March on lake Bohinj they all went swimming in the lake after rowing sessions daily.
#76 - BALANCE IN THE SPRINT BOAT
Lose your balance – lose your strength we say at TiP. Balance is fundamental on more levels (from life to boat), today we will only discuss balance as a motor ability.
It is an often neglected ability that deserves more attention from coaches and athletes. One more of those hidden qualities the best paddlers have, but are hidden inside their effortless, rhythmical strokes.
#75 - RHYTHM AND TEMPO IN PADDLING
When you watch top athletes training or racing there is something in their paddling that feels right. There are characteristics of how champions paddle that seem to be difficult to grasp but are same time obvious to the eyes of any passer–by. One of these is rhythm.
#74 - WHERE TO START WHEN SETTING UP A PADDLING SESSION
You may say you have heard it a million times, but we believe it is important to stress how crucial goal setting is before each session.
In today’s document we show simple guidelines about where to start when setting up a session and how to define specific training goals. Athletes should have a clear picture of what they are trying to achieve on the session before they sit in the boat.
#73 - THE WARM UP ROUTINE FOR PADDLERS
We are showing you today a few guidelines on how to design a good warm up routine. Very often paddlers neglect the importance of a good warm up or leave it to randomly chosen exercises. This may lead to poor training performance, not optimal racing or even injury.
What we suggest will help you design a warm up that…
#72 - WATER SESSION EXAMPLES
Friday’s technical blog is here again and as promised last week we are showing you a list of paddling session examples.
Today’s downloadable document is a simple list of sessions to complement our sprint canoeing Intensity Zones Table. These sessions along with our intensity zones will help you understand better the basics of our training plan design.
#71 - TRAINING INTENSITY ZONES FOR SPRINT KAYAKERS
We thought end of February is time for everyone to start gearing up for the paddling season no matter how cold is still outside.
Where best to start than with a sprint canoeing Training Intensity Table. You can find the table in our Training Zones Guide, on the Free Resources page.
Training intensity zones are important for more than one reason…
#70 - ANNOUNCING THE BOOK BY ANDREA PACE
We are proud to announce you can download the book ”Complements to the Base Technique in Sprint Kayaking: Methods of Evaluation” written by our team member Andrea Pace from our site. It is a very special book for the TiP team as it is the script on which we build our technique work.
#69 - DESIGNING PADDLING PERFORMANCE: HOW TO PREPARE A GOOD CONDITIONING PROGRAM FOR PADDLERS
Time is flying and this is already the fifth of our Friday technical blog series. In the previous blog we showed you our Strength Training Exercise Types table to help you choose strength exercises according to their purpose. This time we want to give you the tools to help you decide how much focus do various areas of a paddling conditioning program deserve.
#68 - DESIGNING PADDLING PERFORMANCE: TYPES OF STRENGTH EXERCISES
Welcome to our fourth blog from the technical Friday series!
In the previous posts we discussed how to assess your paddling speed, how to asses where are you with your athletic development and how to make better decisions when planning your paddling future. In the last blog we addressed overtraining as a big and important issue – an enemy stronger than your competitors. And today we are finally ready to start discussing training!
#67 - PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: SUBJECTIVE
Starting our blog series last week we showed you how to determine where you are with your paddling performance. Today we want to show you 3 tools to help you build your strategy for paddling success. Grab a big mug of coffee, paper and pen and you are ready to start!
#66 - PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: HOW FAST DO YOU PADDLE?
At TiP we always want to know where our athletes are. Only this way we can help them get where they want to be. Even with all the modern technologies evaluating one’s exact competition ability in our sport is not an easy task. Absolute times are often not enough to quantify paddling performance.
#65 - WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU NEW TRAINING METHODS, COACHING TOOLS AND SO MANY MORE PADDLING GOODIES
As you might know TiP team is working on much more than just providing the organization, logistics and 24/7 assistance for your perfect training camps in Paradise. With our team of professionals we are working every day on developing new training methods, designing new coaching tools, improving our technique analysis and optimization systems.
#64 - POLISH ROWER TRAINING WITH US ON LAKE BLED
Sometimes we only meet the passion of our lives when we experience that one thing that relaxes us and intrigues our mind.
Luke Sawicki felt that as he sat down in a rowing boat for the first time a few years ago. Ever since he enjoys rowing trainings and puts his mind into improving his technical skills as much as he can.
#63 - TEAM LATVIA CAME TO VISIT OUR TRAINING PARADISE
At the end of month October the sun was shinning at lake Most na Soči so Team Latvia decided to pay us a visit here in our lovely Paradise. After a hardworking season Latvian coach Juris Lauris decided to take their athletes for a recovery training camp to Slovenia.
Paddling daily with sun on their shoulders and enjoying warm fall season weak here with us was a great change for the Latvian team who were already facing some colder conditions back at home.
#62 - CANADIAN GIRLS WIN 2 GOLDS AT THE SENIOR WORLDS IN RAČICE
We felt the Canadian team on Most na Soči was doing great and feeling good. It was obvious they were going to do well. But still it was a great pleasure and excitement watching them win on the world’s stage.
Katie and Laurence have won the ladies C2 500 title in their first championships together despite both paddling on the left side. Proving their strength in C1 is the main factor making a crew boat go fast.
#61 - TEAM GREAT BRITAIN TRAINING ON LAKE BLED FOR SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
This year a part of the GB senior team was training with us before the Senior World Championships. Head coach Paul Darby-Dawman was happy with the location and everything the Olympic center on lake Bled could offer in August. The athletes were enjoying their final preparation camp and left looking satisified and confident when flying out to Račice.
#60 - CANADIAN CANOE TEAM ON MOST NA SOČI LAKE
A part of the Canadian World Championsihips team stayed with us on lake Most na Soči before heading to Worlds this year. Under the guidance of accomplished national coach Jan Kruk there were four C1 paddlers enjoying the waters of Soča river this year.
#59 - TEAM NZL DOING GREAT AT THE 2017 JUNIOR & U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The New Zealand national Junior and U23 national team has done very well on the World Championships in Romania after staying with us for their final preparation camp.
Aimee Fisher has just had an amazing weekend in Pitešti snatching gold both in K1 200m and K1 500 meters in the U23 category. In the process she has beaten such amazing and accomplished athletes as european chamipon Dora Lucz, Olympic bronze medalist Emma Jorgensen and others.
#58 - NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR AND U23 NATIONAL TEAM TRAINING FOR WORLDS ON MOST NA SOČI LAKE
In July we had the honour to welcome again the New Zealand Junior and U23 national team on lake Most na Soči. They have visited us to finalise their preparation for the 2017 Junior & U23 World Championships and stayed with us for a bit more than 2 weeks. Every time they visit they are a big team with over 20 people and along with the two visits in the past of the New Zealand senior team it was the fourth time an All Black kayak team was training with us.
#57 - SWISS JUNIOR K2 TRAINING FOR EUROPEAN CHAMPS ON LAKE BOHINJ
Bolzner Linus and Pfalzgraf Maurus, a young and promissing K2 from Swiss, were training on lake Bohinj before the this year’s Junior and U23 European Championships in Belgrade.
Along with their coach Andreas Schori they occasionally joined the Slovenian junior national team who was on the lake too for some great sessions together.
The two young Swiss paddlers were on fire after the 2 week camp in Bohinj and placed 5th at the Junior K2 1000m race in Belgrade.
#56 - CANOE CLUB CALDONAZZO TRAINING ON LAKE BOHINJ AGAIN
The Canoa club from Caldonazzo, Italy has decided to visit us in July for a week of training. This is their second summer visit in a row.
Their annual stay on lake Bohinj is a nice present for these young club paddlers and they seem to really enjoy the lake and the nature that surrounds it.
The coach Luciano Parenti had this to say after their first visit in 2016…
#55 - RON BENJANO FROM ISRAEL GOING FROM PARADISE STRAIGHT ONTO THE WORLD CUP SCENE
Ron Benjano is a young Israeli paddler who has been visiting TiP for a long time now. He just loves to be on all of the 3 lakes, enjoys paddling with the local kayak club on Most na Soči and is a great role model for the local young paddlers too.
Ron is serving a 3 year military service in Israel but is allowed to leave often and visit us for some good training due to his achievements in paddling.
#54 - JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPION ZSÓKA CSIKÓS TRAINING ON LAKE BLED
Zsóka Csikós was training with us on Lake Bled for the first week of June before Hungarian selections for the European Youth Olympic Festival along with her coach Vitaliy Pjatscuk, Szonja Pjatscuk and Hungarian Canoe Federation sports director and 3 time Olympic champion Storcz Botond.
#53 - FINLAND ON THE PODIUM IN WORLD CUP 1
Finland has done the big jump: Jeremy Hakala and Miika Nykanen have just won bronze in K2 1000m at the World Cup 1 in Montemor (Portugal).
Very proud of the boys especially after watching them train so hard every time they visit us!
#52 - DANISH ROWERS FROM THE HOLSTEBRO ROKLUB
We are welcoming the first sports team of the 2017 season: the danish rowers from the Holstebro Roklub.
A big team of 35 athletes, coaches and support stuff drove across Europe to get some good weather training, great training conditions and a new experience.
Wish you all a pleasant stay and some great training! And happy Easter of course 😉
#51 - FINNISH KAYAK TEAM AT TRAINING IN PARADISE LAKE BLED
The Finnish kayak team is here again! It is now their 3rd time they visit us in early April for the final training camp before the new season starts. Staying in the Olympic training center on lake Bled provides everything they need for high performance training and more.
This time it is 10 athletes and 2 coaches…
#50 - COME AND TRAIN WITH US IN 2017
Check out what are we offering in 2017 regarding training camps for teams, clubs and individual paddlers. Teams and clubs from New Zealand, Italy, Latvia, Croatia and Israel have already confirmed their arrival.
#49 - AUSTRALIAN YOUTH OLYMPICS TEAM TRAINING ON LAKE BOHINJ
We have the pleasure to wellcome the Australian Youth Olympics Team on our lake in Bohinj. The 31 strong Australian team (27 athletes and 4 coaches) is lead by the seasoned team leader Christine Duff. Among the coaches there is also David Smith, member of the 2012 australian Olympic gold medal winning K4.
#48 - GUEST: ILIYA PODPOLNY (ISR)
“My name is Iliya Podpolny. I started kayaking in Russia, but I am now living in Israel. I compete for Israel national sprint canoe team. Usually the summer temperatures in Israel are 40 degree and above so I have to look for alternative training locations especially during our summer.”
#47 - INTERVIEW: OLYMPIC AND WORLD ROWING CHAMPION MAHÉ DRYSDALE (NZL)
Mahé Drysdale is a rowing super star. The multiple World champion and Olympic champion from London was training in Slovenia for several weeks before heading to the 2015 World Rowing Championships. This was the second year in a row Mahé and a part of the New Zealand team was training on TiP lake Bohinj. Training in Paradise provided an electric catamaran for the coaches as no other kind of motor boat is allowed in this area.
#46 - INTERVIEW WITH WORLD CHAMPION LISA CARRINGTON
We caught up for a chat with Lisa Carrington a week before the 2015 World Canoe Sprint Championships. She was spending her final training camp along with the rest of the New Zealand team in Training in Paradise – paddling on lakes Bled and Bohinj (Slovenia).
#45 - TRAINING CAMP: CANOE CLUB KONINKLIJKE SOBEKA (BELGIUM)
The canoe club Koninklijke Sobeka from Zwevegem (BEL) with almost 40 athletes was having their annual 10 day camp on lake Bohinj early August this year with us.
#44 - LAKES BUZZING WITH AMAZING ATHLETES AT THE MOMENT
Training in Paradise area seems like the place to be these days. Despite some rain the lakes were buzzing with boats this morning…
#43 - Guests: team New Zealand
The new Zealand kayak squad just arrived to lake Bled for their final preparation camp for the Milan World Championships. The team is composed of Lisa Carrington (World and Olympic champion), Marty McDowell (bronze in K1 500m at the first world cup race of the season) and the WK4 of Aimee Fisher, Caitlin Ryan, Jaimee Lovett and Kayla Imrie (winners of the K4 500 at the first world cup race of the season), plus the coaches Gordon Walker and Rene Olsen.
#42 - GUEST: JOEL TAN (SINGAPORE)
This year we have already hosted teams and athletes from: Japan, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Swizzerland, USA…and for the past 2 weeks we’ve been hosting Joel Tan from Singapure. Joel has just graduated from universty and the trip to visit us was his gift to himself. We had a couple of 1:1 sessions together regarding technique, training methods, conditioning and opportunities for his progress.
#41 - MEMORABILIA: PADDLING PARADISE SINCE 1936
“From the past (part I) : It is almost 80 years since the first marathon canoe race on Lake Bohinj. On 5th July 1936 a first ever race in Slovenia was held as selection race for Berlin Olympic Games. The winner on 10.000 meters course with four turns, was Deutschman (KK Ljubljana) who covered the course in 62 minutes. In doubles the winner were Gaberšek – Šavnik (KK Ljubljana) in 55 minutes 10 seconds.”
#40 - MEMORABILIA: PADDLING PARADISE SINCE 1936
“From the past (part I) : It is almost 80 years since the first marathon canoe race on Lake Bohinj. On 5th July 1936 a first ever race in Slovenia was held as selection race for Berlin Olympic Games. The winner on 10.000 meters course with four turns, was Deutschman (KK Ljubljana) who covered the course in 62 minutes. In doubles the winner were Gaberšek – Šavnik (KK Ljubljana) in 55 minutes 10 seconds.”
#39 - GUESTS: GORDON WALKER – NEW ZEALAND K1 HEAD COACH
Head coach of NZ canoeing team Gordon Walker visited us today at lake Bled. He seemed very satisfied about the set up we are preparing for the NZ squad. We have visited with him the apartments, the course, the Olympic training center and the restaurant where the team will eat in summer before the Milan World Championships. It is going to be an exciting summer in Paradise. #Rio2016
#38 - GUESTS: FINLAND SPRINT CANOEING TEAM
The Finnish team has visited us for a spring camp 2 years ago. And now they are back, bigger and stronger then ever. Visiting for a 2 week training camp as a build up for the upcoming European Championship in Račice (Czech Republic). Great to have these guys and their coaches around!
#37 - GUESTS: SUSANNE GUNNARSSON AND JULIA LANGERSTAM
Kayak team Finland coach Susanne Gunnarsson (former world and olympic champion in kayaking) is in Training Paradise at the moment preparing the Finnish team for the coming European championships, but is also taking care of her young Swedish protégée Julia Langerstam. Good luck ladies and thanks for visiting!
#36 -4 ITALIAN CANOEING LEGENDS
Training in Paradise staff were in Mantova this weekend for the annual international race.
We couldn’t resist not to ask these 4 legends of Italian and world canoeing to pose for us.
#35 - GUEST: MIKKO KARPPINEN (FINLAND)
After the C1 guys from the Latvian team, Mikko Karppinen arrived to lake Bled. A Finn living in Switzerland flew in with his wife for a 4 day coaching clinic. A lot of positive impressions for us and for Mikko.
Not blessed with perfect weather during his whole visit we nevertheless worked on technique, stability, mobility, did some efficiency testing and planned his coming season in detail!
#34 - TRAINING IN PARADISE LAKE MOST NA SOČI ON BBC TRAVEL
BBC Travel mentioned one of our lakes today:
” #FridayFeature! Craving a little getaway this weekend? Check out the waters in Most na Soci, #Slovenia! Not only does the area have gorgeous views like this, but it also ranks as one of the most important prehistoric settlements in #Europe. Thanks @hecktictravels for sharing using #bbctravel and #LoveTheWorld! ”
#33 - GUESTS: LATVIAN C2
Aivis Tints and Gatis Pranks of the Latvian C2 are our second visitors for a training camp this year. On the picture here before their first session today! These guys look strong!
#32 - VISITORS FROM FINLAND AND SWITZERLAND
Nicole Rutishauser from Swizerland and Miika Dietrich from Finland are training with us at the moment on lake Most na Soči.
Nicole is here training with Slovenian national team member Anja Osterman to get ready for the Canoe Sprint World Cup #2 in Czech Republic.
#31 - PICS FROM A DAY’S TRAINING ON LAKE BOHINJ
Enjoy viewing some beautiful pictures from our “training lake”, lake Bohinj.
#30 - THE DISCIPLINE OF FINISHING
Who would you bet on to accomplish his goals? How would you pick a team of coworkers? How would you want to succeed in life?
Here’s a wonderful TED talk by Conor Neill about integrity, energy and intelligence and how to cultivate them by…
#29 - KEY INGREDIENTS OF WORK FOR OUR COACHING STAFF
The key ingredients of work for our coaching team in Training Paradise (inspired by Vern Gambetta): PASHION, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE(S).
#28 - SLOVENIAN SPRINT KAYAK TEAM TRAINING CAMP ON LAKE BLED
The junior and U23 national team held a one week camp on lake Bled at the end of March.
Paddling on the lake in short sleeves and seeing snow on the Alpine peaks all around has a special feeling. Also the possibility to offer to these young guys paddling in the morning and after boat a cross country ski sessions only 20 minutes drive away is something we are very proud to offer.
#27 - 21 REASONS TO VISIT SLOVENIA
Check out this article we found:
21 reasons to make Slovenia your next holiday destination
(and see how many times the Training in Paradise area features inside)
Some cool pics and most of all some really cool reasons!
#26 - LAKE BOHINJ STEPPING ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION SCENE
Lake Bohinj lays in the heart of Training in Paradise area. It is the place Slovenian rowers and kayakers use before the biggest competition (Iztok Čop and Luka Špik used to train here immediately before each of their 3 duble scull olympic medal performances, Špela Ponomarenko has trained here before her silver in Dusiburg 2013).
#25 - SPRING IS BACK AT TIP AND SO ARE THE PADDLERS
Actually they never really left. During the winter the Serbian national team had a total of 5 weeks spent in the cross country and biathlon training center in Pokljuka. We were really proud to see the likes of sprinter Marko Dragosavljević or the members of the Serbian K4 roaming excitedly in the deep forests of Pokljuka. And we can tell you the xc-skis really look tiny under these big boys!
#24 - TESTING NEW GADGETS
During January in TP we tend to paddle less than the rest of the year and focus more on conditioning – especially going really hard in the gym and extra long on the xc-skis.
But we got the chance to test a new gadget and sure we were there first thing in the morning for a test of what it can offer to us and to see how it can help our athletes.
#23 - SLOVENIAN NATIONAL SPRINT TEAM: SKI CAMP AT TIP
The national senior teams of our main three disciplines – sprint, slalom and downriver – gathered in the training center on Pokljuka for a six day training camp. And of course our coaches were there o assist them!
Indeed this is the only annual camp where all our best athletes from the various codes of our sport meet and share some intense training together….
#22 - EURO PADDLE PASS BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT AND MEETING IN COPENHAGEN
Our coaches attended the Euro Paddle pass meeting and benchmark assessment held in Copenhagen in mid October. The EPP project aim is to create a common system of paddle sport competency awards across Europe. And since after this meeting we are allowed in Slovenia to assess canoe competency up until level 3 in 5 different disciplines.
#21 - PADDLING THE EMERALD PARADISE
It is mid November now and winter is coming quickly to Training Paradise area. But memories of spring, summer and autumn on the water are still fresh. To keep us warm now during the chilly paddling sessions we particularly like a video about training on our longest lake.
#20 - NEERPELTSE WATERSPORT CLUB’S VIDEO OF THEIR VISIT
Neerpeltse Watersport Club from Belgium visited Training in Paradise last July for a 9 day training camp. They brought A LOT of kids and A LOT of boats – check it out in the video!
We feel they enjoyed their visit and all the adventures also A LOT!
#19 - OUR 2013 KAYAKING SEASON WRAP UP
For us the 2013 season was our first full season after starting our project in 2012. After a lot of hard work preparing the necessary conditions for the guests the season was quickly here and before we could even notice it was over too. We had guests from as far as Finland, Israel or Greece joining us this year for paddle training in paradise. We believe they all got what they came looking for – great training conditions, relaxing and astonishing nature and a quality support.
#18 - FINNISH NATIONAL SPRINT TEAM TRAINING CAMP ON LAKE BLED
The Finland national sprint team arrived to lake Bled for a 2 week training camp with 15 members. They arrived to TP straight from a very long camp in Seville and en route to the first World Cup event of 2013 in Szeged.
#17 - ISRAELI PADDLERS VISIT
In July Iliya Podpolny (best Israeli senior paddler at the moment) joined team Training in Paradise to attend through us a 2 week training camp with the Slovenian and Swiss national junior and U23 national teams who were training in Pusiano (Italy) for the Junior and U23 World championships in Canada. Iliya and his coach got a lot of new experiences with us, a lot of hard training and feedback for the future (especially after the sessions with Rene Holten Poulsen who was also present in Pusiano).
#16 - ATHENS CANOE CLUB TRAINING ON THE SOČA RIVER
The Athens Canoe Club visited Training in Paradise river Soča for some slalom training with a strong team of 13 members. They used the Soča river and the Solkan wild water center to gain invaluable wild water experience for their young slalom team.
#15 - WHY PUTTING ON YOUR “GAME FACE” MIGHT BE A BAD IDEA
We are in the middle of the sprint canoeing World Cup season with the race #2 kicking off this morning in Račice (CZE). So the theme of an older Daniel Coyle’s blog post seems perfectly appropriate for the moment (find the blog here). Here it is – slightly shortened:
#14 - TRAINING IN PARADISE IS WAKING UP FROM WINTER
Spring is definitely knocking on the door in Training Paradise. It was an unusually long and cold winter with heaps of snow. But as from this week all the three lakes are completely free of ice and the last patches of snow in the 3 valleys are melting quickly. With the Slovenian ski jumping team winning the clocing world cup competition for this season last week in Planica it is now officially time for summer sports to take over in TiP!
#13 - BEN SAUNDERS: WHY BOTHER LEAVING THE HOUSE?
Explorer Ben Saunders wants you to go outside! Not because it’s always pleasant and happy, but because that’s where the meat of life is, “the juice that we can suck out of our hours and days.” Saunders’ next outdoor excursion? To try to be the first in the world to walk from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again.
#12 - ON THE VIRTUE OF HARD WORK
Winter is the time of the year when all paddlesports athletes put in the big hours. Adam Van Koeverden knows about hard work. In the sprint paddling community he is a symbol of hard, intense, focused work.
#11 - WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM HOW THE CHEETAH RUNS?
Check out the amazing slow motion video of a cheetah running. There is no blood, no killing, only the fastest running animal on earth displaying its incredible athletic gift.
#10 - STRETCHING POSTERS
For those of you who don’t mind the text in Slovenian, here are some posters with stretching routines for paddlers. Top Slovenian wild water paddlers volunteered to pose for us. And acclaimed sports photographer Lenart Zore did the photo shoot with them.
#9 - DISCOVER THE TIP AREA
Training in Paradise is a triangle of three magical lakes (Bled, Bohinj and Most na Soči). The three lakes are connected by three valleys. And in the middle of the triangle there is the Triglav national park.
Check out the promo video about the middle part of the Soča valley and the other one about lake Bled and its surroundings. We’re sure you’ll love this area as much as we do!
#8 - GOLD FEVER DOCUMENTARY
Gold Fever was the name of a BBC documentary, shown in August 2000, which followed Steve Redgrave and his British rowing coxless four teammates Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell in the years leading up to the Sydney Olympics, where Redgrave was looking to claim his fifth consecutive gold medal.
#7 - BEN BROWN: I WANT TO CHANGE CANOEING
Former marathon world champ Ben Brown starts with ”I want to change canoeing. I want to make it cool.” A great intention and a well written text. The challenge he is throwing at himself and everybody else is huge but realistic!
Training in Paradise definitely wants to follow the great example set by Ben Brown. Here is what we do to change canoeing through helping the paddlers to train better
#6 - SLOVENIAN JUNIOR K4 TEAM
Slovenian Junior K4 team was training in Most na Soči lake this August for the Youth Olympic Hopes 2012 regatta. It was the first time Slovenia had 4 juniors of such a good level training together and racing in one boat. And the boys did deliver in Szeged! They were only pipped out of bronze medal position by the German crew in the last 50m of the race to finishing a solid 4th.
#5 - GREEK JUNIOR SLALOM TEAM
During racing at the Junior and U23 European Slalom Championship in Solkan, the Greek slalom team was living in private apartments by the Most na Soči lake (35min drive from Solkan wild water center). The team manager Yannis Skourtis and team coach Ilias Makris were very positively surprised by the surrounding nature and the different possibilities for training that Training in Paradise area offers to the athletes. We wish them best of luck on the water and hope to see them again in the future!
#4 - TRAINING PARADISE AREA HOSTING THE SLALOM & DOWNRIVER JUNIOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Solkan wildwater center (laying on the most southeren point of Training in Paradise) hosted 2 Junior European Championships this year.
On the last weekend of August the Junior downriver Europeans were taking place. Slovenia got 3 medals. Anja Kancler who finished 3rd in C1 women classic individual race is originally from Solkan.
#3 - NEERPELTSE WATERSPORT CLUB VISIT TRAINING IN PARADISE
Neerpeltse Watersport Club from Belgium visited Training in Paradise’s lake Most na Soči in late July this year for a 9 day training camp. They were over 40 athletes and some more coaches and parents carrying with them a huge load of training boats.
#2 - TRAINING IN PARADISE AND LONDON OLYMPICS
In London there were 2 boats from the Training in Paradise area competing with the highest of goals.
Slalom C2 guys Luka Božič and Sašo Taljat were sure able to reach the final and with a great run they would have been in medal contention! At the end they didn’t perform just as well as they were able to and finished a respectable 8th. Just one touch to much and they were not able to race in the final and have a real run for Olympic gold.
#1 - TENNIS PLAYER PADDLING IN PARADISE
Blaž Kavčič is probably the best Slovenian tennis player (Olympian from London and first Slovenian to get inside top 100 on the ATP ranking). After playing a hard match with Novak Đokovič in Roland Garros they decided with his strenght&conditioning coach Klemen Jakše (Training in Paradise team) it was time for a bit of change of environment from the usual tennis courts.