Celbridge Paddlers Canoe Club - News Archive 2002

News Archive 2002

It's that time of year again! Yes, it's THE TURKEY RACE (Sunday, December 22)

Marathon de La Loire, France (September 2002)

In September 28/29^th a group travelled to the Marathon de La Loire in France including Ciara O Toole, Adam Hetherington, Graham Buggy and Fiacha O Muire to compete over a long course ( 16 km and 26 km depending upon age ) against the French and a strong visiting British Squad . Due to work commitments we were unable to provide a Team leader to accompany them on this epic journey. Angie Egan and Kevin Lynch in Salmon Leap did the honours this time and took our paddlers with them on the trip and many thanks to them for doing so. Well, all those long paddles and circuit training with Wesley over the winter for the sponsored paddle certainly paid off. The results were excellent with Jenny Egan winning her class and Ciara O Toole taking third place. In the boys U14 class Barry Watkins was first and Adam Hetherington was third. Both Graham Buggy and Fiacha O Muire did the K2 event but some rudder difficulties caused them to retire prematurely. E.F.

World Marathon Championships, Zamora, Spain (September 2002)

The rearranged Marathon Worlds took place in Zamora in Spain in late September and our club interest focused on the up and coming K2 crew of Fergal Walsh (16) and Ciaran Fleming( 15). In what was their first major International race they were up against very stiff competition and more experienced and older crews. Despite getting cramp during the race they performed extremely well and finished within 10 minutes of the winning crew. Hopefully they will have many more years ahead of them at this level. E.F.

Great Outdoors Junior Liffey Descent (September 2002)

Over 120 young competitors from all over the country braved the swirling waters in this years Great Outdoors Junior Liffey Descent held on 28th September. This has become a major event on the domestic marathon calendar in recent years and great credit is due to Eamon Devoy, Gerry Keane and everyone who helped out on the day. Needless to say the club also had some great results – Eoin Doohan and David Keane were first in the Boys K2 (over 15), Darragh Fleming and Patrick Martin (SLCC) came first in the Boys K2 (under 15), Orla O’Toole and Áine Fleming came first in the Girls K2 (under 15), Sheena Devoy was first in the Girls K1 (over 15) and David Ellis came first in Boys GP (under 15, there were 50 competitors in this class!). There were many other brave performances – well done to everyone who took part. There are some excellent photos of the race on the ICU website (especially the one of Áine and Orla about to take a swim at Lucan!). V.O'S.

Jameson Liffey Descent (September 2002)

Our numbers were slightly down on previous years but we had some excellent performances nonetheless in this years Jameson Liffey Descent. The highlight of the event was Celine Devine's 3rd place in the Women's Senior K1 class. Páraic Keane had a superb run in the Men’s Senior GP crossing the line in 8th place in a time of 2:33 (there were 215 competitors in this class). In the Men’s Junior GP class David Ellis and Paul McKay came in 5th and 6th respectively both in a time of 2:46. Peter O'Toole (overcoming age and petrification!) did the fossils proud coming in 12th in the Masters GP class in a time of 2:49. Andy McDonough was 16th in the Mens Senior K1 class in 2:20. Cormac Walsh had a good run in the Men’s Senior Wild Water class crossing the line in 8th place in a time of 2:27. In the Touring Kayak Doubles Brendan Ryan and son Andrew came 7th in 2:36 and the determined pairing of Brendan Lavery and Brendan Buggy weren't far behind in 11th place with a time of 2:47. There isn’t enough space to mention everyone here but congratulations to everybody who took part (full results are available on the ICU website). The 'Rookie of the Year' award is a toss-up between Kevin Durkan (only seven swims!) and Stephen O'Sullivan! V. O'S.

Neil Fleming - a Summer of Success (August 2002)

So what’s our world champion been doing ?
Well in May Neil was selected to compete at World Cup 1 at the Mechelen regatta in Belgium. He made the B final in the 1000m and set two new national records for a junior of 1.45 for the 500m and 3.45 for the 1000m.
At the Bochum International regatta later in June he finished fifth in the A final over 500m won the B final in the 1000m. That result set him up for the European Junior Championships in Zagreb in early August. He was disappointed not to make the final in the 1000m event there when his arm locked up in the semi-final due to a shoulder strain. But some emergency help from the physio with the British team ( thanks Carla) helped him stay in the competition. He went on to make the final in the 500m and finished an excellent fifth overall.
In July he was called up to the Senior Sprint Squad to do K2 1000 m in Seville at with Brendan Maloney. Crew boats can be difficult to put together because the paddlers have to have compatible technique and it takes time to gel together in the boat and get it to run fast. You also have to get used to your boat partner and to sort things out if its not working. Out of 44 boats on the start list Neil and Brendan finished 16^th in the Senior World Championships and 7th in the B final setting a new national record as well of 3.20 for the 1000m. Brendan later teamed up with his brother Conor and went one better finishing 6 th in the K2 500m B final and set another new national record as well of 1.30 . "There was great coverage of the event on Eurosport over the 4 days." Said Neil. The "Seville tapes " are available for a small fee !

On the Marathon front Neil had planned to defend his title in the Czech Republic in August but the floods in eastern Europe meant that the event in Tyn Nad Vltavou was cancelled. He did however do the Marathon World Cup 2 in Maribo, Denmark in June in preparation for it and won the Gold medal there. He was disappointed to miss the Liffey Descent in September and the rearranged World Marathon Champs in Spain due to illness. E.F.

British Marathon Championships, Bedford (July 2002)

The British Marathon Championships were held in Bedford on July 27& 28^th and again a large contingent made the journey. A great weekend was had by all and base camp was set up with most people camping in St Neots . The weather was fantastic all weekend. We had great results again winning gold silver and bronze medals.
First off we had a gold and silver in Under 16 K1 with Ciaran Fleming just pipping Fergal Walsh for the title .The pair later teamed up and won a bronze in the Under 18 K2 class. In the Under 14 K1 Barry Watkins from Salmon Leap finished 4^th and Adam Hetherington was unlucky when he was spun out shortly after the start . This energetic pair also did the K2 Under 14 and won a bronze medal and then completed the U16 K2 finishing 7 th . The girls were not to be outdone and Ciara O Toole finished 7 th in the Under 16 K1’s and was 4 th overall in the Under 18 K2 with Sheena Devoy . Fionnula Walsh was 9 th in Under 14 K1 and our youngest competitors Orla O Toole and Aine Fleming were 6 th in the Under 14 K2 .
Earlier on both girls competed in the Lightening class with Orla finishing second and Aine 6^th. In Div 4 Cormac Walsh finished 17 th in a large field of over 35 competitors. Graham Buggy finished 9 th and Fiachra o Muire finished 16 th in Div 6 singles and 15 th in the doubles. Darragh Fleming finishing 4 th in Div 9 singles and later teamed up with Paddy Martin and finished 4^th in the Div 9 Doubles. E.F.

British Sprint Championships, Nottingham (July 2002)

In July 6 /7 th we were back in Nottingham for the British Sprint Championships with a large squad . The highlight of the weekend were some excellent performances in all the junior classes -

Boys B K1 500 m Final 1 David Keane 1 st
Boys C K1 1000 m Final 1 Ciaran Fleming 1 st
Boys C K1 1000 m Final 1 Fergal Walsh 3 rd
Boys C K1 500 m Final 1 Ciaran Fleming 5 th
Boys C K1 500 m Final 1 Fergal Walsh 7 th
Boys D K1 500 m Final 1 Adam Hetherington 7 th

Mens A K1 1000 m Final 1 Neil Fleming 3 rd
Mens A K1 500 m Final 1 Neil Fleming 5 th

Boys A K2 500 m Final 1 C.Fleming / D. Keane 4 th
Boys C K2 1000 m Final 1 C.Fleming / F. Walsh 4 th
Boys A K4 500 m Fleming/Walsh/Fleming/Keane 4 th
Boys C K4 1000 m Fleming / Walsh/ O Muire /Ellis 3 rd
Boys C K4 500 m O Muire /Ellis/Golding/Brennan 6 th
Boys D K4 500 m Hetherington/Watkins/ Fleming /Hastings 1 st
Boys D K4 1000 m Hetherington/Watkins/ Fleming /Hastings 3 rd

Girls B K1 500 m Final 1 Sheena Devoy 3 rd
Girls B K1 200 m Final 1 Sheena Devoy 3 rd
Girls B K1 1000 m Final 1 Sheena Devoy 7 th
Girls C K1 1000 m Final 1 Ciara O Toole 3 rd

Promotions -
Both Fergal Walsh and David Keane were promoted to Boys A

In total 3 British sprint titles were won by Celbridge Paddlers in 2002.

Junior International Sprint Regatta, Bochum, Germany (June 2002)

In June ( 15/16 th ) a group from Celbridge Paddlers and Salmon Leap went to Bochum for the Junior International Sprint Regatta . Some of the paddlers flew out for the event and others went overland with the boats via the UK. Our accommodation was organised by our friend Beate and we stayed in the Bochum Canoe Club just a short distance from the course. A large group of helpers also made the trip including Eamon Devoy, Angie Egan, Deborah Watkins and Cathi Fleming.
The squad from Celbridge was Neil Fleming, Fergal Walsh, Ciaran Fleming, Dave Keane, Sheena Devoy and Darragh Fleming with Barry Watkins, Jenny Egan and Robert Lynch from Salmon Leap.
We did not go home empty handed and the junior paddlers came home with some medals - Gold in K2 to Watkins and Lynch and Silver to Watkins in K1. The regatta was a great experience for the paddlers with most making it through to the semi final stages in the under 16 and 18 age classes. In the Junior International Class Neil was fifth in the A Final of the 500m and won the B final in the 1000m event.
Out team tent was " taken by mistake by the Ukranians " and returned with a pole missing. ! E.F.

Freestyle Pre-Worlds 2002, Graz, Austria (June 2002)

The Irish Freestyle team which went to Graz in Austria at the end of May to compete in the Pre-Worlds 2002 included our own Paul McKay. Paul, one of two juniors on the team, came a very creditable 32nd in a field that was dominated by the USA, France and Britain. Both Paul and Robert McKay competed in the 2002 European Freestyle Championships held at Thun in Switzerland. Paul reports that all the teams camped on a local football ground in the middle of a military area and they were regularly woken up by the sound of tanks rolling by and military aircraft flying overhead! Despite the broken sleep the Irish team did well against a huge international field with Paul and Robert coming 24th and 42nd respectively.

Junior World Wild-Water Racing Championships, July 2002 (May 2002)

Eoin Doohan has been selected for the JUNIOR WORLD WILD-WATER RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS to be held on the 19-21st of July on the river Tryweryn, Bala, North Wales. He has already participated in training camps there and will be assisted by Team Coach Keith McGuirk and Sean Martin as team leader. It promises to be a great event and with the race only 1 hour from Holyhead offers an opportunity for those who want to support our paddlers in this high-profile event. For more details go to: http://www.juniorworlds.info/

Success in the Devizes to Westminster Marathon for CPCC crew (March 2002)

Tadgh MacIntyre and Olivia Grattan pulled of a stunning result in the 52nd Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon over the Easter weekend. They came second in the mixed senior doubles in a time of 23 hours and 51 minutes. Of the twelve mixed crews who started only four actually finished. Devizes to Westminster, sometimes referred to as "The Canoeist's Everest", is a 125 mile canoe race which has run every Easter since 1948. Starting at Devizes wharf, the route follows the Kennet and Avon canal for 54 miles to Reading, where it joins the Thames. Another 54 miles later it reaches Teddington Lock, ending 17 miles later at Westminster Bridge, after a grand total of 125 miles (201 kilometres). The overall race was won by the Irish crew of Jim Morrissey (Dollymount Sea Scouts and Mick O'Meara (180 Kayak Club) in a time of 16 hours and 54 minutes.
Tadgh and Olivias' support crew were Anita Grattan, Donal MacIntyre, Paul Heuston, Sean Martin and Sally Foster. Two of them, Anita and Paul, kept going non-stop throughout the night and ran about 15 miles! Photos of race can be viewed on http://homepage.mac.com/seanmartin and more general information on this extraordinary race may be found at www.dwrace.org.uk

Sponsored Paddle (Mar 2002)

82 Mile Sponsored Paddle on the Grand Canal from the Ringsend Basin to Shannon Harbour.
The major fundraising event this year is going to be an historic sponsored paddle from Dublin Bay to the Shannon River via the Grand Canal. The event will take place on the 28th to 30th March 2002 (the Easter weekend) and will involve our best paddlers (mainly juniors but the odd fossil might be tempted to confuse their ambition with their ability!) who have been training for some months for this gruelling challenge. The course (which is approx. 82 miles) will be divided into sections of about 10 miles each and groups of paddlers will paddle alternate sections in relays.
We will be publishing a colour Souvenir Brochure to mark this special occasion for distribution to the local communities in Celbridge, Leixlip, Lucan and Maynooth and to the many canoeing organisations throughout the country.

ICU Marathon Committee AGM (Jan 2002)

The Annual General Meeting of the Marathon Committee, which took place on January 19th was well attended. Thomastown Paddlers won the Riba de Sella trophy for the second year running and Celbridge retained the McClean cup, as the second best placed club. We were narrowly beaten by Thomastown as the top junior club. Ciaran Fleming was presented with an individual medal as the top ranking junior K1- under 16 paddler in the country. A special presentation was made to Neil Fleming in recognition of his tremendous achievements at a world level.
The outgoing marathon committee was re-elected, including Eamon Devoy (Secretary) and Gerry Keane (Records Officer).

Merry Christmas and a Happy (and successful!) New Year!

Junior Liffey Descent (Sept 2001)

The Junior Liffey Descent 2001 was held on Saturday 29th September in glorious sunshine (despite the dire weather forecast!). There was a great turnout from all corners of the country and the race was an unqualified success. Congratulations to Eamon Devoy for being the main organiser and driving force behind this annual event. Congratulations also to those who did rescue at the weirs, the mountain rescue people at Leixlip bridge, the Red Cross, the ICU, Salmon Leap Canoe Club, Kings Hospital School and last, but definitely not least, to the young competitors and their support crews.
Well done to all of our junior members who competed. I won't name everyone here (the full results are up on the ICU website) but our medalists included Fiacra O Muire/Neil Fleming (2nd Boys Open K2), Emmet Moore/David Keane (3rd Boys Open K2), Eoin Doohan (2nd Boys K1 Over 15), Ciaran Fleming (1st Boys K1 Under 15), Sheena Devoy (2nd Girls K1 Under 18), Graham Buggy (3rd Boys GP Under 16), Peter Monaghan (3rd Boys GP Under 15), David Ellis (1st Boys GP Under 14), Ciara O'Toole (1st Girls GP Under 16), Craig Ryan/Ciaran Murphy (3rd Open Canadian).

Home is the hero! (Sept 2001)

A surprise party was held for Neil Fleming in the Kildrought Lounge, Celbridge on Tuesday evening. Neil had just arrived back after twenty four hours travelling from Brazil (accompanied by Gabor) and was probably ready to collapse into bed when he was successfully diverted to the Kildrought where a large crowd of family, friends and fellow paddlers had gathered. A delighted Neil took it all in his stride (he even managed to sing a few songs!). Music was provided by Peter Mangan and proud father Eamon Fleming hosted the event. Neil was presented with his gold medal (which he didn't have time accept after the World Championships) by the Irish team manager Deaglán O Drisceóil (who had accepted the medal on Neil's behalf at Stockton-on Tees). A good night was had by all though, naturally, proceedings were overshadowed by the appalling terrorist attacks which took place in the United States only hours earlier.

Liffey Descent 2001 (Sept 2001)

The annual Jameson Liffey Descent took place on Saturday, September 8th. This event is one of the biggest and most popular down-river races in the world with over a thousand paddlers competing including large contingents from Northern Ireland, England, Wales and South Africa. The Senior K2 event was won by Nic Oldert and Colin Simpkins of South Africa and the Men's Senior K1 class was won by Gary Mawer (Salmon Leap) with Fergus Cooper (Contrast) second. The Women's K1 class was won by Eileen Murphy (Salmon Leap) ahead of Alice Rawlinson of South Africa.
Celbridge Paddlers had some terrific results - David Keane and Emmet Moore took gold in the Junior K2 event with Sheena Devoy and Ciara O'Toole coming third. Fergal Walsh won gold in the Junior GP class and Wesley Burke and Keith McGuirk won the Racing Canadian Doubles.
Well done also to Joe Furey and Emmet O'Brian (4th Canadian 3s). Well done to 'fossils' Peter O'Toole, Gerry Keane, Vincent O'Sullivan, John Dunne, Brendan Lavery, Brendan Buggy for getting down in a respectable time! John Keane, Ciaran Fleming, Paul MacEvoy and Tino Marchetti all did well in the Men's GP class. Andy McDonough put up a stirling performance in the Men's Senior K1 event. Brendan and Andrew Ryan had a great race in the Touring Kayak Doubles (12th) as did Craig Ryan and Niall Jones, Garnet Orange and Gerard Memery. David Ellis was our youngest competitor in the Junior GP class and he completed the race in a very competitive time as did Brendan Keane.
The full results are on the ICU website.

2001 World Marathon Championships, Stockton-On-Tees (Sept 2001)

NEIL FLEMING IS THE JUNIOR WORLD MARATHON CHAMPION!
Neil took gold at the inaugural Junior World Marathon Championships held in Stockton-On-Tees over the weekend of 1/2 September. This is a major win for Neil and an historic and significant coup for Irish paddling. There is a full report on the event (including video footage and an interview with Neil) on the website www.now.com. Click on the Sports channel and then on the Arena section and the report is on the second page under the heading 'Canoeing: Marathon Success for Spain'. Gary Mawer also did very well coming in fourth place in the Mens Senior final. Neil had little time to savour his unique victory as he had to catch a plane to Brazil where he was competing in the Junior World Sprint Championships.

British Marathon Championships, Norwich (July 2001)

As is the tradition Celbridge Paddlers had a full strength team at the British Marathon Championships held in Norwich on 28th/29th July. There was also a large contingent from Salmon Leap and Thomastown. There was also the traditional medal haul! (5 Gold , 12 Silver, 4 Bronze and 3 Mars Bars!). Click here for a full report by Eamon Fleming.

European Marathon Championships, Gyor, Hungary (July 2001)

The European Marathon Championships were held in Gyor, Hungary over the weekend of the 14th/15th July. Neil Fleming pulled off a stunning result taking the silver medal in the junior men's K1 class. He only missed the gold by a whisker!
Click here for an excellent report on the competition and it's results written by Eamon Fleming.

2001 World Freestyle Championships, Spain (June 2001)

The 2001 World Freestyle Championships were held at Sort in northern Spain from 25th to 30th June, 2001. The Irish team included our own up-and-coming junior freestylers Paul and Robert McKay. A brilliant week was had by all with the cream of the worlds freestylers competing in the man-made 'pit' on the river Noguerra Pallaresa which flows from the Pyrenees. The event was predictably dominated by large teams from the USA, Canada and France (those with the budgets!) but the Irish held their own reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals in most events. Paul McKay reached the quarter final of the Junior Men's K1 event. Pretty good for his first international competition. Well done lads!

Marathon Season Kicks off (April 2001)

The domestic marathon season finally kicked off with the first race at Celbridge Paddlers on Sunday, April 15. A good day's racing was had by all competitors with some exceptional performances from our own juniors. For the results of this race go to our Calendar page. The club also sent a team of juniors to the sprint regatta at the Dorney Lake facility of Eton College, Windsor, Bucks on April 21/22. Watch this space for a report.

We got our new jetty built just in time for the home race. Well done to all involved!

Foot And Mouth Crisis (March 2001)

The domestic marathon season was due to kick off with a ranking race on the Grand Canal at Robertstown on March 4 but the current foot-and-mouth crisis took hold in late February and all ICU canoeing events have been cancelled or postponed in line with government guidelines. For the latest news on this matter please check the ICU website. Travel to events abroad, particularly to the UK, are similarly affected.

Quiz Night (March 2001)

Our first table quiz (in living memory!) was held in the Kildrought Lounge on March 10th and was a great success. We had a packed house with 23 teams competing. A good night was had by all with lots of spot prizes and craic. Thanks to everyone who supported this event. A special thanks to Eamon and Cathy Fleming for organising everything and running the show. Nice questions Cathy! (I think Eugene had a hand in it also!)

Freestyle success (Feb 2001)

Our junior freestylers are going from strength to strength under the watchful eyes of Phil McKay and John Dunne. The recent Junior Freestyle weekend (3rd and 4th Feb) at the Sluice involved both coaching and competition and was organised by the ICU Freestyle Committee. Fionn Daly, Robert McKay and Paul McKay came 7th, 8th and 9th respectively in the competition. Colm Dunne, David Ellis and Andrew Ryan also took part in what was a very successful and exciting event. Robert McKay is currently ranked number one in the junior category. For all the latest on the domestic freestyle front visit the ICU Freestyle Committee website.

Marathon AGM (Jan 2001)

The AGM of the ICU Marathon Committee took place on the 20th of January at the Red Cow Hotel. The meeting was well attended and many issues were discussed. Various trophies were presented to both clubs and individuals. Thomastown Paddlers were awarded the Ribadesella Trophy for best club overall (well deserved) with Celbridge Paddlers taking the McLean Trophy for 2nd place. Celbridge Paddlers won the trophy for best junior club (well done to our juniors!).

Neil Fleming was presented with a cup in appreciation of his outstanding performances at the World Cup and World Championships. Emmet Moore was the well deserved winner of the boys K1 category.

All the usual suspects were elected to the committee for 2001 including our own Eamon Devoy (secretary), Gerry Keane (records officer) and Alison Ketterick.