Hi folks, donŽt know if someone is familiar with canoe polo, the game where the biggest problem is to get the horses into water.. :-)) OK, serious. Next week will be the WM in Essen, in the middle of the "Ruhr-area". Coming Sunday is the long opening ceremony and from monday to following sunday a great bunch of nations will fight out the next World Champion titles. I donŽt got the complete list, but there will be half Europe(D, NL, BEL, F, CH, I, SU, P, E, ..?), Kiwis, Down under, Argentina, Brazil, CAN, USA, S-Afrika, aso. I will be a member of one referee-assistant team for the complete chamionship, great honor for me and a very rare chance to see so much games from the first line. If you get some connections to some of "your" team members - I would be happy to meet some new faces. AND the shop from Zoelzer (www.zoelzer.de), our most famous manufacturer for touring- and see-paddling equipment, is only very few miles away, maybe a good chance for some "orders" to your teams?? Everybody (as I know) will get a card which allows to travel by public transportations systems (busses, "tube", railway), so no problem to get to Essen-Kupferdreh. IŽll camp there a few days and will travel some days between my home and Essen also. IŽll get my PW-Shirt with me and while in Essen, my cell phone No. germany +175 45 74 224 Tomorrow late afternoon will be next meeting, IŽll be there.. bye Jochen Grikschat *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
After a grate effort the Argentinean team should be arriving these days to Germany to participate in the world cup. It's been really hard for the guys to find support with the situation Argentina has being going through during the last years. I don't know the details but I'm sure your country ( Germany ) helped a lot for this to happen. I'm really glad they made it. Only two or three of the players are former slalom competitors who used to play kayak polo for fun in informal events, but that was in the 80's. Argentina never had something like a national kayak-polo team. Four years ago some of these guys and me started to play for fun and as a way to practice and train technique for whitewater and seakayaking. We played in a small lake of a public park in the heart of Buenos Aires, and immediately captured the attention of the people who started to show interest and learn how to play ( and the police and authorities who wanted us to stop doing it because they considered it too dangerous, but after "disobeying" long enough we convinced them we were experienced enougth to make it safe for us and for enyone who wanted to learn ). We welcomed everyone, teaching them for free and shearing the kayaks we had and after a year were able to form two or three teams to play and practice. We were playing with old perception's "dancer" and / or any kind of "short" boat we could get. But the practiced brought some confidence and with Brazil hosting the last world cup 2 years ago and the proximity with Argentina, the will to participate grew higher and higher. Regulations required to belong to a club and be certified by the Argentinean Canoe Federation ... (burocracy) ... so we created our own club, and with a lot of effort became certified, and so Argentina was able to participate in the 2000 world cup in brazil. Most of the players entered a polo kayak for the first time during the practices right before the match there in brazil !!! I couldn't assist then but I know we won many things there, from a respectable and honorable last place, to the sympathy and friendship of all of the other players. I believe it was the president of the International Canoe Polo Federation himself who congratulated the guys for their labor and "invited" them to go to Germany these year, I don't know the limits of this invitation but I'm sure was generous enough to make it possible. The trainer of Spain visited us some months later and gave us some classes and grate advice. I left Argentina almost a year and a half ago but I know the guys have been working hard all this time, and have done even the impossible to be there. I will only add that most of our "guys" are in their late 30's .... pretty old to be there ... but our main goal is to gain reputation to attract more younger players to take their place, and this is why even a last place is still a victory for us. Another proof that it IS NEVER LATE in life for acomplishments. But to make these "polo" related message valid in this "sea kayaking" forum, I want Jochen, and whoever might be present there, to know that among our team is my "brother" Martin Grondona, one of our most experienced whitewater and sea kayakers of Argentina. Martin circumnavigated the famous Cape Horn ( Cabo De Hornos ) and last year the " Isla de los Estados", the famous island referred by Jules Verne on his book, "The Lighthouse At The End Of The World". Both destinations situated by "Tierra Del Fuego" at the south of Patagonia and the southernmost tip of land of the entire world, area of extreme cold where the local breeze is called "The Roaring Forties" ... beyond that ... Antarctica. And for the whitewater fans, he also run the Futaleufú, in Chile, one of the bravest. If you have the chance to meet him I can grant you lots of fun and interesting conversation, he loves to talk so all he needs is a ear to listen ... ;) If you do so, please give them my regards. Thanks for reading this message that involves a lot of emotions and affections to me and thanks to everyone involved in the world cup and the hosting of our players. >From Maui paradise ... on the other side of the world ... and with "No-one" to play some polo with ... Fernando Lopez Arbarello *** KAYAK ARGENTINA *** http://home.earthlink.net/~kayakargentina *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks for your great answer, Fernando. I donŽt know details, too. But it will be a honor to meet a look for your "brother". :-)) ItŽs a great chance for me, because IŽll try a partial translation of the Expedition Report by Jim Hargreaves, Frank Doodman, Nigel Matthews and Barry Smith. They circumnavigate Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego in 1979 (!) and in the Report are many things I donŽt understand and I would be glad to get some qualified help. How funny, world is a village, means the world of sports is real small. The ICF president is Ulli Feldhoff, he is also the president of our national canoe fed. and was Chief de Mission from the german olympic team in Sydney. He is well known as a real sportsmen and IŽve just told this little story about the argentinian team and their problems to some media (TV and Press) persons. WeŽll see what will happen. IŽm not sure your team might be fixed for the last place, there will be an Iranian team also... Ex-Slalompaddlers are really hard to beat in canoepolo. I keep my fingers crossed that they get what theyre looking for.. I got now the website for the WM www.kanupolo-wm2002.de, donŽt know if its available on english. But should be. Well, IŽll be in Essen this afternoon, will have a look for your team. > even a last place is > still a victory for us. Another proof that it IS NEVER LATE > in life for acomplishments. Yipp! I always said, it doesnŽt matter if you lose a game or a tournament, so far you got fun and pleasure by the game. bye - Jochen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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