Nova Scotia’s Sammy Hall follows family tradition of paddling success - July 3rd, 2010

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Sammy Hall of Waverley, N.S., can barely remember the first time she first held a paddle in her hand, she was so young.  Now at 17, she is one of the emerging stars on the Canadian junior team and showed that at the Lake Placid International Regatta canoe and kayak competition which concluded on Saturday.

Hall was part of a 22-member Canadian junior that competed at the event against many of the top paddlers in North America.  She earned two gold and two silver medals medals.  Her victories were in the women’s K-1 (kayak singles) 500 and K-2 500 with Marsha McLeod of Oakville, Ont., and her silvers in the K-4 500 with McLeod, Robyn Sutherland of Calgary and Alanna Bray-Lougheed of Oakville and the K-2 200 with Liz Girgulis of Calgary.

‘’I came here to win but still it surprised me to get two gold medals,’’ said Hall.  ‘’It was the first time Marsha and I had paddled together in competition.  But we had a great opening heat. Then in the final when our stroke rate started to go down we just went for power and we shot past everyone. When that moment clicked, that was the highlight for me.  It was great.’’

The 1,000 metres has traditionally been Hall’s best distance, but as she moves up the competitive ladder, she knows she needs to put more focus on the 500 which is an Olympic distance for the women.

‘’It was important for me to come out and show I could compete in the 500,’’ Hall said.  ‘’I’m more of an endurance paddler and I don’t have the luxury of waiting for others to get tired in the 500.  I have to be on my game right from the start, so that’s the challenge for me.’’

Hall grew up around paddling clubs.  Her father Tony Hall is a former coach with the Canadian national team and her mother also coached in sport.  Both her brothers are also competitive paddlers.

Other Canadian junior team victors for the women included Sutherland, Girgulis, Alexandra Joy of Ottawa and Jennifer Thunem of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the women’s K-4 500, Girgulis in the K-1 200 and Lizzy Bates of Oakville, Girgulis, McLeod and Bray-Lougheed in the K-4 200.

For the men, junior winners included the C-4 1,000 with Simon Fense of Regina, Ben Firth of Lawrencetown, N.S., Matthew Warner and Lukas Hetzler, both of Waverley; Hetzler in the C-1 1,000; Christopher Vincent and Joel Castonguay, both of Mississauga, Ont., in the senior C-2 1,000; and Julien Vermette of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Sebastian Sardegna of Mississauga in the junior C-2 1,000.

The ultimate goal for these junior paddlers is to be on the Canadian team for the 2011 world junior championships.

Full results at: http://secure.powerhousetiming.com/powerhouse/webpages/raceResults.jsp?raceId=265

Canadian canoe and kayak team for the 2010 Lake Placid International Regatta, July 2-3 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

MEN

Canoe
Joel Castonguay, Mississauga, Ont.
Ben Firth, Lawrencetown, N.S.
Lukas Hetzler, Waverley, N.S.
Maxim Poulin, Lac-Beauport, Que.
Sebastian Sardegna, Mississauga, Ont.
Julien Vermette, Trois-Rivieres, Que.
Christopher Vincent, Mississauga, Ont.
Matthew Warner, Waverley, N.S.

Kayak
Nathan Desmarais, Sherbrooke, Que.
Simon Fense, Regina
Liam Hatton, Waverley, N.S.
Jarrett Kenke, Saskatoon
Brian Malfesi, Maple Ridge, B.C.
Olivier Therrien, Trois-Rivieres, Que.

WOMEN

 Canoe
Alexandra Keene, Dartmouth, N.S.

Kayak  
Liz Girgulis, Calgary
Sammy Hall, Waverley, N.S.
Jennifer Thunem, Richmond Hill, Ont.
Alexandra Joy, Ottawa
Alanna Bray-Lougheed, Oakville, Ont.
Marsha McLeod, Oakville
Robyn Sutherland, Calgary

More information: www.canoekayak.ca

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