After coming home for a couple days, I was already flying across the country to attend Canadian National Championships in Chilliwack, BC. I was extremely excited to attend this competition because this is by far one of the most breathtaking parts of Canada. The downfall of this competition was that there was very little water in the river since it was a very dry and hot summer. Nonetheless, we tried to make do and have fun in the river surrounded by beautiful mountains. With only three days to really paddle, it was not ideal however it did not stop us from having a good fun race. This race was particularly enjoyable for me since it helped me forget about panam politics
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Since we combine our slalom nationals with downriver nationals, I decided to also participate in downriver sprint C1 and K1 where I surprisingly did as well in C1 as I did in K1. This was my first downriver sprint race and surprised myself by coming in front of Jessica Groeneveld, Florence Maheu and recently crowned pan am champion Jazmyne Denhollander.
On Saturday, we hosted the U23 and Jr. Slalom Nationals. I was stoked to be back in my C1 however I was also excited to start my big debut racing kayak! In canoe, I was happy to win both races, retaining my U23 National Champion title. As for kayak, I was so excited to be out there racing and came in third behind Jazmyne Denhollander and Florence Maheu. It was a pleasure to share the podium with these great ladies.
The most important day took place on Sunday – this was going to be the determining semi-finals and finals races that would crown the national champions. Once again I paddled in both K1 and C1 since I had so much pleasure doing so the days before. In K1, the competition became a bit tighter; I struggled to end up with a podium finish however I was still satisfied with my first K1 race. This will have been my first time consistently paddling kayak. As for C1, I dominated the overall weekend, winning semi-finals and finals with some solid runs. I was very happy to 
prove myself that I am capable of throwing down consistent racing runs that were fast and precise. This was a great push of encouragement for me. Becoming Canadian National Champion was an awesome feeling after having taken a step back from slalom. Jessica Groeneveld also became K1 Canadian National Champion and I was so happy to share that moment together.
To celebrate this achievement, many of us decided to stay a bit longer and paddle. We ended up going to the cost of the ocean where we surfed an awesome wave called Skookumchuck and the next day headed to Washington for a day of hiking before heading home.
Overall this was an unforgettable week. I am overjoyed with the racing and adventures I got to experience.
Thanks Rfort Fotos for the great shots!
ALEXANDRA MCGEE 