Slalom in the dessert

Slalom in the dessert - February 27th, 2014 As seen on CKC website

by Haley Daniels

The Canadian National team is in the final days of their winter training camp in the United Arab Emirates. In the city of Al Ain resides a wonderful picturesque mountainous oasis in the dessert called Wadi adventure. Although an unlikely place for a whitewater course our time here has proved as some of the best training leading up to the 2014 competing season.

 Ben Hayward, Cameron Smedley, Michael Tayler, Adrian Cole, Alexandra McGee, Thea Froehlich, Jessica Groeneveld, Florence Maheu, Haley Daniels, Jazmyne Denhollander (photo: Michal Staniszewski) 

Members of the slalom team take a break from riding the waves to ride some camels.

The course is a winding continuous whitewater paradise with narrow eddies and technical holes and waves. Many of the world’s best paddlers have been training here for the winter which has made it an ideal place for us Canadians to learn from the best!

The culture is very unique as religion is a large part of the Emirati lifestyle. Most Emiratis’ wear traditional dress which for men consists of a long white dress shirts and baggy white pants down to the ankles, often paired with a red and white scarf on their heads. Women are dressed in long black dresses that cover all skin except for ankles and wrists; this is also often paired with a scarf that covers most of their faces and head. As an outsider it came as a bit of a shock to be constantly covered, especially because the temperatures are so warm.

We followed the Sochi Olympics closely while training here. We had to fiddle with cable connection of our television set, but eventually we were able to find a British commentated channel to watch the competitions live. Though our visit to the UAE was strictly for training we made the best of our days off and ventured to explore the surrounding areas. We contacted the Canadian Consulate in Abu Dhabi to find the best place to watch the men’s Gold medal hockey game. We were told of a small sports bar in the heart of Abu Dabhi that was filled with Canadians ready to cheer. It doesn't matter where Canadians are in the world we still hold to the stereotype of being exuberantly friendly and very passionate for the game of hockey.

The training camp has been amazing and I can say without a doubt that Wadi Adventure has become my favourite course. We have laid down a solid foundation of physical and on water training and are ready to attack the 2014 competitive season!

The Wadi Adventure whitewater park opened in 2012.___________________

Haley Daniels is a member of the National Slalom Team from Calgary, AB. She competes in Women’s C1 and has been training with her Canadian teammates at the new course in the United Arab Emirates for the past several weeks.   View