High school dreams torrent11/11/2022 ![]() But for once in America, race truly didn't matter.Įveryone was naked before God and each other. Dave and I were both skinny Black kids and members of the Chess Club at the mostly white school. My fellow class of '75 alum, Dave Garrett(ph), recalled the rule had something to do with hygiene. And if you were a beginning, even an inner tube. Glen Galen(ph), who graduated in 1969, started a discussion on the message board a few years ago asking why did they do that to us? Actually, we weren't completely naked, you did get to wear a bathing cap. And it's a response, you'd get used to if you went to Lane somewhere between the 1940s, or even earlier, until the late 70s. At dear old Lane Tech, or any public high school, swimming was absolutely required, naked. Good for them, but if Carolina students think their role is tough, they should've been with me in high school, in Chicago, in the 1970s. ![]() It's one of the last universities to do so. During swimming class in high school, he was required to wear the most revealing and drafty garment of all: his birthday suit.ĭid you ever dream that you were completely naked in front of dozens of people? I'm reminded of that after hearing the University of North Carolina is getting rid of its swimming requirement. But commentator Robin Washington warns, be careful what you wish for. Paddlers are given two 45-second rides at the worlds - so all the months of training comes down to just 90 seconds of frantic action in a turmoil of white water.With high temperatures across the country, it's easy to want to wear as little as possible. Over the winter months the paddlers will train together on the bubbling waters of the Kaituna River as well as analysing video tapes of their sessions.įreestyle kayaking is similar to freestyle skiing, where competitors perform tricks using the water to help manoeuvre themselves.įreestyle includes a number of aerial moves with paddlers propelling themselves into the air and rotating their kayaks.Ĭompetitors score points for variety and degree of difficulty. Mutton is the most experienced team member - a former world freestyle bronze medallist, European cup champion and New Zealand's No 1 paddler for many years. She is hoping to improve on last year's 27th placing. "It was an awesome experience and great to see how we measure up," Urwin said. Urwin competed at the last world championships across the ditch, as did Mutton. It's a totally different game here in New Zealand." Most of their juniors are semi-pros and spend most of the year paddling. He has been to three world champs - the first in Spain in 2001 as a 13-year-old, followed by Austria in 2003 and Australia last year. It just means we have to work hard to get there," Simpson said. "It's hard for minority sports and that hasn't changed over the years. The cost of the trip is estimated at $6000 for each paddler and along with the Huka Falls expedition they are working on promotional DVDs, organising concerts and making funding applications. That's the sort of thing done by the world's best, with whom they will compete over three weekends - first on the Ottawa River in Canada, then Black River in New York State, followed by the final round at Rock Island in Tennessee.īoyes is joined by fellow Western Heights High School buddy Sam Sutton, 17, Bethlehem College's Sean Gerlach, also 17, 18-year-old Lawrance Simpson, accountant Louise Urwin, 25, and experienced paddler Ken Mutton. ![]() That means throwing themselves into the torrent pouring over the narrow waterfall gorge which has been measured at about 300,000 litres per second. The dogged kayakers are not sure when they will tackle Huka Falls.īut they know descending the falls will take them one step closer to the world series. ![]() ![]() "Yep, each time the jar gets to $50 we will paddle over the falls," says 17-year-old Nik Boyes enthusiastically.īoyes is part of a determined bunch of Rotorua-based paddlers who have qualified for the World Freestyle Kayaking Series in Canada and the United States later this year. Leaping off a waterfall is a big ask for most of us.īut six freestyle kayakers are keen to go with the flow and plunge over the thundering Huka Falls in small plastic kayaks to achieve their dreams. Daily Post reporter KRISTIN EDGE met a handful of hardcore kayakers who will do that and more to win a world title. Not many people would throw themselves off Huka Falls in a small plastic boat. ![]()
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