There is often some difficulty in paddlers who move up from racing at the local races to racing at the big races on artificial courses. It is a difficult transition for many because there does not seem to be much middle ground between the smaller, class 1-2 local races on natural rivers and the major races that are held on artificial courses and are much more difficult.
This can be discouraging to paddlers trying to move up, since it does not seem like there is a normal progression of difficulty, like any coach or teacher would like to see. In school, you gradually move up in difficulty. No one would expect a first grader to finish first grade and then move on to college. Yet, that is what we seem to expect of paddlers trying to move up the ranks.
Here is one helpful suggestion in making the move. First, move on to more difficult whitewater without any gates. Get comfortable on big water. Practice running rivers, surfing waves and holes, making moves, catching eddies, doing ferries, rolling, playing, etc. on big water. Swim down some rapids for fun. If you get comfortable on big water, you remove the fear factor which gets in the way when you move to the bigger races.
If you are good on the class 2 type race courses and you are very comfortable on big water and have a bomb-proof roll, then and only then can you make the move to bigger races. It is too difficult to make the move from class 1-2 natural rivers to class 3-4 artificial courses that are international level of difficulty. Instead, if you separate the 2 skills- the gate skills and the big water skills first, then you will have a sufficient foundation to start paddling on the big race courses.
Notice, I said you could paddle on the big races at that point- not race on them. Even if you have great skills on easy water gates and big water skills, you should first practice on the bigger courses with gates before you race on them.
With smaller races, you can arrive and then just race on the course. With the artificial courses, you can't do this. You need some practice time on the course before you race on it. You can't show up and your first run on the course is a race run. Don't bother going to the race if you can't get there at least a day ahead of time to practice on it, unless you already have a lot of practice time on the same course.
This transition is a difficult period for many young racers when they make the move up. They may be used to winning local races and then they get to the big races and find themselves in last place. They need to be prepared to have realistic goals. For your first big race, just making all the gates may be an appropriate goal.
But the big water race experience is crucial if you want to move up the ranks. You just want to make sure that it is done in a proper progression so that the athlete isn't set up for failure. You want it to be an enjoyable experience. Separating the skills of big water paddling and gate skills first is the way to make the transition more appropriate for developing boaters.
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