David’s final race of the season is the Premier & British Open on 30th and 31st October at Nottingham’s Holme Pierrepont white water course. This is a great opportunity to go and see slalom canoeing and David racing: Qualifying races take place on the Saturday and the finals will be run on Sunday 31st.
After the international travel of the last few months and the pressures associated with competing against the best in the world, David is looking forward to this last race of the season at his home base in Nottingham. For anyone wanting to see the action first hand races spectators are welcome and entry is free, but there will be a small charge of for parking.
This week (and last week too) David has been working closely with the GB Canoe Slalom senior coaches in evaluating his performance from the summer, which includes scrutinizing videos of his races. The outcome will be a tailored strategy to maximize success for the 2011 season and working towards the Olympics in 2012. A focus on physical improvement is also complimented with psychological support, David explained, “our sports psychologist helps us to cope with the pressures of competition. The set backs can be devastating, but it’s important to learn not to dwell on them and instead to take something positive from each performance.”
Enjoying a little more freedom and a less structured training regime, David is still paddling twice a day at Holme Pierrepont, practicing his technique in the C1 and C2 canoes. However, this is all about to change, with a new strategy in hand, winter training will commence on the 18th October.