Innisfail’s Darius Ramrattan and Levi Stevenson are making a splash at whitewater canoe and kayak competitions.
Returning from the national whitewater championships earlier this month with three medals, Ramrattan is on track for his goals.
“I want to go as far as I can with the sport,” said the 13-year-old who just last week placed for the A team with Team Alberta with a time of 1:15 going down the Upper Red Deer River.
Next year he wants to try out for the junior national team, which requires athletes to be at least 14. He’s been competitively racing for the past year, homing in on the sport for the last three. This summer was his first time competing at a national event held in Chilliwack, B.C. at the Tamhi Rapids on the Chilliwack River.
“It was fun, definitely harder than Kananaskis which is where we train.” He said the group got two hours a day to try out the course before competing. Ramratten placed third in single kayak, third in downriver classic, which is long distance, and second in downriver sprint, which is short distance. He missed placing in single canoe.
“I like slalom the most,” he said, adding that the only thing going through his mind during a race is the next gate.
Ramrattan has been travelling to Kananaskis weekly since spring to practise and said in the winter he hits the pool to train.
“The best part is getting to see all the cool places. I was in Colorado earlier this summer,” he said as an example. “I think I was in my tent this summer more than I was in the house.”
Stevenson, 17, agrees. He came back with five medals. He placed first in the junior double canoe, first in junior men’s team race, silver for down river sprint, bronze for down river classic and forth in the junior single kayak.
He said this past year he was part f the national team as well and was in Wausau, Wisconsin practising for the junior worlds in 2012.
“The junior national team doesn’t do a lot unless it’s a junior worlds year which is next year in May. If I make the team I can go to Wausau again for the actual junior worlds,” he said.
Stevenson said he’ll be practising over the year and expects to be out at Kananasksis and other rivers over the winter months getting in some training time.
“The dam is controlled (at Kananaskis) so it doesn’t freeze over so I can go there when there’s snow.”
Ramratten and Stevenson will be in Kananasksis over the long weekend competing in provincials.
