Matt Becker Checking In...
April - 2011
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to fill everyone in on the last race I competed in and add some pictures for your viewing enjoyment ahaha. I guess you could call this a press release, but I see this as a "is that kid still paddling?" reminder email. On another note, I recently competed last Saturday in the Silver Blade Regatta at the Chula Vista olympic training center. The event was mainly a step for C1 and K1 paddlers trying to qualify for the olympics, and they tied in the standup race event on the side. The reason there was and is so much conversation about the event was because it displayed standup paddling potential as an olympic sport. The event was watched by the head members of the USA canoe and kayak association, which has a seat on the International Olympic committee. If they decided to adopt stand up paddling into their program, it would be a huge step toward making an olympic event for Stand Up Paddle racing. But this particular event was one small step toward that goal, which is why I and many others believe it was so important.
It was one of the more exciting events I have competed in, and I was happy with my results. I won my first heat for the 200m sprint, and placed 4th in the final heat of the 200m sprint. I also took a close 3rd behind Anthony Vela and Slater Trout, and nabbed 2nd in the relay event with Anthony Vela and Dayna Deuter As far as the results for the overall mens event which consisted of the compiled points gained from the each heat of the 200m sprint event and the 2000m sprint, I tied for 2nd place with Dan Gravere. I beat him in the 2000m event, and he got me in the 200m final. It was an interesting event, and one of the few that really organized the separate events and times.
Anyway, thats about it. I attached some pictures to be used for blog postings, and I hope everyone got a kick out of this. Up next I'm flying to North Carolina with my Uncle John, Jim Terrell, and Joe Bark to go race and check out the east coast scene, and should make for some interesting stuff. Thanks for the support and look forward to representing everyone again.
Cheers Everyone,
Matt
