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AllFlying |
White-Water
Adventure
Raging currents
and choppy water. Two-metre drops and scattered rocks. Bruised bodies and
physical exhaustion. As Sarah Carson discovers, this is all in a days
work for Australian white-water rafting team member Sandy Di Ciero...
 Imagine being in a boat surrounded by swirling rapids, where the voices of your
teammates are barely audible above the roar of water hitting jagged rock. As you
frantically try to manoeuvre your way around the course, your arms ache from
continuously thrashing a paddle into the strong current and your sides ache from
the force of a competitors paddle smashing into your body.
But as the white frothy water cascades into the boat, and the
screams of your captain to go harder and faster ring in your ears, none of these
matter. Your eyes look past the threatening rocks, the swelling water and the
fierce competitors and all you can see is the finish line metres ahead. With one
final surge your team crosses that line and each collapses from exhaustion on
the riverbank.
It would seem only masochists would sign-up for torture like
this. I mean, who wants to risk broken bones, bruised limbs and near drowning on
a daily basis? The answer to that is Sandy Di Ciero.
In 2003, an 18-year-old Di Ciero left home to begin a TAFE
course with Outdoor Education Group in Eildon, Victoria. It was here she fell in
love with paddling and being on the water, spending all of her spare time out on
the river in her kayak. During a 'fun-raft' competition at Penrith's White Water
Stadium (the home of the 2000 Sydney Olympics white-water events) early this
year, she caught the eye of the captain of the Australian women's white-water
rafting team.
"She saw how long my arms were," Di Ciero laughs,
and seeing as the team was one member short they quickly recruited her into the Foxy
Ladies.
Training began for the International Rafting Federation's
World Championship 2005 competition, held October 12-16th on the Quijos River in
Ecuador, South America. Fortunately for Di Ciero, in the months leading up to
the competition she was internationally recruited to raft guide in Canada, and
during the Northern Hemisphere's summer she transformed her body into peak
condition for the World Championship.
Peak condition was definitely needed for the arduous
competition, as 40 teams from 27 countries descended on the small South American
country for five tough days of events. Each of the competitors were amongst the
best in their country and despite the obvious drive to win, Di Ciero is quick to
enthuse that most of the teams were really friendly; "it was still
competitive, but totally welcoming."
The race consisted of three main events: sprint, slalom and
down-river. Sprint is known as the most aggressive, requiring two teams to
engage in a head-to-head battle down a river filled with rocks and rapids.
Slalom is all about strategy, with the team needing to co-operate and draw on
high levels of skill to manoeuvre around 12 gates. Down-river is arguably the
most physically demanding time-trial, requiring the team to navigate their way
down a class IV river (challenging) for nearly an hour's time.
The Foxy Ladies placed 5th in the sprint (with the
second fastest time of the day), 3rd in the slalom (getting to stand on the
podium), then 6th in the down-river race. Overall the points accumulated in each
competition awarded them 5th place, losing first place to the Czech Republic.
Despite not becoming World Champions, the experience of
competing with friends was one of the most beneficial things of all. "The
team gelled really well together. Our experiences varied- some had a few years
and others had ten. And some knew each other from previous races. Not only was
it great fun in the raft, but it was great fun outside the raft."
And how could they not have fun in an incredible place like
Ecuador? "We were rafting right next to the Amazon; where the bank
finished, the jungle started," she said. Di Ciero and another team-mate
were the first of all the competitors to arrive in Ecuador, and took advantage
of their early arrival to take the locals- who didn't speak a word of English-
out rafting for fun.
"The locals basically took us in as their country because
there was no Ecuadorian women's team." This made the cheers for the
Australian women's team unusually louder than what was expected.
Once the final race had been fought and the winners were
announced, a massive closing ceremony party ensued with all the countries coming
together to celebrate the five days of exhausting competition. "It didn't
matter what you came (in the competition)", she proudly admits,
"everyone was there for the same reason."
Whilst Di Ciero isn't sure how far she wants to take her
white water rafting career, she does hope to join the Foxy Ladies once
again in the World Championships next year, likely to be held in Korea. She
believes the Australian team will be "a much stronger force", as they
now know what to expect after this years competition.
And despite all the bruises, the physical exhaustion and what most
would describe as 'near death experiences', Di Ciero is hooked on this sport.
"It's the fact that not only are you paddling with five other amazing women
who are there because they know what they're doing," she says, "but
because one person can't make a huge difference where the raft goes. But
together, all six can."
As she told Women Specific, the experience is something
that "no one else will ever understand ... unless they were sitting in the
raft right next to you."
The Australian Women's
White- Water Rafting Team is sponsored by TEVA, Astral Buoyancy, Rudy Project
and FNA.
For more information on this event head to:
www.womenspecific.com
www.2005wrc.org
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