Shipley Settles for Second...Again
Three-time World Cup champion Scott Shipley must have had a serious case of slalom déja vu. For the second year in a row, the overall World Cup title came down to two men in the final World Cup race of the season. And for the second year in a row, Shipley had to settle for the silver, falling once again to Great Britain's Paul Ratcliffe. "It marked the first time in history two of us went into the finals with dead-even scores," says Shipley. "The success of my trip Down Under hinged on whether or not I beat Paul."

Ratcliffe and Shipley each had two World Cup wins heading into October's final at the Olympic Course in Sydney, meaning whoever won between them would earn the title. In their most recent meeting three weeks earlier, Shipley came out on top, besting Ratcliffe by 0.14 seconds at the World Championships in Spain. In Sydney, however, it was Ratcliffe's turn, who took first to Shipley's bronze. "My biggest mistake was in preparing for the final," Shipley admits, of missing his fourth overall title. "The big event of the year was the Olympic qualifier in Spain three weeks earlier. After that I felt spent—and my first workout under the watch since then was the first run of the qualifiers. I should've prepared for the race sooner. If you would've told me at the start of the year that I'd be second on the World Cup and place second at the Worlds I would've been excited. I take a lot of satisfaction from the year, but now I also feel like I came up short on what I wanted to accomplish."

World Cup accolades aside, Shipley is now setting his sights on the 2000 Games, in which the U.S. will field one men's kayak spot. "The Olympics will be a fast race," he says. "The water is very quick and racers will have to change their style radically from last year's slow-water Worlds in Spain. My plan now is to spend the winter training in the Southern Hemisphere so I can get some more time on this course."
—edb

Olympic Slalom Update
Poor showing at World Championships means, as of now, no C-2 spot in Sydney
After the final scores had been posted at September's Slalom World Championships in La Seu d' Urgell, Spain—a race that determines how many boats countries get to field in each class at the Olympics—the U.S. realized its showing could have been better. In 1996, the U.S. qualified seven boats for the Olympics: two in C-1, two in K-1W, two in men's K-1 and one in C-2. The outlook for the 2000 Olympics isn't as rosy. With veteran Scott Shipley finishing second in Men's K-1 and Rebecca Bennett finishing fifth in women's K-1, the U.S. earned only two kayak spots in the 2000 Games, one for each gender. The U.S. earned only one C-1 spot with a middle-of-the-pack showing by Davey Hearn; and no C-2ers finished high enough to qualify, meaning that for the first time in history, the U.S. might not field a C-2 in the Olympics. There is hope, however. "Right now there are only 70 spots for slalom boats in the Olympics," says U.S. assistant coach Kent Ford. "Rumor has it that they'll be spots for 90 boats by next spring. And we have a lot of paddlers sitting right on the bubble now." USA Canoe/Kayak officials are equally optimistic. "Right now it looks about 95 percent sure we'll be able to field a C-2," says USA Canoe/Kayak spokesperson Lisa Fish. "And we might get another boat in as well. But we won't know until May 23, the deadline for when other countries decline their spots." The team trials for who will get to compete in Sydney will be held on Tennessee's Ocoee River April 6-9.

Video Replay Changes Slalom Outcome
The National Football League isn't the only organization wrestling with instant replay. Thanks to a recent ruling at the World Championships in Milan, Italy, whitewater slalom paddlers are also bemoaning its use. The incident occurred during September's finals when kayaker Rebecca Bennett was stripped of a silver medal after a protest by four countries who said she touched gate 14. The protest was accepted after a six-hour jury deliberation that used video replay to determine the paddler's fate.

It's more complicated, of course, than that. After a "Who's on First" scenario involving various gate, sectional and chief judges who saw or didn't see the touch, the matter was appealed to the jury. Testimony and video were admitted as evidence and, after a six-hour deliberation, Bennett was accorded a penalty, which moved her from second to fifth place. The award ceremony was delayed until the following morning. "They've never used video before," says Kent Ford, on site as an assistant coach for the U.S. team. "That's why people from the U.S. were so upset." Although in the end Ford feels the correct decision was made, it was the process, he says, that needs updating. "The real story is that it's long past time for International Slalom rules to get re-written," he says. "Right now the rules stem from the original German rules written in the 1960s. They need to adjust to the modern television and video age, and the International Canoe Federation needs to take a hard look at how to best use video and in what cases. Rebecca put in a great race and just got caught in the middle of the controversy." Even with her demotion to fifth place, however, Bennett can gain some solace in the fact that her finish was strong enough to earn the U.S. a K-1W berth in Sydney.
—edb

Olympic Sprint Update
Bad day at Trials spells no U.S. sprint canoes Down Under
In a repeat of U.S. slalom finishes, the U.S. sprint team qualified only three boats for Olympic berths next October in Sydney—a far cry from the seven U.S. sprint spots earned for the 1996 Olympics. Perhaps most disappointing at September's World Championships in Milan, Italy, was the U.S. showing—or lack of showing—in sprint canoe, in which no U.S. boats qualified for Olympic spots. "I don't know what happened," says USA Canoe/Kayak's Communications Manager Aaron Morgan. "They just had one of those days...everyone had been performing really well up to that point. There is a chance, however, that more boats will get added." U.S. sprint kayakers fared slightly better, qualifying one boat each in Men's K-4 1,000 (Stein Jorgensen, Peter Newton, John Mooney and Angel Perez) and K-2 500 (Jorgensen/Mooney), and Women's K-1 500 (Kathy Colin). The final selection will be determined at the Olympic Team Trials in June.

1999 NOWR
Winners Announced
While it might not earn them the accolades that go with winning the PGA tour or Stanley Cup, the results are in from the 1999 National Organization of Whitewater Rodeos series (NOWR). Competitors earned points at 10 events during the season with their top five placements counting toward final standings. The winners walked away with engraved Kayakapelli statues, certificates and cash prizes. "We're proud of this year's circuit and are looking forward to seeing it grow in the future," says American Whitewater's Jayne Abbot. "It's an exciting time to be involved in freestyle kayaking."

Rodeo Results

Men's K-1	Boat Sponsor	Points
1. Eric Jackson Wave	Sport	300.8
2. Brandon Knapp	Dagger	282.3
3. Macy Burnham	Perception	274.3

Women's K-1	Boat Sponsor	Points
1. Brooke Winger Wave	Sport	86.8
2. Deb Ruehle	Pyranha	78.4
3. Erica Mitchell	Wave Sport	76.6

C-1 Boat	Boat Sponsor	Points
1. Allen Braswell	Perception	54.2
2. Luke Hopkins	Wave Sport	44.5
3. Chris Manderson	Perception	38.5

Juniors Boat	Boat Sponsor	Points
1. Brad Ludden	Riot	111.0
2. Andre Spino-Smith	Riot	84.4
3. Kyle McCutchen	NA	53.6