Aaron Osborne

France – Pau and Biarritz

Aaron Osborne — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:48:41 +0000

The last time I was in Pau was for the World Cup in 2009 and enjoyed my stay, but this time I have to say Im really loving it!! The French culture, people, training course, food, wine and atmosphere is all really nice! We are staying just out of town in a farm style accommodation where we get to just chill out in peace and quiet. There’s a beautiful view of the Pyrenees, something to ensure the stay is even nicer. We have been stopping via the local patisserie for some baguettes and the odd pain au chocolat! I have also begun a very much liking towards brie cheese which tops of my baguettes!

We went to Biarritz a couple of days ago, which was our first day off in a while so we made the short drive across to see the sights. It was a beut of a day. The town reminded me of home as it was pretty similar to New Zealand town beach towns. Lots of sun, surf and not much water to swim in as there was heaps of surfers out in the water!! We just spent the day chilling out and checking out the sights. Check out more photos here.

Windsor Castle – Pau

Aaron Osborne — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:39:13 +0000

Before flying to Pau we spent the morning with the Queen at Windsor Castle. Well not quite but we did cruise around the castle and the town of Windsor. The castle is home to many of Englands’ Kings and Queens with many of them buried in the stunning chapel! Its amazing and it was pretty cool learning about the history behind it all. We also got there in time to check out the ‘changing of the guards’ along with a whole bunch of other tourists with their cameras too… We then moved up the castle and had a look inside. There was a heap of cool stuff inside showing off the history of England and its Royal Family.

We then ate some local food in an English pub before heading across town to the ‘Long walk’. It looked pretty long and very nice, however we didn’t quite have enough time walk it only so we had to settle on taking some photos and then boosted to the airport.

A short flight and drive later we reached our destination Pau! Pau is a little town in southern France. its warm, chilled out with good people and has a sweet white water course! We have a pretty cool farm house just outside of Pau where we can rest and recover after paddling at one of the courses in town. There is two courses in Pau – the World Cup course which is artificial and then a natural course further downstream.

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Last days in London

Aaron Osborne — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:24:25 +0000

Our time here in London is almost up. We have spent the last three weeks here just outside of London training at the Olympic white water course. It has been a really good block of training and its been really fun seeing the sights around London on our rest days. We spend another day in central london where Steph and I went and saw Stomp which was awesome!! We also toured around inside the London Tower, London Bridge, Soho and Leister Square. Its also still raining and cold, although we did see the sun on Monday.. The centre will close for a few weeks before the next ICF training at the end of the month so we are heading to France to spend the time training block in Pau and hopefully the sun!

Dubai – London

Aaron Osborne — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:25:57 +0000

Wow it been a while since I updated my website! We have been busy so this is whats been going on. We had a few busy days leading into leaving New Zealand but with a stop over in Dubai we were able to refresh and take it easy before getting to London.

Dubai was awesome! We spent our time shopping around the local markets where we dabbled in a bit of bartering and picked up a few bargains. We were amazed at how big the massive shopping centres are and just the size of everything in Dubai! Unfortunately we were unable to get on our safari as we drove half way into the desert and mother nature decided to have a mad sand storm so they had to cancel it.

Following Dubai we met Ella at Heathrow and headed north to Waltham Cross, our home for the next three weeks. It was such a contrast of weather from Dubai and the 30+ to London where its been pretty chilly with temperatures around 10degrees… Ella had a few problems with her boat not turning up on time but after a few days we were settled in at home and at the course. The white water stadium is fantastic with heaps of features and the clear water makes this course look really cool. Around the course is turning into a bit of a construction site with heaps of trucks and stuff going on (not really sure what they are doing but they all look busy)..

Yesterday we headed into London town with the Australians as it was everyones day off. It was a really good day cruising around the main sights, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge etc. We had a typical english lunch and were lucky enough to meet up with one of Pats friends who showed us around to some smaller markets and took us to her local Indian restaurant. It was a cool day hanging out and a good break from the white water stadium. Today we are back to business as usual and hoping for warmer weather this week!

More photos will be here.

Londons Calling

Aaron Osborne — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:15:41 +0000

Its been great to be home for the last couple of weeks but now its time to say goodbye yet again, pack my bags and jump on another flight out of New Zealand. This time I’m heading to the northern hemisphere to London to coach Ella Nicholas at the London Olympic Games. Our preparation takes us between London and France a few times because of the limited training available at the course in London. We also will race the World Cups before heading back to London for the Olympics in late July. So this year is shaping up really well and I’m looking forward to the good times and challenges ahead!!

Over the Easter weekend the New Zealand Nationals were held on the Buller river in the South Island. The national championships and the secondary schools championships are always a really fun to attend and help out the school teams. It sounded like the race was organized really well and it would have been great to cruise round the south island as the Buller area is wicked for paddling!! However due to this years commitments I was unable to attend this event which means I was not able to compete for the national title or our NZ ranking. For results check out Slalom NZ.

Congratulations to all the competitors who raced and Im proud of the athletes that I have been coaching!

Thanks to the officials and people who actually organize/run our sport! Without them nothing would happen!

Back home, Surfs Up

Aaron Osborne — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 07:35:59 +0000

Last week we finally headed home after a good six weeks in Penrith, Australia training and coaching at the 2000 Olympic course. It was a busy time squeezing in all of the coaching for the NZ U23 Team and the Cook Islands but I enjoyed the trip for sure! All of the athletes improved a lot and the camp went really well!

I arrived home to Rotorua just long enough to chuck some clothes in the washing, have a feed, repack and then I was on the road again heading down to Napier. My brother had come home for a few days so it was great catching up with him and our other friends and family. I know the weather has been pretty bad over the summer but didn’t really mind coming home to rain when the swell is rolling in at the Napier reef. So pretty much as soon as we got there I was out catching a few waves. I have uploaded more photos to my Facebook page.

Gpower

Aaron Osborne — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:58:32 +0000

New paddle designs, paddle bags, rash tops are all included in this special deal. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your paddle needs. Some New Slalom paddles for 2012 are:

KAYAK PADDLES

Rile Ergo - A new flatter blade from the twister allows for better feeling and control with a crank shaft. The shaft is also skinnier than the twister allowing for better control. Sizes: XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL. Price: $825

Rile Classic - The same winning Rile blade with a Classic Straight Shaft. Sizes: XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL. Price $775

Rile Spoon - Slalom K1 spoon shaped paddle with straight shaft. Sizes: XL. Price $775

Rile Mini - Slalom K1 blades for kids. Sizes: One size – however 3 different lay upsPrice: Ranges depending on the type of shaft and lay up. From $400 – $600

CANOE PADDLES

Challenger II - New C1 and C2 white water slalom paddle! A skinnier shaft and a change to the blade gives this paddle more power and control. Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL. Price $525

Challenger Mini - Slalom C1 blades for kids. Awesome for beginners, smaller paddlers and younger athletes. Sizes: One Size. Price Price: Ranges depending on the type of shaft and lay up. From $300 – $400

Hunter - Slalom C1 paddle dedicated for C2 (available from March)

WING PADDLES

Galaxy II - A new wing paddle, excellent for surf ski paddling! A development of the old Galaxy model. Price $725

Ultralight Pro Blades - A new wing paddle available with Blades only or can be attached to the NEW carbon prepress shaft with new kayak adjustable system. Price $500

Watertech Pro Blades -A new wing paddle available with Blades only or can be attached to the NEW carbon prepress shaft with new kayak adjustable system. Price $500