Gemma Hansen hopes all her practice pays off this week in Regina.
The 16-year-old from Prince George is competing for the first time at the Canadian Sprint Canoe Kayak championships that begin today in the Saskatchewan capital.
"I'm really excited," said the Grade 11 D.P. Todd student Monday morning prior to putting her boat in the water at Regina's Wascana Paddling Pavilion for another practice. "The course here is pretty cool. There's a bit of a side wind so it'll be choppy and challenging. But I'm totally up for it.
"My goal is to make the finals and I really want to be in the top-eight."
Hansen is racing in the Under-17 C1 (singles canoe) 6,000-metre distance, U16 C1 1,000m, U17 Women C1 500m and U16 C1 200m events.
After four seasons competing in the team kayak disciplines, she made the switch to canoe last season and hasn't looked back since, improving her times in all the distances. She's been a member of Team B.C. for the last three years.
"In the C1 you're relying on yourself and it is daunting and you don't have a team helping you," she said. "But it's amazing knowing you can do it and push that hard."
She said she's most excited about the 6,000m race which also requires a high level of endurance, but is also a total game of strategy.
The race is set on a 1km long course where five turns are required.
Hansen knows she's up to the task though. She spent the last nine weeks training on Shumway Lake in Kamloops working on her balance, power and technique daily under her long-time coach Stan Marek.
"I've had an amazing summer of training in Kamloops with Stan and I've trained harder than ever before," she said. "Never before have I felt this strong in the boat."
Marek is the head coach of the Kamloops Canoe and Kayak Club and a B.C. Canoe Kayak regional coach.
Originally from the Czech Republic, he's a 12-time Czech national champion and has won five World Cup medals.
Hansen credits Marek for the reason behind her success.
"His coaching and training style is nothing I have ever experienced before," she said. "Every day he manages to make training a total blast, even when you're on the sixth hour of a day's training schedule and you're dying on his 22km practices."
Hansen also spent two months in the spring living and training in Florida and Georgia with fellow athletes from B.C. and Toronto. She also watched the Canadian team trials.
That experience is also making her feel more comfortable this week in Regina.
"It's great seeing all my friends that I've competed against before and reconnecting with them," she said.
Hansen qualified for nationals after a successful run at the B.C. championships last month in Kamloops.
She's no stranger to top-level competition - she paddled in the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que., where her team placed fifth in both the 200m and 500m IC4 (International Canoe four person team).
The national championships wrap up Saturday.
