<b>Alexandrians Medal at Junior Olympics</b>
Alexandria siblings Liam and Eliza Malakoff returned from Canada this week toting a bouquet of gold and silver medals from the Junior Olympics whitewater games in Ontario, Canada. The twp-week-long event drew more than 100 competitors from around the world, and included five major races on some of the most difficult whitewater rivers in North America.
“It was an incredible experience,” said Liam, 16, a rising junior at T.C. Williams High School. He won a gold and four silver medals, racing in single and double canoe. Eliza, 11, won a gold and three silvers paddling a single-seat kayak, and was the top under-12 girl in the event.
Both Malakoffs are serious about the sport of whitewater “slalom.” In races, they must navigate their boats down a twisting course through a series of "gates" hung above fast-moving rapids. It can look like a cross between ballet and pinball, as the paddlers bounce over waves and carve graceful arcs through the poles. Both are part of a D.C.-area team coached by Dana Chladek, a two-time Olympic kayaking medalist, and sponsored by the Bethesda Center of Excellence (BCE), a nonprofit group that promotes paddle sports.
This year’s success was particularly sweet for Liam. Last year, in his first Junior Olympics competition, he failed to finish his races after flipping in the rapids and having to escape his canoe. He trained hard all year, so standing on the podium this year “was a great validation,” he said. Eliza, competing in her first major competition, was also thrilled with her performance. “I can’t wait to get back on the river,” she said.
<b>T.C. Williams Basketball Clinic</b>
T.C. Williams girls’ basketball coach Cavanaugh Hagen is hosting a summer clinic for girls ages 7-17 and boys ages 6-12. The one-week clinic will take place between July 27 and Aug. 1 with sessions running from 4-6:30 p.m. The clinic is just $75, which breaks down to $12 a day. There are also a few scholarships available upon special situations.
The clinics will feature individual team competition, skill work, awards, a talented staff of counselors including North Carolina-bound Northern Region Player of the Year Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, and guest speakers of all levels.
For more information contact Cavanaugh Hagen at cav484@gmail.com.
<b>Youth Baseball Registration</b>
Registration for Fort Hunt League fall baseball is now open. See the "Baseball" link at the top of the fhyaa.org Web site for information on our baseball program.
Register online at http://fhyaa.org. For questions, contact the President Paul Murphy (FortHuntBaseball@msn.com) or Registrar Jeff Lerner (fhll.registrar@verizon.net).