...And the parents

And now for the parents in this little competition.  I know for a fact a few of them have been waiting with baited breath to find out what I am going to say.  Before I go any further I must reiterate how cool it is to have so many dedicated parents who have helped their offspring go so far in the world of wildwater.  Good on yeh!

So, who shall we start with?  Who else?

  These are Sue and Rosalee, both mothers of competitors.  I’ll be a little careful what I say about Sue – she seems like the hard but fair mum and as my mum was like that I’m afraid I’m a bit intimidated.  I’ll be reporting all guesses at the identity of her offspring directly to her, so be careful!
Rosalee seems to particularly appreciate the sarcastic admiration meted out by this blog. I’m not sure if this is a reflection of slightly masochistic tendencies, or just a welcoming attitude to recognition for years of driving the van around Australia.

Steve, the first father, has been around the World Cup constantly this year, mostly lifting heavy things, offering sarcastic abuse (we get along quite well) or arguing about whose turn it is to provide the beer.  I get the feeling he will be following closely behind his offspring for many years to come….

Judy is a true Aussie character who supports her offspring, doesn’t handhold, but will pony up for an expensive visit to a European Hospital (no questions asked).  A true gem!

Finally Peter, who we, as the US Team, must thank a great deal for ferrying us around at the Mersey when we didn’t have an additional driver.  And as payment we had the pleasure of paddling with his offspring, when we could keep up (not often).  Peter has become an importer of wildwater boats in Australia to feed the family habit.
I’d like to apologize to all the other competitor/parent pairings, including the other parental halves of those mentioned here, for not including them.  In the interest of time I couldn’t get photos of everyone in a timely manner, and too many photos just take WAY too long to upload at the local cafes/bars/stolen residential wireless connections.  At the end of this trip I’m gonna try to compile a full list of folks I have met, who have helped us out etc, and please hassle me to include you in that.
How to enter the competition?  Well, email me your pairings to mhc_antigen@yahoo.com as soon as possible.  I should get the email on my Blackberry now I’m back in civilization (or at least what Vodaphone call civilization) within minutes.  If you are first I’ll email you back and ask you what 2009 World Cup T shirt size you want,  hopefully there are some left.  If not you get an XXL USACK polo shirt (I’m kidding).