House, U.S. Team know the route to London 2012

GAINESVILLE -- Morgan House knows exactly what he and his teammates must do to clinch an Olympic berth this summer, and it starts by beating the Chinese.

It sounds almost too simple -- and there will be plenty of other factors at play when House and the rest of the U.S. National Team's four-man kayak (K-4) compete at the sprint canoe/kayak World Championships in Szeged, Hungary in August. But for the Gainesville native, the difference between a trip to London in 2012 or staying at home may hinge on edging his Chinese competitors.

"Anything can happen, of course," said House, who grew up training with the Lanier Canoe Kayak Club. "But right now we've got our crosshairs on China. They only beat us by one second at the last World Cup, so I think that's doable."

House -- who is back in Gainesville for a quick break before resuming training for the races in Hungary-- learned what he and his K-4 teammates are up against thanks to two recent World Cup events in Europe. And, judging by the U.S. team's performance and the current set up for Olympic qualification, beating China's boat may indeed hold the key to House's dreams.

"To qualify for the Olympics, we either have to be in the top 10 at the World Championships or be in the top three of continents represented," House said. "So right now, we're competing against the rest of the Americas (including Argentina) and China."

That's not to say that the U.S. boat is only focused on one set of foes -- House and his teammates are aiming for the best possible finish at the World Championships. But the recent races in Europe -- which were by no means a disappointment -- have given the U.S. K-4 boat a better idea of how to succeed.

"We improved a lot in a short time in Europe, and we identified our weaknesses," House said of races that took place in the Czech Republic and Germany. "Now we're going to get to work on correcting those weaknesses."

In order to maximize their performances, House and his teammates are preparing to push themselves to the limit over the next few weeks.

"It's funny, on video we'd see ourselves paddling, and we looked great, but we just weren't going as fast as some other boats" said House, whose four-man crew finished 15th and then 14th overall at the two European races. "It's time for us to stop looking pretty and get out of our comfort zone."

Thanks to a device called a Mini-Max that House and his teammates -- which include Australian-born twins Luke and Jake Michael and Hawaii's Pat Dolan -- attached to their boat in Europe, the squad received a detailed breakdown of how it performed. The machine calculated the type of details unnoticeable to the naked eye, such as the fact that the U.S. boat started strong but tapered too quickly before ramping back up for the finish.

"We were great out of the start, but then we'd drop too quickly," House said. "Your start is always going to be the strongest part of your race -- no matter who you are -- the thing is, you're supposed to slowly drop from there. We were dropping too quickly to try and save up for a strong finish. We can't do that. We've got to maintain as high a level as we can the whole way."

With that in mind, the U.S. team will return to Hawaii on Monday to commence a grueling month's worth of work.

"We're going to kill ourselves for four weeks, then bring it down a little to get ready for the World Championships," House said. "As a team we've got plenty of strengths. We've got good balance on the water; we're all strong, physically; technically we're good paddlers; and we are good finishers. It's just a matter of putting it all together."

House has no doubt that he and his teammates will do just that over the coming weeks.

"We're all really close, good friends," House said. "There aren't any egos. And we're all focused on the same goal."

The extra time together will also be crucial for a squad that previously trained just three weeks in the same boat -- each had to qualify for the K-4 through individual races at the U.S. team trials.

"We've improved so much just in the little time we've trained together," House said. "By the time we get to Hungary we'll have had more like eight weeks together. So that will be huge."

Unfortunately not all of that time will be spent solely on training, as House and his teammates must continue to raise money for an Olympic program that is currently self-funded.

"If we qualify for the Olympics, then the (United States Olympic Committee) will step in and start funding us," House said. "But right now it's a struggle. We're constantly sending emails and asking for money. I think when people see me coming now they want to run. Everybody in the (north Georgia) community has been supportive, but we have to stay on top of it."

To that end, House and his fiance Emily Vinson -- who narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Women's Canoe/Kayak Team but could still qualify in further time trials at Lake Placid, N.Y., in June -- continue to hold fundraising events whenever possible -- like the one they will host this Friday at Peach State Bank in Gainesville. The event will last from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include a raffle for a grill, amongst other prizes. The couple -- who will marry in November -- also rely on other donations, such as the 100 t-shirts donated by Rick Boyd and Chattahoochee Marketing Group that House sells via his web site, www.housekayak.com.

"Those shirts are huge; we usually have to buy them, but now whatever we sell will be all profit," said House, who must also train under the uncertainty of his coach's future.

Guy Wilding, former LCKC coach and current U.S. national coach, will see his salary stopped in the coming days after funding from USA Canoe and Kayak proved insufficient.

"I'm not sure what will happen, but right now, Guy's sticking with us; that's how much faith he has in us," House said. "Guy's the man. He's the kind of person you work hard for. You work for yourself, but you also want to improve for him."

Over the next few weeks, House and his teammates will be pushed to the limit by Wilding in an attempt to reach their peak. And while the Gainesville native will come home in late July for the U.S. national club championships -- hosted by the LCKC -- his entire focus will be on Hungary.

"We're excited; Guy's excited, especially after the second World Cup," House said. "We feel like we can improve and get it done."

"(The latest results have) European crews, plus one crew from Oceania (Australia) and one crew from Asia (China) in front of USA right now," Wilding said after the most recent World Cup. "The goal for Olympic qualification is to finish inside the top 10 crews and/or finish as one of the top three continents. After the two World Cups, I am confident that with some solid preparation in Hawaii during June and July that this is a realistic goal for the boys."