By Ollie Williams

Andrew Hadfield and team-mates will train at Zoetermeer in Holland

Britain's top slalom canoeing hopefuls have travelled to Holland for the latest in a series of training camps.

The aim is to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games and, with the GB selection event being held here in April, these individuals are hoping practice makes perfect.

Andrew Hadfield knows qualifying will be a tough task.

The 23-year-old's hopes for Beijing rest on squeezing out Athens silver medallist Campbell Walsh.

Campbell Walsh's guide to kayaking

606: DEBATE Who will go to Beijing?

"I've probably got about three or four rivals," Hadfield, who is based in Nottingham told BBC Sport.

"Campbell Walsh is the favourite and Richard Hounslow was fourth at the World Championships in Brazil last year - they're my big two rivals.

"But we've known each other for a long time so we get along pretty well."

Not all the slalom contenders have made the trip to Zoetermeer in Holland. Hounslow, for example, opted instead for a month of warm weather training in Australia.

While Hounslow will also use his time in Australia to take part in a World Series race, Hadfield will be working on raw technique in Holland.

"On this camp there'll be 18 paddlers, but not all of them will be racing in April," said Hadfield.

Athens silver medallist Campbell Walsh is favourite to go to Beijing

"We'll be here for five days doing a lot of technical work, very physical and very tiring, with a lot of runs down the course."

Hadfield is a rising star of slalom kayak, having taken up canoeing at the age of 14.

He studied for an economics degree at Loughborough University before turning to slalom full time in a bid to reach the Olympic stage.

This is not his first visit to Zoetermeer. At last year's Dutch Open, held at same venue, he finished ahead of compatriot Hounslow in fourth place.

Hadfield believes qualifying for the GB team could come down to the slightest individual error - "it's very tight, you're talking a second or two" - and the Zoetermeer course will not help.

"Zoetermeer is very big. The gradient is eight metres over 250 metres, whereas my home course of Holme Pierrepont [at the National Water Sports Centre] is about three over 600.

"That means the water moves a lot quicker and you have to be on your toes. Any hesitation is punished severely.

"And when the penalty for touching a gate is two seconds the margin is very small, but that's the nature of slalom."

Hadfield and his Beijing rivals have three more camps in which to fine-tune their approach to Zoetermeer before April's selection event, comprising two races in Holland and one in Nottingham.

Hadfield has earmarked London 2012 and the Broxbourne canoe slalom course as his best chance of a gold medal.

But with three British paddlers in the top 12 at last year's World Championships, whoever qualifies for Beijing will hope to reach the Olympic podium.

Andrew Hadfield is among the British athletes BBC Sport will be following during the countdown to Beijing 2008.