The final event of the 2013 Big Paddle Tour took place last Sunday, and despite the odd rain shower, we had a fantastic day!
So mixing bowls at the ready, here’s our recipe for the ideal paddling event:
First of all take a lovely location, with lots of space, greenery, facilities, and paddling for everybody! A mixture of whitewater and flatwater paddling will yield best results.
Secondly, set your weather predictions to optimistic. This is the UK, so never fear – even when the forecast says rain and doom, you could still be in for a bright and sunny morning!
Perhaps the most important ingredient is a generous serving of of people who have come to experience paddling for the first time. We like to use a mixture of families, young, and young at heart, and then baste them in games, fun and coaching, until grinning and hooked on paddling.
Next up, you’ll need to stir in a good spoonful of expert coaches, offering workshops and advice. We only use the absolute finest available, sourced directly from our supplier at Team Palm.
For a truly rounded and fuller flavour, we like to throw in lashings of freestyle, whitewater, open canoeing, and bushcraft.
Add in a few sprinkles of racing, preferably in a rare but entertaining high performance craft, we like to use the Dagger Green boat for the perfect blend of speed and fun.
Drop in two Ergo machines to keep everybody grinning …
… and a standing up race on a selection of entirely inappropriate craft …
Last of all, the key ingredient to complete any paddling event is a cardboard canoe race! You can use pre prepared boats, or throw in a pile of cardboard, and tape to see what appears. For best results throw in a mixture of both semi-seaworthy and downright ridiculous craft. This will ensure a great race, but more importantly, great entertainment for the audience!
Mix all the ingredients together, and serve on a warm summers day. You’ll be in for a treat!
A huge thanks to everybody at Teesside who helped out with the event, and thanks to everybody who came along and got involved.
We were excited to see so many new paddlers coming along to have a go, and we hope to see lots of you on the water in the future!
Stay posted for a mini video of the cardboard canoe race, coming soon …
A couple of months ago we got given our new Wairoa Tops and Energy Pants. We have been so impressed with them that we can’t stop raving about them! Never beore has Neoprene been so comfortable to wear, flexible and great in so many conditions. The Women’s specific cut of the Energy Pants are flatering and they arn’t hard to put on at all (like other strides in the past) and the combination of the tops and bottoms makes us all look like ninjas!!
Ninja Rafters!
They are sure to become our racing staple, but are great for just cruising around as well when the weather outside doesn’t require dry pants! In fact our Captain Bryony has become so in love with hers that she wears them underneath her dry pants!!!
The Wairoa top, although very snug (to keep you warm) is not uncomfortable and despite our bigger than average shoulders, fits perfectly and does not chafe. When wet they become even more flexible and keep you warm. We are BIG BIG fans! The only problem is that when it is hot and we wear our short sleeved versions we end up with awkard tan lines….
Nezza feeling Olympic in her Wairoa Top.
Rosies Verdict:
These tops are immense!! Never before has rafting felt so good…the Wairoa top is super sleek, warm, comfy and the flexibility and freedom of movement you get when paddling in these is second to none! I also love the blue detailing.
Neo strides: I’ve worn these kayaking and rafting, and just hanging out on the campsite! They’re stretchy and soft to wear, and feel amazing on the water or warming up. Goodbye resistance, and hello freedom! Ooh and they look very lovely too
Bryonys Verdict:
Wairoa tops: I’ve really enjoyed wearing this in the raft, it gives me that extra bit of warmth whilst not taking any flexibility away. The lining is really soft so it feels lovely on, and the black and turquoise combo means that it looks great too.
Energy Strides: I love these, I’ve worn them every time I’ve been in the boat since I got them. Soft flexible material which is thick enough to provide warmth and protection from any knocks or bangs. And teamed with the wairoa tops makes you look like a ninja!!
Our Alps training week started as all Alps trips do: emails and frantic phone calls, long car journeys and plenty of faff (from us trying to sort out what items should go with who, and who was bringing what). There were also disturbing reports of rain on the continent!! HOLD THE PHONE, WE DID NOT SIGN UP FOR RAIN! What we got though was a fantastic week of (mostly) sunshine, awesome river running , training sessions and great company.
SUNSHINE!! quick get your pasty white British skin out!
BEST. SPORT. EVER!
The week was the brainchild of GB Mens’s team Matt Blue who arranged for us to have a developmental week for the GB teams and any other teams who wanted to go out and get some top raft coaching, some river running experience and, let’s face it, a holiday- albeit a pretty painful one !
A HUGE thank you to Matt who put in so much effort to make it all happen. His enthusiasm was infectious.
Not only did we have a GB Training camp, we had a Van with sign writing on it!! Albeit one in need of a good clean!
Over the weekend people arrived in drips and drabs some at more ungodly hours than others, but on the Monday morning we got up and were ready to work it!! The GB Ladies resident Yoga/Cross fit/Stretching secretary Rosie Cripps and Matt organised a WOD for us on the first day (Work Out of the Day) starting at 7:30am. It involved jumping over rafts, doing press-ups (ALWAYS the narrow ones) and getting really really out of breath. I think for the members of the other teams this was a bit of a shock – they haven’t had the time spent with Coach Dave doing Abs 500’s or Body Rock. But it was ace and it got us really pumped for the first day’s rafting, which we spent on the Durance. Through the day we worked our way down the river finishing at the Rab’ wave. There wasn’t a glum face anywhere!
Run Forest Run!! The Warm up. Very necessary.
Our WOD! It was even Raft themed!
After that WOD we were happy to finally be rafting. Day 1 on the Durance.
Day 2 started with Yoga. And wow was our yoga room the best ever!
The Downward Dog. One of the more doable Yoga Poses, yet not the most flattering…
‘Dude, don’t mess with my Chai!’
R2 Sprint Races. We are always competitive, even against each other!
Working on equalising power is really important for raft racing as you want to use all that power to go forwards not around in a circle!
The Red Rose Ladies getting some input from Suzie Jackson.
Day 3 was our ‘event in a day’! We trained doing sprints in the morning, raced endurance against the Masters in the Afternoon and then did 2 ‘race day’ slalom runs in the evening! All before going out for Georgie and Fran’s joint Hen Do! We went out on the town and got thoroughly merry on a glass of shandy! Rock and Or Roll!!!
Deb and Suzie creating some resistance for Bry and Nez. Not saying they are heavy or anything…
…but they are not doing our image of athletes any good – Jeeze Deb at least try to look like you are doing something!
Blue was definitely the theme of the week. Blue Bouyancy Aids, Matt Blue, Blue Water, Blue Sky!! We loved it!
The GB Mens Masters team did a great job at keeping up with us. Definitely new friends made.
Walking the Slalom course, and looking fairly dapper at the same time!
Getting going on the Slalom. It is great to practice on such powerful water.
Not a blow up willy in sight…but I think we still lowered the tone somewhat!
Unlike most hen dos no one had a hangover the following morning which was a good thing too as we were practicing technique on the lake with Matt. Suze, Fran and George had an awesome Eureka moment where body rotation was concerned and were “accessing their core’s “ all over the place!! The afternoon was a little more chilled out for some of the GB Ladies whilst others went and did some coaching with the other teams, but we all got back together for an awesome, adrenaline pumping run down the Guil!
Proper Rivers!!
Don’t let the shrinker vision fool you! That is some tight white water!
Some hard moves to make in a raft, but such good fun!
Celebratory team squats or ‘New Suits’ shot gone wrong? you decide.
Friday, came all too soon in Raft Camp GB. But we definitely saved the best until last. With reports that the Ubaye had a “surprising amount of water” in it, we got up bright and early and set off en-mass to run one of the classic sections for rafting. We had tight technical moves to make, wide open water to sprint on and lots of high-side hazards to avoid. We decided to do run number one of the Ubaye Racecourse like a good box of quality sweets, all mixed together. This meant we had experienced and less experienced people in the same boat because for a few people this was the biggest water they had done in a raft – or anything else for that matter! So with safety in mind we set off and had a fab run. There was much elation at the bottom and a definite desire for double the run, double the fun!
Mixin’ it up. Deb enjoyed being at the back for once…it meant she stayed dry :)
Fran on the other hand got completely soaked without Deb-the-body-shield in front of her. Well I say competely soaked, she would have been if it wasnt for the Palm Swirl cag.
Team Red Rose!! The awesome Northern girls.
The GB Masters Men’s Team. We are so excited they are joining us in New Zealand! Well done boys we know you will do GB proud.
This time the GB Ladies went flat out for Endurance practice, with Matt paddling along in a kayak giving us motivation as we went. However, although it felt fast and powerful, you could tell it was the end of a hard week as the usually ‘loudly vocal’ raft (Susie and Fran!) were very quiet, using the last of their energy to paddle as hard as they could. Once at the bottom there were almost tears (of joy!), loads of smiles and a fair bit of falling over – the seating position does nothing for your joints!
Fran and Suzie’s faces say it all. Thoroughly broken, as they had requested.
The happiness of such a good week was definitely tinged with sadness that we would all be going home soon, and the inevitable and impending, long and tedious drives did nothing to make it any better. But with a wider rafting family having been properly established we definitely have loads to look forward to – especially for next year!
Friends, sunshine and rafting. what more do you need?
Bring on Alps training camp 2014!
For us the ride home was a mix of Elton John, Joseph and the Techni-coloured Dream Coat and very early morning Spanish lessons (in the car at Calais). So not so tedious after all!
Our continued gratitude goes to Palm for kitting us out in the best gear for all occasions and weather.
AND FINALLY…
…our next installment of who’s who on the team:
Georgina Preston, one third of the middle crew, soon to be wife of an Olympian, and all round classy lady answers our questions.
You are one of the longest serving members of the team, how did you get involved ?
I started kayaking at school because the boy I had a crush on also did it (yes, 16 year old girls really are stalkers; but it paid off!). And that was the start of it all! I joined the amazing Whitstable Winter Wallies Canoe Club (also home ground of my later GB Freestyle coach and legend, Pete Catterall), who taught me how to roll and introduced me to rafting. I ended up working as a raft guide at HPP throughout uni and was approached by my friend and fellow raft guide, to start up a women’s team. There had been a women’s team a few years before, but it had fizzled out. I joined up with original members Debs and Nez and we gathered a few more to make our team! Our first competition was the Worlds in Ecuador in 2005 and we’ve been going ever since.
What is it about rafting that inspires you to keep training and pushing the sport?
Honestly – the main thing is the trips away with my best friends! I love being abroad with my chums, meeting up with all the other national teams and having a great time. That is what keeps me going throughout the winter misery of freezing hands and cold splashes in the face! I like to think the training also keeps me buff, but sadly, my rate of eating tends to match and exceed any calories burnt.
Being a Slalom and Freestyle paddler have you found any transferable skills that you can use for rafting?
I would not exactly class myself as a slalom paddler (I eventually reached premier division in C1 Women’s before getting injured and haven’t started competing again yet), but I certainly think that paddling C1 has been good for developing my core strength and flexibility! I train on the left and right to keep me balanced which is really helpful in the raft as I can plop in anywhere. Paddling in general really helps you read whitewater properly. I have also learnt a lot from my super Olympic champ fiancé Etienne Stott who bravely coached me in C1 and taught me so much about the nuances of slalom!
Freestyle is just ace and is really all about getting stuck in, which means I do tend to enjoy a cheeky surf and flips in the raft (summer time only).
What is your most memorable rafting experience?
Floating down the crystal waters of the Tara River Canyon in Montenegro, winning a Gold medal in Bosnia alongside our men, being catapulted from a raft at the top of Okere Falls on the Kaituna, NZ.
What is your most memorable moment with the team?.
Hitting the beach in Costa Rica for 2 weeks of cocktails, chocolate, snorkelling, biking, swimming and monkey watching – after the competition had ended!
Best/worst thing about being in an all girls team?
Team showers! But getting the rubbish shower head.
Thanks George!
Words (of the blog) by Fran Kohn
Pictures by Deb, Georgie, Bryony, Team Red Rose and Chris Dalby of the GB Masters.
In the beginning of March, I went on an epic trip to Chiapas, Mexico!! After a couple weeks of editing the crew pulled off a fantastic edit! – Beyond the Drop.
This trip to Mexico was amazing!! Mexico is incredible – The culture is great, the people are friendly and the rivers and surroundings are stunning!!
– Photo by Tony Czech-1
– Photo by Tony Czech-1
A 30 plus hours flight brought me in Chiapas, were I teamed up with the Teva crew and started the 7 days journey in Mexico! After an epic six hours drive we found ourselves in Aqua Azur, a cute little village at the foot of the beautiful Rio Aqua Azur! Paradise!
We had a super solid crew of boaters with Rush Sturges, Evan Garcia, Aniol & Gerd Serrasolses, Casper van Kalmthout and our local guide Rafa Ortiz rounded up with a sick media crew and Mexican driver! It has been an interesting experience being the only chick on the crew and surrounded by 13 men. Full on, but super much fun
– Photo by Tony Czech
– Photo by Tony Czech
The Azur River has 5 main drops followed shortly after each other, with the highest being a 50fter. The color and temperature of the water, makes you love kayaking at every stroke. After the run you can look back upstream from a viewing platform, which gives you the most amazing view of the river!
– Photo by Tony Czech
– Photo by Tony Czech
Off the river, the historical Maya ruins showed the level of civilization evident in the region thousand years ago, providing entertainment plus some cultural education about the live and history in Mexico.
It was great being on an other adventure living better stories!
Check out www.teva.com
On a Sunday in June, the Big Paddle came to town. It snuck up in the night, and when morning arrived it bought with it tents, gear, a huge fleet of kayaks, and an enormous pile of cardboard waiting to be transformed via imagination and parcel tape.
The idea behind the Big Paddle is that there’s nothing quite like getting out on the water powered by your own paddle, and we want to share our love of paddling with everybody. Young or old, expert or first timer – The joy is the same!
Our Big Paddle events have something to offer for everybody, whether you’re having your first ever go in a kayak or canoe, or you want expert coaching from the most experienced paddlers in the business, and everything in between. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s fun!
The Harlequin Paddler was rescued once again in the Throwline challenge.
Expert advice and coaching was in abundance form the Palm Team.
And some paddlers couldn’t find the water to paddle on, but made the best of it all the same with the Ergo Challenge.
Afternoon came around, and various cunning creations lined up for comedy and catastrophe in the Cardboard Canoe race, which this time around saw flying robots….
… a traditional welsh coracle ….
… prizes for the winners …
… and a swim for the losers, including team paddler Chris who spectacularly failed to navigate the course in Charlotte’s Pirate Ship.
All in all we had a great time, and met a few of the next generation of paddlers, who seem hooked already!
The final date of the 2013 Big Paddle Tour is coming up next weekend at Teesside Whitewater course, so come along and join the fun! We’ve got everything to take first timers out on the water as well, so if you know anybody who might like to come and have a go at paddling, bring them along too!
More information can be found at www.thebigpaddle.com, and you can also find us on facebook – search for the Big Paddle!
The Lunar Orbit is another of my favourite moves. It looks quite complicated but actually it’s much more simple than you might think.
It’s just a Stern Squirt into the bow end of a cartwheel. You start it from a front surf/ blast in a hole. You can even practice the motion of stern squirting into cartwheels on flatwater to get a feel for the move before trying it in a hole.
Step One:
Lift your bow up onto the green water so that you’re sitting in a front surf. You lift the bow using a big sweep stroke and place the nose of your boat slightly pointing in the direction you plan to rotate.
Step Two:
As soon as you reach the front surf, drop your upstream knee so that your edging upstream (catching the water on your tail), at the same time as this tense your core & look around in the direction you’ll rotate and using the back of your blade pry the boat into a stern squirt.
Step Three:
Now your boat will have gone vertical and started to rotate around that prying blade. To keep it in control have a marker directly upstream of you and keep looking ahead of the boats rotation ready to spot that marker just before you slam the bow down again.
Step Four:
Having spotted your upstream marker, switch your pry stroke into a push stroke, keep your weight forwards and aggressively as you can push the bow under the water.
Finishing the move:
After this last end you can either do a big back stroke to make sure you retain in flushy features or in more retentive spots you can continue into more cartwheels or other moves as this move links very well.
Main points to remember:
- Make sure you set your angle & edge correctly on the initiation.
-Keep your core tensed and use your pry to stop yourself from just catching an edge and falling over upstream.
-Look ahead of the boats rotation ready to spot that marker.
-Play around with how far back & forwards you lean during the move to get it fine-tuned.
Our journey to Lienz in Austria had quite an urgent start. We’d been training in Plattling, Germany. There is free camping all along the riverbank in the nature reserve there, the water level was high but not too bad but in the night whilst we’d been sleeping the level had risen dramatically as storms across Germany had thrown down heavy rain.
We awoke to find the bridge off the big island where we were parked completely covered with water, at this point it was only slightly too high to drive the van through. Normally police & officials come when a flood is coming to warn all campers to leave before they open the dam upstream. This time however even they got caught unawares as the whole construction site for building a new bridge, cranes, containers, sand, wood, and portable toilets were all flooded and being washed away.
We were fine and since we had our kayaks we could get most of our stuff to the side but the van looked a bit doomed if the levels rose. Anyway it took a few hours for rescuers to arrive and with the level now nearly a meter deep over the bridge two huge trucks came to lift us out and rescue our little van. We made it (obviously) after a very exciting morning and thought that now would be a good time to head to the mountains of Lienz. As the news showed the week after, it was a good move as Germany had the biggest floods of this century!
Lienz is a beautiful mountain town in the Dolomites popular for cyclists, hikers, climbers & kayakers. It’s also been the site of numerous European competitions, this year they were holding a smaller event but it would still attract quite a few international paddlers coming to compete.
The hole used to be quite sticky but over the winter it looks as if the rocks have shifted creating a challenging flushy wavey hole. It’s difficult to do full rides here but moves go very big. It’s also very good training for Worlds here I think.
The competition started on the river Drau amidst glorious sunshine, with a jam session format for prelims and normal rides for finals.
In the womens final girls did better than I expected given the challenging nature of the hole and all got big loops and some other moves too, Nina Csonkova was 1st, Katya was 2nd and Lucie Horka was 3rd.
Katya with the biggest loop I’ve ever seen!
In the mens I was really fired up and have been treating all comps as warm ups for worlds so I was really wanting to give my best. So I did I won with 300 or 400 points difference, the first win for my new Carbon Dagger Jitsu! 2nd was Martin Koll from Germany who’d had very sick moves in prelims and 3rd was GBR’s Matt Cooke a very good friend who came out of retirement for the competition! It was great to paddle with Matt again in competition, as he was one of the paddlers I really looked up to when I was younger and who helped me loads in my progression as a freestyler.
Thomas Zimmerman the organiser & owner of the La Ola shop here really knows how to put on a good event. Even though it was a small rodeo, we had everything you could wish for. Sun, good friends, big moves, good prize money, free camping, free dinner & drinks all evening, it really made it one of the most fun events to be at. Organisers of World’s should copy this
The locals also showed us one other spectacle as many of them had climbed up all the nearby mountains to light fire beacons of crosses and Christian symbols in memory of the Austrian war with France from years ago which coincided with the prizegiving party so it all added to the great experience!
My new Carbon Jitsu is really flying, now I’ve got it all outfitted and am getting used to it, it’s just getting better and better, I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out, we’ll be finishing off the promo video for it in the next few weeks so keep a look out!
Video from my training & competition: http://youtu.be/uDO6JEzn_Wg
The English Rafting Committee are committed to growing the sport of Raft Racing, and over the years the social races put together to include and encourage people within the sport have been growing in popularity. Last years’ race in Llandysul was a great example of the British Raft Race Series, but more recently in May we had a Rafting Extravaganza in Matlock, Derby on the River Derwent. Development within our sport is really important to us, we want people to love Raft Racing as much as we do, and better teams who race frequently in the UK will only improve the standard of racing and ensure this great sport grows and continues!
The GB Women showing full commitment to their Slalom
The Junior Team putting some effort in!!
There were 9 Teams racing over the weekend all of whom brought support crews and groupies! It was a fantastic social event with loads of networking, swapping of training ideas and general sweaty rafting
Officially it was the Youth and Junior selection weekend to decide the young teams eligible to go to New Zealand, but everyone wanted the chance to race and we really love seeing the development of our sport, so we got together and put on an event. After all who is going to carry the baton once we are all too old?!!!
Being in time is really important! – so is smiling at the camera Rosie!!!
Yes this is what it looks like…we got beaten at the head to head…none of our chimps were happy with THAT race!!!
The Red Rose Girls line up for the slalom moves.
Team Oarsome are so good they only need 4 people and a dog!!!
GB Rafting, The Next Generation?
We held a full event over the 2 days and also gave teams time for training. Deb Cook and Hoopla from the ERC also did a spot of coaching here and there. Highlights of the weekend included en-mass warm ups in the sunshine led by GB Women’s very own Miss Rosie Cripps, Bracket the rafting dog and some Kick Ass racing!
Is it a Yoga convention?
Yes, this actually was part of the warm up. Inspired.
Thankfully Health and Safety were taking the day off :)
The girl who was making it all possible, the more we stretched, ROSIE CRIPPS!
Bracket the rafting dog…reducing everyone to wobbly knees, very very cute.
Well Done to the Youth and the Junior Teams who showed their skills and are now eligible to go to New Zealand!!
The GB Juniors Team. Well done Boys.
Well done to the GB Youth Team!
But a HUGE THANKYOU must go to Hoopla and Deb for putting so much time and effort into organising the event, becasue without their commitment these things just woudn’t go ahead. As usual there were no photos of Deb…I think she is camera shy, but here is a stunning one of Hoops. Model agencies contact the email address below.
Hoopla doing Blue Steel?
And Palm, you have excelled yourselves with the gear this year. The new Palm FX Bouyancy Aid is amazing and we can’t wait to represent at The World Champs 2013!!!
Thanks Palm!! We look so smart we just can’t stop smiling!
And a teaser for the next blog coming very soon from our Training Camp in the Alps…
SUNSHINE!!!
If you want to get a team together and join in please contact Deb Cook at britishraftracing@rocketmail.com
This winter I made my annual pilgrimage to Africa to surf some of the biggest and best waves in the world.
As always I had an awesome time and you can see some of the footage from my trip in the FX promo video below. Unfortunately in my infinite wisdom in deciding to save my money and not buy anti malarial tablets, I unfortunately caught Malaria, collapsed and broke my hand. This weigh laid me a bit with my progression in kayaking as I couldn’t get out on the water or train properly, So with thanks from a friend I cut short my trip to Africa and flew back to the Uk to get fixed up
It was a pretty miserable time, England was covered in snow, I couldn’t paddle due to my hand and selection was fast approaching.
Anyway long story short, my hand healed, selection was postponed, I made the team in the first available position and will be competing at the World championships later this year.
Selection is always a hard time for me as I have to back of on performing combos and focus on strict run plans. Luckily this only fuels my desire to create new moves afterwards, here’s a couple of moves I’ve been working on.
The GoPro Mountain Games are the nation’s largest celebration of mountain sport, lifestyle and music featuring top professional and amateur athletes from around the world. The environmentally-friendly adventure sporting event hosts approximately 3,500 outdoor athletes, along with an estimated 45,000 spectators.
Yesterday the GoPro games kicked off with the Bud Light Lime Steep Creek up in Redcliff. We had a beautiful day with sunshine and juicy water levels. The race format was different than previous years as an extra run was added. All the racers have two runs and only the top 3 women and top 5 men made it through to the finals for a final run.
At 10am the chicks started the race, with me being the very first racer on the course. We had a great high flow, which made the steep course even more full on. I had a couple of little mistakes in my first run, but made it safe to the finish. Despite spinning around at the top flat part of the course I had an awesome second run, dialing in my lines and scored the fastest women’s run of the day, 1.58.91.
Usually this is the final result of the race, but this year we were half way and had one more final lap to go. Nathalie was off first and had a solid run, not making many mistakes. One of the most solid chicks paddlers around Adriene Levknecht, had an unlucky run as she got pushed off line and was surfing a hole for quite a while.
In the men’s Mike Dawson managed to pick up another back-to-back win in, winning the Mountain Games for the 4th time. His fiercest competition Dane Jackson had a very unlucky first run taking a swim at, leap of faith, the bottom drop of the course. Bryan Kirk and Nick Troutman finished up the top 3.
- Photo’s by James Dawson
For complete result, click here (pdf). For more information on the GoPro Mountain Games go to www.gopromountaingames.com.
