‘… There are some waterfalls up there. I don’t paddle waterfalls, but I think they look good to go…”It’s about 7AM when these words drift into my dew sprinkled sleeping bag. They come from a passing kayaker, keen to pass on some river info. Gratitude will come later, but for now all I can manage is a vaguely interested mumble. It’s been light since 4AM, and before that it was only dim, which is one of the issues with sleeping in the open when you’re this far north. Nobody likes to be woken early, and it seems that even being a thousand miles from anything you’d call civilisation doesn’t guarantee you a lie in.
We’d been on the road for a week, on a hastily assembled trip north to enjoy the last of the snowmelt. Although technically in Nord Norge (North Norway), Hattfjelldall is a mere 6 hours north of Trondheim and therefore considered a southern outpost by true northerners. The rivers however, are as good as anywhere in the world, and as well as top class paddling, we had enjoyed fine weather, fishing, lakeside camping, and freshly picked blueberry pancakes. Now nearing the end of our trip, we were sleeping peacefully on the pristine shore of the Unkervatnet, when aforementioned kayaker Pål strolled into camp, to share some info on a nearby river; yet to be fully explored.
The river in question is the Eiteraaga, which translates as something in English, if you also speak Norwegian. Although its lower stretches have seen many descents, there is a steep canyon high up the valley which we’re told it involves a short, steep hike, and some waterfalls. It is with hope more than expectation that we head up the valley. Hucking tips from those who ‘don’t paddle waterfalls’ are unreliable at best, however the weather is good, the berries are ripe, and the snow has all but melted, leaving us with limited paddling options.
Upon arrival at the take out we are presented with the following view, as we hike up the valley, things only get better …
A huge thanks must go to Pål Kalleberg for telling us about the waterfalls, and big love to Nini Bondhus, Tom Budd, and Nick Pearce for top paddling adventures.
If you like you can see my Go Pro footage from the trip here:
If you haven’t already been, the North of Norway is a must for any whitewater paddler. The documented rivers are some of the best anywhere, and there are still countless rivers yet to be discovered by paddlers. Go there!
I’m now looking forward to some autumn paddling in South West England, bring on the rain.
The fuse came into Palms line up a few years ago and from the beginning was a clear favorite with freestyler paddlers throughout the world.
Clean cut, manufactured in conjunction with the Glideskin gasket seal and latex wrist seals to provide total dryness and level of comfort that is unmatched and available in two bold colors
The cut of this dry top is perfect for high performance movements, Just enough extra material to allow you to move un inhibited, whilst still stopping you from looking like your dry top is a hand me down from a far bigger sibling.
Many people have doubted the Glideskin neck seal since it’s arrival in the Palm line up a few years ago, However all users of this type of seal have been converted to the comfort and simplicity that it offers. In the past Freestyle kayaking in salt water with a latex seal has always been brutal on my neck and produced pretty horrible abrasions, these are a thing of the past with my new set up in the fuse dry top.
Wrist seals, Nothing new here, latex under seal to provide dryness and neoprene outer seal to protect the latex and provide additional dryness, I like the fact that there are no adjustable tabs to come un velcroed when kayaking and that once again simplicity wins.
The waist tunnel features a double seal with a light weight lyrca material as the under layer to further promote freedom of movement and comfort. Velcro adjustment tabs allow you to fasten the otter layer in place and complete a dry seal between you and the spray deck.
I have been using this dry top almost everyday for the past 2 years and couldn’t be happier with it.
This year we discovered a new place we love to paddle & train – La Pilastra in the city of Salt Catalonia. It’s a small playspot hidden away in the city 10 mins from the beautiful Girona it’s a ideal place to paddle and stay.
European Mens champion Quim invited us here to his home spot earlier in the year and we really enjoyed the hole, the place & the people so we were excited to be invited to the Salt Kayak Festival this last weekend.
The competition attracted most of Europe’s top freestylers & even some of the top creek racers so the level was as expected very high.
The first event to go was the boatercross, involving paddling in a course around various buoys, having to complete 3 rolls, then getting out half way, running up to the top of a ramp and launching in ready to sprint the last 100m to the finish. It’s on a very easy grade 2 stretch but made interesting by the obstacles & challenges thrown in.
In the men’s it was a very close battle between Gerd Serrasolses ESP & Eric Deguil FRA but in the final David Pierron of france squeezed his way inbetween them to take 2nd. Gerd took 1st with a healthy lead and Eric 3rd.
The women’s boatercross looked like an even more aggressive fight than the men’s, but in the final Alicia Casas Zaragoza took the win by a long way followed by Nuria Fontane Maso 2nd, Pauline Sourrouille 3rd and Katya 4th.
Both Alicia & Gerd used the re-released Dagger RPM, looked to be awesome for this kind of racing.
The main event though was the Freestyle: Salt is the spot of one of the World Cup events next year so most of us were keen to get a feel for competing here. It’s also Quim’s home spot so everyone knew it would be hard to better his rides here. The hole is really good, not super easy but fun to paddle.
The prelims you had 4 rides of 30 seconds with the varety of all moves in all rides added together (1 move only scores once in all your rides). This was actually really refreshing, you got to show everything you could do. Quim took 1st, me 2nd and Sebastian Devred 3rd.
In the semi final I had a great ride even getting one of my trophy moves in at the end to take the win, Mathieu Dumoulin was 2nd, Sebastian 3rd.
Finals was very closely fought round, watching it was hard to tell who would be where, it looked like it’d come down to whichever style they were judging. I had good rides but think I used my best a round too early to come 4th. Quim took the win, Mathieu 2nd and Sebastian 3rd.
In the women’s prelims katya killed it to score 755 & the top spot!! She just goes so big and nice, it’s beautiful watching her paddle when she’s flying! Nuria Fontane Maso was 2nd and France’s Pauline was 3rd.
In the finals Nuria took the win with a solid performance, 2nd was Pauline and 3rd went to Katya. It had been a long day of paddling and I think both me & Katya ran out of steam, we showed our best a round to early.
It had been an awesome day, it’s a really great atmosphere at these events and we got to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen for a long time, get closer to competitors we paddled with all year but in a more fun based event people are more relaxed and generally just enjoy paddling at such a good hole in a beautiful spot.
The evening was a free competitors dinner & international film festival. The paddler’s vote went to Gerd’s Stikene Film and was duly awarded the first place.
Sunday was a big surprise. One day a year the dam releases and the upper stretch of the river runs. What we didn’t guess was how good it is! The first drop is the outflow tube, immense power kicks up a big wavey hole, that looks like something you’d see in Uganda! Katya even got surfed around for 20 seconds before getting flung out downstream then we had various rapids of differing difficulties for the next hour to the take out. There must have been over 100 paddlers out so there was some great carnage but most of all many happy paddlers. It wasn’t that hard a run but it was fierce enough to be fun for everyone. At the take out the organisers gave everyone another free dinner before everyone headed off their separate ways.
You got treated so well at these events, free dinners, shuttles, good competition, entertainment, rash vests & prize money – I think the Organisers of Worlds could have used some inspiration for how you run events. Here you’re made to feel welcome and guaranteed a great experience regardless of how you do.
Again a big thank you to Quim, Nuria & all Fontane Maso family for another great time here in Catalonia, we loved the event and can’t wait to come back at next years World Cup!!! Such a good place to paddle & stay.
We even managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach and a visit to Salvador Dali’s house
Tag zwei des BOFSKS begann mit satten 15 Knoten Wind, Sonne und der Aussicht auf noch mehr Wind! Da lacht das Seakayaker-Herz Chris Lockyer, der Veranstalter des Symposiums war heute der Mann der Stunde, der Local, der uns an die besten Stellen führen sollte.
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Um kurz vor zehn Uhr waren wir im Süden der Tusket Island, direkt an der sog. Sluice. High Tide, also den höchsten Stand der Flut, erwarteten gegen 13:30. Zeit genug um die schönsten Spielstellen anzufahren Ein weiteres plus am heutigen Tag – wind against tide!! Der Wind bläst in diesem Fall gegen das ablaufende Wasser und baut zusätzlich Wellen auf.
Erster playspot war Hells Gate. Eine Rinne, die Fischer vor vielen Jahren per Hand (!) geschaufelt haben, um auch bei Ebbe auslaufen zu können. Ein netter Platz für die ersten Spielereien in der Strömung. Was aber dann kam, ist für mich immer Adrenalin pur! Mit Rückenwind Wellen abreiten, im Swell surfen und Strecke machen. Wahnsinn! Meilensursf vom Feinsten…
Die Bootswahl ist bei diesen Bedingungen echt schwierig. Es bräuchte die eierlegende Wollmilchsau. Speed für die Gegenwindetappen, eine geringe Windanfälligkeit und eine Surfmaschine. Ich hatte von meinem Sponsor Current Designs ein Cypress zur Verfügung bekommen in Kevlar. Klasse Boot, solide und passte mir wie ein Handschuh. Allerdings auch kein Ausreißer nach oben in keiner Disziplin.
Lunchbreak gab es auf einer bewohnten Inseln mit Fischerhäusern. Üblicherweise mit Steg und den unvermeidlichen Lobsterkörben. Und Schafen in rauhen Mengen. Offenbar wild unterwegs und mit den entsprechenden Hinterlassenschaften
Mittags haben wir uns dann ins Getümmel gestürzt, bis die Arme glühen. 3 – 4 Knoten Strom und Gegenwind sind schon ganz ordentlich. Allerdings waren die Bedingungen auch eher “lumpy”, jeder Fehler wurde sofort bestraft, man musste tierisch auf der Hut sein! Rollen in diesen Bedingungen ist nicht ganz einfach und wer aussteigen muss, sollte tunlichst am Boot bleiben? Ansonsten sorgen Strömung und Wind für eine Umgehende Trennung von Boot und Paddler? Wir hatten allerdings auch vorgesorgt und entsprechend Sicherungspersonal downstream postiert. Lee und Chris waren unsere Nannys und haben uns spielen lassen
Ein weitere cooler Tag mit tollen Coaches und Paddelkollegen aus ganz Nordamerika
It is getting so close to The World Championships now and with only 4 training weekends left together in total we are going to make everyone count!! Our weekend in August was the bread to our Rafting Sandwich (sort – of!). We had a training weekend in North Wales Yippee!! Followed by a 14km race for 9Bar who sponsor us with yummy snacks for training (this weekend also included raft training around Port Meirion), then the 2nd rafting wedding of the year for Fran and Dave! But what a fab weekend we had in Wales! We had sunshine (occaisionally), good water (always at the Tryweryn) and amazing company (we do really like each other)!
Training weekend!!!!!
Part of our Rafting Sandwich!
Check out the Raft Paddle Cupcakes!!!
Our personal training has been strength based and Raft specific and it is really paying off. We had a slalom focused day on the Saturday and making all the big powerful moves felt amazing!!! It left us pretty knackered in the afternoon though. We had a 3rd Flat water session planned but decided against it …shhhh don’t tell Coach Dave!! We did some long 16 gate slalom runs and also some split sprints breaking out part way down the Upper Tryweryn. We did our very best not to run people over, but they often looked quite confused when they realised we didn’t just want to go straight, we wanted to dance our raft around the poles!!
Raft Slalom; trying to make a rubber bus look elegant!
Going for the up gate!
After all the water time it was a good thing Deb had hooked us up with Pizza at CFC (Stands for Conwy Falls Cafe -aka the Best Cafe in North Wales!!) we over ordered, over ate, and felt very happy as we all trundled off to bed at Raft HQ North Wales – Deb’s home.
We had thought we would ease in to training on the Sunday morning but, seeing as Nezzas car battery ran down over night, we ended up pushing the car around to do a jump start. Thanks Nez – she is just so keen for us to be the best we can be and she is always thinking up new ways for us to train!
Nezza definitely planned this, and Deb must have been in on it because she landed the easy job! :)
Bry and Suzie give moral support :)
On the river on Sunday we did some endurance runs and we once again did sprints, but proper ones this time, without stopping. Poor Rosie wasn’t feeling too well so Fran had to sit in her place. This is a real issue that we (and all the oher teams competing) may have to deal with during a race or event. That is why there are 7 of us to give us the flexibility should something like that happen, but it is a horrible thought, and one we don’t like to think about. We all train so hard in the positions we are in and the sides we are on that our bodies are effectively moulded to our seats. Literally, I think we are all a bit lopsided!! So, our tactic for the Worlds? Deal with whatever happens but above all don’t get ill and don’t hurt yourself!
Guns blazing!! They didn’t know it but we were racing them…we won :)
We had an awesome and strong weekend in North Wales. Thanks Canolfan Tryweryn for being so supportive of your National teams. Bring on New Zealand!!
As a team we will be self funding ourselves to New Zealand. If you would like to help support and sponsor us getting out there please contact us on facebook.
We can’t wait to see what the rivers have in store for us in NZ!
So we totally forgot about the interview last time!! OOOPS! But carrying on where we left off in the raft it is time for us to interview middle left paddler Fran!
You are one of the ‘newer’ members of this team, how did you get into rafting and raft racing? Well I moved to North Wales to be nearer to all the rivers for Kayaking and as a way of earning a bit of extra dosh I trained up and became a raft Guide at the Tryweryn. Here I joined the lovely Welsh Dragons with whom I got my first taste of Raft Racing and I was hooked. I then got a chance to try out with the GB girls, got a place and that was it. I’m a raft racing addict and there ain’t no cure It has brought together so many of the awesome elements of Kayaking with the added bonus of sharing the experience with some gorgeous and amazing ladies!!!
You have been on loads of travels with your kayak…where is the best destination you have been to? Without a doubt Chile. I have done 2 long seasons out there and it has everything. AMAZING white water – the best water falls in the world, gorgeous and friendly people, and they LOVE a good steak I just wish it wasn’t so far away! Colombia is also pretty amazing, definitely want to go back there, and Nepal, that was gorgeous too and very reasonably priced :)…d’oh so many places to go and not enough time!!
It has been decided that when Bryony hands over Captaincy after New Zealand you will be taking that role on, how are you feeling about this? To be honest all my thoughts are going into the World Championships at the moment! I just know that Bry has done such an amazing job I just hope to be somewhere near as competent and level headed as she has been. It has got to be one of the most difficult jobs in the world having to take 7 womens opinions into account for every descion! Prime minister eat your heart out! But I do love organising things and no-doubt my filofax will start overflowing. Most memorable rafting experience? Going down the flume through the Dam just above Devil’s Steams in Lipno during the European Championships!!WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Most memorable moment with the team? Competing in the Europeans last year in the Czech Republic during our Endurance race and loving EVERY painful minute of it. I have an abiding memory of Deb shouting quite near to the finish line “come on you BEAUTIFUL ladies!!” always being surrounded by these amazing positive girls is the best ever!
Best/worst thing about being in an all girls team? Best is the sleepovers!! Hah! always having 6 other girls to give you a pick me up if you are struggling. Worst is trying to time the feeding times so we don’t all get hangry
Thanks Fran!
Photos by Rosie Cripps, Alan Tucker and Ken Oliver.
I had been looking forward to and preparing for the World Championships of surf kayaking for the past two years. Ever since I came 5th at the worlds in 2011 in North Carolina and found out that the next World Championships was going to be held in Australia. I knew from the start that it would be hard job raising all the money needed to go but in the end I managed it. It was a close run thing though, I wasn’t sure I was going until about 3-4 months before it all started. I found a reasonably priced ticket just before Easter and decided to go out to Australia for 1 month. The competition was only ran for about 2 weeks so I went out 2 weeks before it all started so I could get over jet lag and get used to the breaks we would be surfing on. Back in 2011 I arrived only a few days before the worlds and I definitely didn’t do as well as I could have done so I was determined not to make the same mistake twice!
In the weeks preparing for the worlds I searched for ways to take two surf kayaks with me but in the end I found that it would cost way too much and in the end just took one with me as my checked in baggage. I was flying out from London Heathrow, through Dubai and Melbourne before arriving at my final destination, Brisbane. The flight from London to Dubai was only 6 hours long and as my flight was late arriving I went straight on to my next flight. This one wasn’t as short! It was a 12 hour nonstop flight through to Melbourne which was very interesting! It was hard to sit still for so long and as I don’t sleep that much on planes I watched several films and listened to a lot of music. When I got to Melbourne I had to collect my kayak and all my baggage and check it in for my domestic flight. While I was waiting for my kayak to arrive in the large baggage department I met a very friendly chap who was emigrating from Ireland to Australia. We helped each other out with our kit and it was great to have someone to talk to while waiting for my next flight. I got to Brisbane and I had to wait for awhile before the chap who I was sharing transport with arrived to pick me up.
I had arrived at 10.15 in the morning and as I walked out of the terminal I realized I was in for a nice time. It was so hot compared to England! One wanted to stay in the cooler places as much as was possible. As soon as I was picked up we headed straight to the beaches and within two hours was surfing a sucky point break with 40 board surfers, 10 kayak surfers and about 15 surf skis. It was busy! After that I headed out for something to eat and then for that night crashed out in my friends van. The next day we headed to another point break called Moffats and had a great time. In the afternoon I looked up and found a backpackers that had some room before heading out to the shops to get some essentials and some food. I stayed at that backpackers for several weeks and then moved and shared accommodation for the final weeks with someone who had come over from Wales for the Worlds. This worked out very well, we had a good time and it ended up cheaper as well. The next week or so went by in similar bliss. Getting up early and getting a 2-3 hour surf in before the breaks got crowded, get off the water and either go looking around the local area or just sit and sun bath.
In my time before the worlds I surfed a fair few different breaks. I got quite a few lifts with Darren Bason one of the organizers so I got to surf some of the breaks that were further away from where I was staying more often than I would have otherwise. I also got to see what lengths they were going to organize it which was good. It was a great place to hold the worlds. Everyone was very friendly, and most people were into some sport or another. Surfing was really popular but a lot of people had never seen a surf kayak before! I had people coming up to me as I walked up the beach and asking what it was I was doing. I had been expecting everything to be extremely expensive as lots of people had been warning me but I found that although most things were more expensive than back home one could keep an eye out for things on sale that made it all a bit cheaper. Also there were a few cheaper restaurants around that were ok. There was one Chinese that I’m sure used one kind of meat for all the Lamb and Pork dishes and just tried to disguise it in different sources! There were also lots of BBQs around the beaches that one could just go and use for free which was very useful.
Towards the competition dates the rest of the England Team started to arrive and unfortunately the surf and weather started to deteriorate. On the registration day it was the first time all the contestants had been in the same place at the same time so it was great to see how many had come from all around the world, including Japan, America, Canada, Portugal and many others. Quite a few people had booked into a resort further up the coast which meant that when free surfing one didn’t get to see them. The first day was a separate competition called the ‘Gath Shootout’. The way it was run was that everyone had a heat of 15 minutes and one surfed like usual but when one had a ride which was the best one thought one would get in that heat they would raise their paddles to claim it. Then at the end of the heat the scores for each paddler would be compared and the top two would go through like in the usual competitions. It was a good way to make sure that everybody was familiar with the flag systems and that everything worked ok. There were quite a few swimmers that day as the surf was pretty powerful but everyone was ok in the end.
For the first few days of the World Championships it was decided that they would run the first few heats of the individual competition. Mainly the Men’s HP as there were a lot of entrants. The way it was run was that in the first round the person who came first went through to the 3rd round and the rest went through to the 2nd round. This meant that everybody surfed in at least 2 heats which was great as it meant that the ones who didn’t get through wouldn’t have gone all the way to oz just for one heat. All the heats were hard and the level of surfing from everyone was very high. In my heat I had a fellow England Team paddler, actually he was from the same club as me so I had to make sure I beat him! When the heat came we went down and the surf was a good size, pretty heavy and not very clean. One couldn’t have very long rides and I didn’t think I had done very well but to my surprise I had won my heat! That meant I was through to round 3 which was great.
In the Men’s IC I didn’t do quite as well which was a surprise but I have a good excuse! In my first heat I did reasonably well getting a 3rd place which meant I was through to the 2nd round. In the second round I got another 3rd place which was not good enough to move into the next round. In that heat I couldn’t use the boat I usually would so I borrowed one of the demo boats and it was horrible. The hull flexed all over the place and it just didn’t want to surf at all! I think that possibly had I had a boat I was used to I would have got further. But, that’s how things go! It was a disappointing finish in that class as I knew I could have surfed a lot better but my later performance in the HP class certainly made up for it.
The first few rounds of the Individual competition and the Team event were held at Alex beach, It presented a great judging and viewing platform and I got quite a few photo’s while it was held there. Unfortunately though they didn’t have permission to run it there any longer than a few days so we had to move on to another beach. This was called Moffats and was a point break which meant that there were a few rocks one had to be careful not to miss and there wasn’t much of a lip to hit at the end of one’s rides. The 3rd round of the individual Men’s HP was run here and in this round the top 3 would go through to the quarter finals. I was fairly confident that I would get through and although I didn’t feel I had done that well I came 3rd so I was through to the quarters! This was great as I hadn’t expected to get this far as I had gone out mainly for the Junior classes so it was great to know that I wasn’t that far off the Men’s level of performance for my step up next year. My quarter final was really hard. By this time only the best paddlers were still in and I had the one I had thought had a good chance of winning the worlds. Plus 2 other really good paddlers. The surf was dropping off a bit when we paddled out. I had a really good wave at the beginning but that wave seemed to be the last of the bigger sets and I had to settle for several smaller waves after that. It was the top 2 to go through to the semi final and I was pretty happy with what I had done, but I had no idea of how everyone else had paddled but it was paramount to place ahead of another England team paddler who was in my heat as I knew him quite well. The scores were added up and then written onto the board and low and behold I had come 1st! A really excellent result that I was not expecting. So I was through to the semi finals and when the heats were drawn up I had some really hard competition. The surf for the semi was not very good but I caught a few waves but I wasn’t happy with what I had done and I wasn’t too surprised when I came 4th. It was still a great result as it meant I now have a ranking of number 7 in the world. Which isn’t bad!
It was decided that all the Finals would be run on one day at Mooloolaba right at the end. That day the surf was quite small but it had enough power in it to be quite nice. My 2 finals the Junior HP and IC were towards the middle of the days surfing. I got ready and was fairly confident that I would do reasonably well. In the IC I had a good time but I wasn’t sure if I had done enough as I felt that I had stayed too far from the pocket most of the time so it was a bit nerve racking as I waited for the prize giving when we would find out the results. In the HP I had a couple of good waves but I didn’t think I had done enough to win.
The end of the day finally came and everything was set up for the prize giving. I was very tense as the results were read out and everyone went up to get their medal and Koala Bear. At last they came to the Juniors and they started with the IC. They read the results from 4th place up to 1st and it was a great feeling to have my name called out last… I was the 2013 Junior IC World Champion! I had a really big smile on as I went up to receive my medal. It was a great feeling to have all the training pay off and to realized that all the thousands spent to get me to where I was, was worthwhile. In the Junior HP I got second place which I was happy with. It would have been nice to get 2 titles but I was definitely happy with just one! A couple of other England paddlers got 3rd and 4th places which was great.
In the first round of the Team event I was surfing in the Men’s HP and the Junior IC. My Junior IC heat went well with me winning my heat and my Men’s HP heat went well as well with me coming 2nd which was what was needed. Everybody did well with nearly everyone placing in the top 2. By the end of the round it was the Jersey Team which was knocked out and the Teams that were looking the strongest were the Basque, Australian and of course England. In the next round I was in the Junior IC and the Men’s IC I got a second place in the Junior class which I was a bit surprised about but as I had tried something different I decided to revert to my original surfing style for the next round. In the Men’s class I won my heat which was good. At the end of round 2 it was the Americans who were dropped and the final consisted of the Basque who were looking very strong and the Australians who were showing they could put together a very strong team, and of course us the English!
The final was run on one of the last days in some interesting conditions. It was quite big and gnarly to start with and then as the tide rose it got a bit friendlier. I was in the Men’s IC and the Junior IC and I won both my heats despite having a swim in the Men’s heat! It was my first unintentional swim in years! I was borrowing someone’s boat and I was a very lose fit in it. I was on a big wave and then as I bottom turned I went straight down and got completely sucked out of the boat. At least there wasn’t much I could do about it… The team final was very tight. Coming in to the last couple of heats the Australians were not really in a position to win but between us (the English) and the Basque it was pretty tight. It went down right to the last heat but the Basque had one of their best paddlers in it and in the end we had to settle for another 2nd place with the Basque winning for a 2nd time in a row. Well done to the Australians for getting 3rd as it was the first time they had entered a team.
It had been a great event, well organized and it was in a great place so I’m glad it was allowed to be run in Australia. I was heading back home the day after it all finished which was a shame as I would have loved to stay longer but my budget controlled how long I could stay for! My flight back was from Brisbane to London Gatwick via Dubai and my flight from Brisbane to Dubai was 14 hours long! By the time the flight had finished I was getting pretty fed up of sitting down and of flying in general! I had a bit of a wait before my next flight so I had time to stretch my legs which was good. After another 6 hour flight I was back in the UK. I arrived to nicer weather than that which I had left in Australia! I’m sure that it’s not supposed to be that way around! Anyway, it was a great trip with great results both for the team and for me individually. Roll on the next worlds! It hasn’t been decided yet where it’ll be held but I hope it goes to Spain which is one of the possibilities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people/organisations who made my trip to Australia and consequently me winning the Junior IC World Championship possible. Thanks to the Penzance Canoe Club and the Lords Lieutenant Fund for help funding the trip, Palm for providing me with the kit to win in (!) and a special thanks to Andy McColough for sharing his transport with me, spending a lot of his time with me making sure I could get to the surf to get enough practice in and in general being a great friend. I’m not sure if I would have done quite so well if he hadn’t been there.
For this year that is all the competitions done. Till the next surfing season then! See you!
Photo’s courtesy of Pete Blenkinsop, John Gibson, David Priddis, Rachel Wall & Myself!
The 2013 Worlds has come to a close and I’ve never seen such closely fought finals or whole event actually. It was one of the best spectacle’s freestyle kayaking has ever seen. From the atmosphere, to the crowd support & the calibre of athlete, everyone involved can be proud to have been a part of this event.
In the Junior men we saw a glimpse into the future top men of Kayaking, and it’s not going to be much a jump up for the top 3.
Max Karlson SWE surely a future World Champion with such huge snappy moves.
In 3rd place we had Alec Voorhees, a paddler that really impressed me, I saw him paddle last year and he was good but then this year he’s managed to learn all moves, and manages to throw them on demand, a very nice style and good attitude too, if he add’s a bit of speed in there this coming year he’s going to really cause some trouble.
Alec displaying his incredible control.
2nd spot went to my French friend Thomas Richard, a paddler so smooth, precise and stylish that you can’t help but stop and watch him when he starts ripping, he threatened to finish the finals on his first ride with a 1006 point ride almost sealing 1st place for himself, but Hunter stepped up to the mark. Thomas though is a big star in the making and I’m really happy for him!
Thomas the flying frenchman steadying himself before laying it down.
A deserved 1st place went to Hunter Katich from the USA with a whopping 1200 points (a score that puts him 4th in the men, just 40points of winning men’s). He was simply the best through the whole event, and he’s making senior men very scared already Well done Hunter, a spectacular win!
Junior women’s was the best fight i’ve ever seen in this class, the standard was awesome. It was a true battle for first between Nuria Fontane Maso of Spain and Rowan Stewart of USA. Nuria has the consistency, but Rowan had the bigger moves.
In the end Rowan pulled it out of the bag with her Phonic’s & Mc’Nasties, the first time these moves have been shown in a Junior Women’s final which just shows how the standard is growing to incredible levels. She won with a score of 423 a fantastic display!
Nuria Fontane Maso ended up 2nd with a very valiant fight, she was a fierce competitior and came very close to snatching the title with her 380 point ride. She performed brilliantly and can be proud of herself, with a big move thrown in next time the title would be hers, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of her in the future.
Kim Aldred of GB rounded out the top 3 giving a solid performance to score 200 points! I think she will be please with this and know that with a another 2 years work she will be a contender for Gold!
The C1 it was one of the best fights ever seen. It was between USA’s Tad Dennis, Jordan Poffenberger & Dane Jackson all were worthy of the win. I’ve never seen such high scoring rides from C1.
1st place was commandingly sealed by Jordan Poffenberger with a huge 1068 point ride. He was the most deserving of the 3 and rightfully took his Gold medal home. The best C1 paddler over the last few years it’s only correct he was rewarded for his incredible skills and huge snappy, spectacular moves.
Jordan with a huge entry loop to start his winning ride.
2nd went to the new star of C1 Tad Dennis, only recently switching to Freestyle from Slalom, if he keeps at it, he’ll be unbeatable! His semi’s performance was heat stoppingly good.
3rd went to Dane Jackson, no surprises that he made top 3, but now it looks like he has some stiff competition in C1, he had some spectacular rides and some of the biggest moves.
In the Women’s I first want to mention my wife Katya, it was the first finals ever made by a Russian and her best result ever, she was the star of the show in semi’s and deserved a medal place. Finals day came and the tiredness of the week and the late night semi’s caught up with her. She threw her hardest, almost getting her Nasty or Fonix 3 times then just flushing a bit too far to score, she ended up 5th. Watching her get a spectacular 2nd place in the semi’s was one of the best days of my life, I’d actually rate the feelings above winning 2011 Worlds for myself. For her this is just the beginning of things to come…
4th went to Palm’s Anne Hubner, she is such a good competitor and has made such good progress in her freestyle this last year, it’s a shame she missed the podium but I can already see the new stars that are rising up. I was very impressed with you Anne, You and Katya are going to be killing it in the years to come!
3rd place went to a very surprised Adrienne Levknecht, a result I think she’s ecstatic about, normally rated as the top creek racer she’s now proved herself as a top Freestyle contender too, incredible!
Now the battle for the top spot was immense, Hitomi Takatu of Japan looked like she had it in the bag with her 1st ride score of 650, it was such a great performance by her and she really deserved the win too. Hitomi is an amazing talent and surely a Champion of the future!
It’s lovely to watch Hitomi paddle and enjoy herself so thoroughly in the process – the spirit of competition
Claire looked under pressure and everyone thought Hitomi was going to take the Gold but then in her last ride, Claire O’hara of GBR showed the true qualities of a champion and rose to the occasion snatching her 2nd World title and the Gold medal with a 705 point ride, such a good performance under that kind of pressure! I think Claire has really pushed on the level of women’s kayaking with many now doing the bigger moves and not putting limits in their heads. Claire just managed to win this time and I think next time the other girls inspired by Claire’s success will be there to really take the battle to the next level.
The men’s final was so so close you can’t believe, the top 3 were separated by just 32 points basically 1 cartwheel and the top 2 by 8 points (less than a spin). It seems a shame they don’t all get a Gold when it’s that close as that really isn’t anything between them, it all comes down to judging when it’s that close.
Top place went to Dane Jackson of the USA with 1240. It wasn’t his best display ever, but if you look at how he paddled through the whole event he deserved this win. He just goes so big & clean the bonus’s he racks up make him very hard to beat (as shown Congrats Dane!
I thought Slovakia’s Peter Csonka had the win with his first ride, but he must have not scored something as he ended up 2nd for the third time in his life. With a score of 1233…8 points from winning…
I’m sorry for Peter he was the paddler who first inspired me to train and learn all my moves both ways in 2007 then together with Katya’s influence in 2009 they motivated me to get out of Uganda, stop wasting my life and begin training properly, he along with Katya are the main two reason’s I won Worlds in 2011. He is such a good competitor, paddler and generally nice guy. I’m sure it’s heart breaking for him to come so so close yet again, but in my eyes he’s a real World Champion even if he hasn’t got the medal to prove it (yet…) For the record I scored you 1300 minimum, which would have been 1st.
It’s been a pleasure competing with you this last few years Peter and I wish we can be in a Worlds final together again next time both of us at our best!
3rd spot went to my good friend & fellow Dagger paddler Tomasz Czaplicki of Poland. He showed how big and snappy he & the Jitsu are and was the surprise star of this Worlds. He came 3rd with 1208! He was also deserving of the win.
Tomasz is a paddler i’ve admired for years and I’m so pleased things finally came together for him this year. I think he’s going to be getting plenty more medals in the coming years and am stoked to paddle on the same team as him! His moves were the most spectacular of the whole event.
5th spot deserves a mention too. Alan Ward or GBR returned to glory and put on a valiant display, the only paddler in the final with a full-time job, I can only imagine what he would do with his full attention! I was really proud of him and how he focused this time, I hope we can both be in a finals together one day! It’s brilliant we have such talent in the UK!
Final Comments
Well that’s it for now, a huge thanks to the organisers, the judges, the people of North Carolina, all my personal sponsors and my family & friends for supporting me.
We had a great time at the event. I know that I had the potential to win here based on my practice rides but not the consistency as it turns out. I just never really got going this time. I’m not disappointed at all though, coming short is a part of winning, being a top athlete you have to accept that in order to win, sometimes you have to fall short. I trained my hardest, did everything I could and am the best kayaker i’ve ever been. I have the best boat, kit and coach (Dennis Newton) so it’s just a matter of time before I’m back up there on the podium again. I know exactly what I need to do to be unbeatable so that’s my target for the next 2 years.
What I did learn here was that coming 11th didn’t touch my happiness or enjoyment of being at the event. I love my competitors for being so damn good, having such a calibre of paddler to compete against is what makes it so fun, if it would be easy, life would be a bore, but its such an exciting challenge! I think what I learnt from this trip is how to be a happier better person…to me at least more valuable than if I would have won, maybe that’s the lesson I had to learn before I can get to the top again.
The true purpose of Worlds – Uniting paddlers from around the World, and through competition bringing the best qualities out in each other!
Well done to all competitors, I wish everyone could be a winner, and they all are in my eyes!
Yesterday was a packed day of semi finals, often times semi’s end up being the biggest fight of all the rounds, everyone wants to make the final so badly you can’t imagine.
We arrived just in time to watch the C1 semi’s and boy was I glad we did, I’ve never seen such a high standard of paddling in C1, everyone flew but the real star for me was USA’s Tad Dennis with a score of 1086 which would have qualified him 4th in the mens semi’s!!! It was so beautiful to watch one move dynamically into the next flawlessly. In his hands C1 looked like an advantage if anything. All the more impressive is that he’s a slalom paddler only recently into freestyle. I was blown away.
Then for the main classes of Women’s & Men’s K1. Both held under floodlights at 9 & 10pm with a packed stadium. It felt like a scene where Gladiators would come to do battle not a freestyle event, and this describe’s it pretty well, the atmosphere was electric!
Women’s Semi Final
In the Women’s one of the first to go was my lovely wife & Palm paddler Katya Kulkova. Her first ride didn’t go as she hoped getting 96 but then she put her self together and kicked ass with a spectacular 2nd ride of huge moves scoring 546!!! A personal best ride for her in competition and the result of a year of working incredibly hard on her paddling and competing. I was so proud and happy with her! The score was so good that it landed her 2nd place, just a handful of points behind GB’s Claire O’Hara.
Claire was under intense pressure after not making enough points in her first ride to make the cut, it was all down to her last ride. You could definitely see the tension on her face, it wasn’t her usual style of ride but she methodically ticked off the moves with a nice flourish of her usual character at the end to take the top spot.
Palm’s Anne Hubner also made the finals in 4th, with a very calm & collected display. Adrienne from the USA who I’m sure is over the moon from took the last position.
The other paddler that made it, that made my day was Hitomi from Japan, who’s been doing some great rides in practice but I feared might not be able to show it in comp with all the nerves etc, but she did and she shined in the process!!!
I wish congratulations to all the girls who made it!! Especially though I’m pleased such talented paddlers as Katya & Hitomi finally showed what they’re capable of in competition. One of the hardest battles with competition, especially if you haven’t competed that long is mastering how to bring your best out everytime, (something that I still struggle with) and I’m just so happy that Hitomi & Katya shined and wish that they continue shining. The best final in my eyes is one where everyone does their absolute best and is ranked accordingly.
Mens Semi Final
Now the men’s was intense!!! Everyone looked a little nervous. The rides were a little lower scoring than Quarters for most but a few paddlers really excelled themselves.
Notably GB/ Palm’s Alan Ward the 2005 Junior Champion threw down as hard as he could and made his way to the biggest finals in the sport, knocking one of the favourites Mathieu Dumoulin out in the process. I’m sorry for Mathieu as I would have loved to see his beautiful style and rides in Finals and I think he will be missed in that line up, but at the same time i’m really pleased Alan has got there, he’s a great paddler, he really focused this year and he deserves this. Well done Wardy!! I’ll be cheering you on!!!
Next paddler that really excelled in my opinion was my Dagger team mate Tomasz Czaplicki from Poland, he is a beautiful paddler to watch and has been one of the best in Europe for years just somehow always dropped under the radar in the big events but now paired with the killing machine of the Carbon Jitsu, he threw huge, fast & clean to get 2nd spot behind Dane with 1203 points just 27 shy of Dane. For him he has no pressure now and I really believe he can win here, and i’ll be the first to congratulate him if he does. There is nothing better than watching a friend show their potential and be the best they can be!
Dane took the win again and is one of the best paddlers to watch although this time he did it without with his usual panache, I think he needs to be careful in the final as they’ll all be gunning for him and their is some serious talent there.
Peter Csonka took 3rd place, he looked tense and it showed but he’s my favourite still. He’s the best competitor there. He was my inspiration to start training seriously that resulted in my 2011 win, he’s come so close so many times and I really hope he shows his best rides here as he deserves it!
Last spot went to the powerful frenchman Sebastien Devred!
Palm’s Katya going huge to take her semi finals place!
Yesterday was a long day of competition we had the Women’s Prelims & Mens Quarters. The standard was fierce, the battle was on and inevitably it was the first day that we suffered some unexpected casualties from the main contenders in both classes…
Women’s Prelims – Cut to 10
For the women’s Palm’s Katya Kulkova & Anne Huebner both made the cut. Katya faltered a little bit at the start of her ride but then pit her self together beautifully to comfortably take her place in the next round, I feel she’s right on the verge of being able to take a medal this time if she shows anywhere near what I know she can do.
The biggest star though of the women’s was GB’s current World Champion Claire O’hara, she placed first and her 2nd ride of 800+ was spectacular and I think her best competition ride ever so she’s definitely a hot favourite for the win here if she can keep it up.
Also making it was Ruth Gordon Ebens in 2nd, Japanese girl Hitomi, SVK’s Nina Csonkova, Adrienne from the USA, Elaine Campbbell from the USA, NZ’s Courtney Kerin and finally Islay Crosbie from GB (not in the correct order see results below).
But the first unexpected casualty was Marlene Devillez from France, the double European champion, she’d had some great practice rides but competition is a fickle beast and sometimes no matter how good you are or how hard you try things just don’t go your way.
Mens Quarters – Cut to 10
The men’s quarters was insane, some of the best freestyle paddling ever seen in competition.
Dane Jackson went huge and Clean to get 3106, Mathieu Dumoulin with his beautiful linked sequences really stole the show to get 2616 and Peter Csonka powered his way to a huge score of 2369! Needless to say they all killed it and finished top 3
Palm & GB’s Bren Orton & Alan Ward also made the cut, performing what they needed to under intense competition. Please cheer them on and give them all the support you can in the next round. They’re both capable of making finals but with this standard of competition it’s going to be tough even at your best.
I do promise to get some better photos of them today though since i’m not competing now
My friend and recent Dagger paddler Tomasz Czaplicki from Poland easily made it, he’s a paddler who has been so good for years and somehow always misses out in the big events. With the Jitsu though it looks like he’s in his element and going for glory!
For myself it just wasn’t to be this time, I’d been getting rides over 1700 in practice and almost every time over 1000, I didn’t feel nervous or pressure, I’m the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been, my skills are by far the best they’ve ever been, I have the best boat and the best kit available but for some reason I didn’t show anywhere near my best this event. I came 11th just missing the semi’s by 13 points… I’m not really upset at all, I know what to do to make myself unbeatable again and this just makes me more determined.
I have had some great help from Dennis Newton my coach who has really pushed my kayaking to a new level this year, and with such great sponsors as Palm, Dagger & Teva supporting me I’m using the best of the best in all areas of equipment. I’m enjoying myself kayaking and competing more than ever, even this event I really enjoyed. I just feel like this event was to teach me how to lose properly and now it’s my chance to take my skills to a new level and be the best I can be.
Anyhow follow the semi’s live tonight! Please cheer on anyone who looks to be flying as they deserve your support, the GB paddlers & my lovely wife Katya!
Yesterdays Recap Video:
Big thanks to my sponsors for supporting me and to Dennis my coach! Sorry it didn’t work out this time
Bren and all the GB men safely through to the next round!
The long day of Men’s Prelims has come to a close. Prelims are always a bit of a weird one, you have no throw away rides (2 rides – combined score counts) and everyone is usually a bit tense, you get some paddlers saving themselves and others going all out to show what they can do. Some people got lucky, some didn’t but now its over, those that are through can settle down a bit and start showing what they can really do without the nerves and pressure of the first round.
For myself I was eager to get started, first ride was going great until I got a bit hung up on my Lunar, then 2nd ride went all a little bit off my usual style, but it was enough to put me in 9th with 1829 points (cut is to 20), not my best by a long way but good to get the nerves out of the system. I like not being too high up the placings until the later rounds but also don’t want to cut it too close. Last Worlds I think I started similarly so lets hope I follow that Worlds trend
All GB men made the cut! So we’re super stoked! Palm’s Bren Orton safely took 8th with 1859 and Alan Ward took 16th with 1610.
All the favourites safely made it through with no major upsets, and now people will be more settled and I expect the top positions will be switching every round until finals with things so close.
Overall win for the day went to Dane Jackson, he did two very consistent rides with many huge moves to take the top spot. Mathieu Dumoulin linked it up to take 2nd followed by a powerful showing by Peter Csonka to take 3rd, Nicholas Troutman was 4th, Jason Craig 5th and fellow Dagger paddler Tomasz Czaplicki in 6th. (full results below).
Tomorrow we have Women’s Prelims in the morning then Mens quarters in the afternoon. So please cheer us all on as we’ll need all the support we can get! Tune into the live stream on http://www.freestylekayaking2013.com/
