We were so fortunate that we had so many supporters who had flown out especially to see us (and have an awesome holiday). Not only did we have Team Husboyfriend who included fellow Palm Team Dude Phil Clegg, Adam Sambrook, Dave Kohn-Hollins and Bob Marchant, we also had 3 sets of parents and 3 sets of siblings and partners and a couple of friends dropped in along the way too! And we can’t forget the mascot baby!

Racing started with Sprint on the first day on the lower section of the classic Kaituna run. After much debate and controversy it was finally decided that the Waterfall would not be included in the race – a wise decision when you consider how much training each team had put into this event. The spectators watched the widescreens as the rafts came belting down the river with speed and once our Team had done their run there were rumors and whispers that we had got the fastest time. Never wanting to believe it until we saw the official results it felt like years standing around and waiting until we saw the glorious Results List – GBR Women in Gold!!! Well you can probably imagine the jumping and screaming that we all did then. What an amazing start to an event! We proudly stood and sang our National Anthems – Georgie making sure our flags were all the right way up (who new there was a wrong way!) – and received our beautiful Gold Medal. Good Job GB!!

Day 2 took in the Head to Head race, once again on the Kaituna, but this time starting from the Dam and finishing above the water fall. As we were ranked number one we had a buy on the first round which gave us the chance to watch the other teams racing and try not to get heat stroke! Sadly it was not our day. Once again we were pitted against our local rivals Slovakia and their experience in H2H racing won out. They went on to win the competition we finished in overall 6th place. The disappointment was great and we all went home a little deflated that evening but with hope for the 2 further events.

Day 3 was the Slalom, held on the Tarewera river in a town called Kawerau. The town had put on a massive funfair for everyone and there were so many spectators. The atmosphere was fantastic and made us very excited. Our first run down was a great run, just with a few too many touches of the poles and poles mean time penalties! We were placed in 4th place  but with the fastest time on the course. So it came to our second run. and an error in judgment meant that we missed a gate and so lost our grip on the podium. It was thoroughly disappointing especially when we had been so close. But you must take learning points from these experiences and ours would be, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! We ended up finishing 6th in Slalom.

Day 4 brought us the the Downriver race on the Rangateiki. Usually we set off in pods of 4 and battle down the river with the other boats, but on this occasion the water levels were deemed to low for that to be safe as there were a couple of must make tight moves. But we did have the added intrigue of a Le Mans start…did they want us to do a handstand and some sit ups as part of the race too?! Our start was good and we had some sweet lines down the harder rapids but we just couldn’t shake off the experience and skill of the Japanese, Kiwis, Slovaks or Czechs and so we finished 5th overall in the World. Again. It was so bittersweet. 5th is not to be sniffed at when you look at who the top 4 teams are but we had trained so hard and wanted to get in the top 3. It was also a sad moment as it signaled the end of an era. Deb Cook, Rosie Cripps and Georgina Preston are all retiring and that was the last time we were racing together with them.

But, lets look on the bright side, we won GOLD in the sprint and got to race against the best teams in the world where we held our own and are still one of the best teams around. And we did it all in the most beautiful country in the world with the best kit anyone could ask for. Thanks Palm for the gear, we were DEFINITELY the most professional looking team on the water, thank you Deb, Rosie and Georgie for all the hard work you have put in over the years and thank you to everyone who supported us, from the bank side and from their sofas at home.

And finally a massive well done to the whole GB Team. The Masters and Men’s Teams were amazing. Here is to more GB success!!

Bring on 2014!!!

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