Yesterday, I ended up helping out with some filming for the BBC. They had their SportsRound presenter, Jake Humpreys, come down to the National Watersport Centre, where I work and take on some challenges for the show. SportsRound is a spin-off the kids news show, NewsRound and the section we filmed will be shown this coming Saturday on BBC2 at 11.45am. One of the challenge was to get down the whitewater course in a ducky without falling in. I thought I was just going to be bank support, but ended up getting geared up with a full head cam. All I had to do was follow Jake and instructor, James Crookall, down the course to show the kids what it was like from their point of view. All good fun and I look forward to seeing what I actually filmed on Saturday morning!
May 24, 2007
My brush with fame....
Yesterday, I ended up helping out with some filming for the BBC. They had their SportsRound presenter, Jake Humpreys, come down to the National Watersport Centre, where I work and take on some challenges for the show. SportsRound is a spin-off the kids news show, NewsRound and the section we filmed will be shown this coming Saturday on BBC2 at 11.45am. One of the challenge was to get down the whitewater course in a ducky without falling in. I thought I was just going to be bank support, but ended up getting geared up with a full head cam. All I had to do was follow Jake and instructor, James Crookall, down the course to show the kids what it was like from their point of view. All good fun and I look forward to seeing what I actually filmed on Saturday morning!
Washburn Pictures
Here's just a few pictures of last weekend's PFAKS event at the Washburn. More can be found on www.alpkit.com. I think the photographer was the organiser, Jim Evans.
Molly Crisp, then Me, chasing down Claire O'Hara at the start of the women's final 
James Reeves going old skool
Jon Best after losing his bet
Jim with the ladies freestyle winners (me on the far right)
Me in the judging tent, again.
Thanks again to Jim and Alpkit
May 22, 2007
PFAKS Washburn Challenge
After many years of serious effort and commitment, Pete Astles of PeakUK has decided to take a well earned break from organising events here in Britain. Thankfully, Jim Evans and his company AlpKit have stepped up and this past weekend saw the launch of the Plastic Fantastic AlpKit Kayak Series
The first event in the series was held on the Washburn River in Yorkshire. All of these event will have two main parts, a boater x and a freestyle competition. The boater X saw it's fair share of carnage with heat of 4 heading off in an 'America's Cup' style start. Each paddler had to negoiate a slalom pole half way down the course which mixed things up a bit and allowed opportunities for over taking. The expert men's class saw an interesting battle between Jon Best and James 'Pringle' Bebbington, who had made a bet where the loser had to race the final topless. However, both made it through after winning their heats so the final saw the two of them scrapping 'skin to win', except they were so busy fighting each other that they were over taken by the other two paddlers leaving them in 4th and 3rd respectively.
In the women's event, I won my heat putting me through to the expert women's final with Claire O'Hara and Molly Crisp. A good start put me in second place, but at the slalom gates, I slowed down and Molly over took. However, after sneaking across the start line before the buzzer, Claire, who had shot off in 1st place, had to touch the penalty board, putting her back in the third place. It was a good fight til the end, but I couldn't quite get past Molly, leaving her to take the win and me in 2nd. My best results in a river race so far!
The next day saw the freestyle competition take place in the 'broken weir', a small shallow hole where you hit the bottom, alot. Despite this, Pringle managed to pull phonix monkeys and loops from no where to take the win in Expert men's. In the expert women's, Molly was looking great for the win all weekend, however the final was knockout format and one not so good ride left her in third place. Leaving me and Claire to fight it out. Claire went first and couldn't quite get the moves she was looking for. I think this was the first time I really realised how much my time spent judging has helped me. I was able to figure out exactly what I needed to do and although it wasn't the most exciting ride, it was safe and I was able to win!
Overall the weekend was a great sucess, Jim did a fantastic job and thanks to everyone who helped out. Bring on the next event at Tryweryn in September!
For all the results check out http://www.alpkit.com/pfaks
P.S. I'm currently trying to find some pictures, I'll post them as soon I as I do!
The first event in the series was held on the Washburn River in Yorkshire. All of these event will have two main parts, a boater x and a freestyle competition. The boater X saw it's fair share of carnage with heat of 4 heading off in an 'America's Cup' style start. Each paddler had to negoiate a slalom pole half way down the course which mixed things up a bit and allowed opportunities for over taking. The expert men's class saw an interesting battle between Jon Best and James 'Pringle' Bebbington, who had made a bet where the loser had to race the final topless. However, both made it through after winning their heats so the final saw the two of them scrapping 'skin to win', except they were so busy fighting each other that they were over taken by the other two paddlers leaving them in 4th and 3rd respectively.
In the women's event, I won my heat putting me through to the expert women's final with Claire O'Hara and Molly Crisp. A good start put me in second place, but at the slalom gates, I slowed down and Molly over took. However, after sneaking across the start line before the buzzer, Claire, who had shot off in 1st place, had to touch the penalty board, putting her back in the third place. It was a good fight til the end, but I couldn't quite get past Molly, leaving her to take the win and me in 2nd. My best results in a river race so far!
The next day saw the freestyle competition take place in the 'broken weir', a small shallow hole where you hit the bottom, alot. Despite this, Pringle managed to pull phonix monkeys and loops from no where to take the win in Expert men's. In the expert women's, Molly was looking great for the win all weekend, however the final was knockout format and one not so good ride left her in third place. Leaving me and Claire to fight it out. Claire went first and couldn't quite get the moves she was looking for. I think this was the first time I really realised how much my time spent judging has helped me. I was able to figure out exactly what I needed to do and although it wasn't the most exciting ride, it was safe and I was able to win!
Overall the weekend was a great sucess, Jim did a fantastic job and thanks to everyone who helped out. Bring on the next event at Tryweryn in September!
For all the results check out http://www.alpkit.com/pfaks
P.S. I'm currently trying to find some pictures, I'll post them as soon I as I do!
May 13, 2007
World Championships 2007
I have just returned from my holiday to Canada for the 2007 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships. It turned out not to be much of a holiday at all! After a few days chilling out at Wilderness Tours, enjoying the delights of the Ottawa Valley again (Tim Horton's and 17 West's breakfasts..) I received a message that I had been voted to be Chief Judge of the event by International Canoe Federation freestyle committee. Originally, I had been sent out there as a judge for Team GB so this was quite an upgrade for me. Little did I know what was in store!
The first few days were spent making sure we had everything covered, which Matt 'Sharky' McGuire, the event organiser, usually did. Then the water level issue took over. It was promised that there would be a training week on the Buseater wave, however there was only a 80% chance that this would happen. Due to the low snow fall over the winter, we were in the 20% no chance. This led to some very angst filled paddlers and some heated team captain's meetings. The anticipation for this wave was immense. Many paddlers left the Ottawa River in search of wave to train on, going to places such as the Chambly wave near Montreal and 'Inner City Strife' on the Black River in upstate New York. Thankfully, we received the necessary information from the dam people just in time to confirm that the event would be on 'mini bus', much to the relief of everyone who had been training on 'Waikiki' and 'Big Smoothie'.
From the moment it was official to the time the horn went for the final ride, I don't think I ever got a break from my 'job'. However, I thrived on this and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Despite saying I was retiring from judging, I think I would do it all over again. I have some strangely passion for judging and am always willing to help to make sure things get done in the best way for the paddlers.
Although I enjoyed being chief judge, it was certainly one of the most stressful experiences I have had. Initially I received negativity about my position due to my age and 'lack of experience'. I accepted this would happen as I realised that many people state-side did not know me, or know me as a judge. However, I would not have taken the task on if I did not think I was up to it. As for experience, I had plenty from UK and European events as well the last World Champs in Australia. Also, previous chiefs had been training me up, so with their support I felt confident. I don't believe my age was an issue, I know it was fairly shocking for some when they met me (I do look younger than my 21 years) to discover what my role was, but I think it would have been unfair to judge me on my age over my experience and ability. I had some big shoes to fill, as Shane Benedict (twice chief judge of the event) was meant to be coming to over see the event. I was honoured that I was looked to next but acutely aware of what I had to do and what I had to live up to.
For me, the most important thing was providing the best possible event for the paddlers. We had to work with the rules published to ensure we were able to reward the best competitors and at the end of the day have the best paddler win. It is a difficult situation at the moment with varying rules and with the differing opinions from each country. What we needed was a balance. I feel that this was achieved as much as possible. It was disappointing to have such a low turn out of judges, especially from such prominent countries, however the nature of the sport is that it is nearly unheard of to have someone volunteering their time who isn't there for another purpose. I hope that in the future it will be possible to have judges who are not team captains/paddlers/coaches. For now, people with associations are the only choice. However I believe this does not affect the judging. From the moment they step into the hut or tent, they leave their personal preference behind. Anyone who cares enough to be in there, cares enough about paddling to ensure a fair event.
After the preliminary rounds, there was much talk of 'strict' judging and this was mostly blamed on the European judges. In general, they are tighter on giving a move, however, I don't think this was the cause of 'low scores'. The position we were in, in the judge hut, was much higher than most people were watching from. The angle for us meant we were seeing things differently and therefore judging differently to what was maybe expected. Whatever it was that was seen, the judges were consistent.
I thought the event was awesome and in the end it all came together. Mostly thanks to the efforts of Sharky and all those at Wilderness Tours. I'd personally like to thank them, and all the judges and scribes. Also, I'd like to thank all the paddlers. I really appreciated your kind words and support, it is your thanks that meant the most to me.
Check out http://www.worldfreestylekayakingchampionships.com for results
And www.xpaddlers.com for pictures
The first few days were spent making sure we had everything covered, which Matt 'Sharky' McGuire, the event organiser, usually did. Then the water level issue took over. It was promised that there would be a training week on the Buseater wave, however there was only a 80% chance that this would happen. Due to the low snow fall over the winter, we were in the 20% no chance. This led to some very angst filled paddlers and some heated team captain's meetings. The anticipation for this wave was immense. Many paddlers left the Ottawa River in search of wave to train on, going to places such as the Chambly wave near Montreal and 'Inner City Strife' on the Black River in upstate New York. Thankfully, we received the necessary information from the dam people just in time to confirm that the event would be on 'mini bus', much to the relief of everyone who had been training on 'Waikiki' and 'Big Smoothie'.
From the moment it was official to the time the horn went for the final ride, I don't think I ever got a break from my 'job'. However, I thrived on this and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Despite saying I was retiring from judging, I think I would do it all over again. I have some strangely passion for judging and am always willing to help to make sure things get done in the best way for the paddlers.
Although I enjoyed being chief judge, it was certainly one of the most stressful experiences I have had. Initially I received negativity about my position due to my age and 'lack of experience'. I accepted this would happen as I realised that many people state-side did not know me, or know me as a judge. However, I would not have taken the task on if I did not think I was up to it. As for experience, I had plenty from UK and European events as well the last World Champs in Australia. Also, previous chiefs had been training me up, so with their support I felt confident. I don't believe my age was an issue, I know it was fairly shocking for some when they met me (I do look younger than my 21 years) to discover what my role was, but I think it would have been unfair to judge me on my age over my experience and ability. I had some big shoes to fill, as Shane Benedict (twice chief judge of the event) was meant to be coming to over see the event. I was honoured that I was looked to next but acutely aware of what I had to do and what I had to live up to.
For me, the most important thing was providing the best possible event for the paddlers. We had to work with the rules published to ensure we were able to reward the best competitors and at the end of the day have the best paddler win. It is a difficult situation at the moment with varying rules and with the differing opinions from each country. What we needed was a balance. I feel that this was achieved as much as possible. It was disappointing to have such a low turn out of judges, especially from such prominent countries, however the nature of the sport is that it is nearly unheard of to have someone volunteering their time who isn't there for another purpose. I hope that in the future it will be possible to have judges who are not team captains/paddlers/coaches. For now, people with associations are the only choice. However I believe this does not affect the judging. From the moment they step into the hut or tent, they leave their personal preference behind. Anyone who cares enough to be in there, cares enough about paddling to ensure a fair event.
After the preliminary rounds, there was much talk of 'strict' judging and this was mostly blamed on the European judges. In general, they are tighter on giving a move, however, I don't think this was the cause of 'low scores'. The position we were in, in the judge hut, was much higher than most people were watching from. The angle for us meant we were seeing things differently and therefore judging differently to what was maybe expected. Whatever it was that was seen, the judges were consistent.
I thought the event was awesome and in the end it all came together. Mostly thanks to the efforts of Sharky and all those at Wilderness Tours. I'd personally like to thank them, and all the judges and scribes. Also, I'd like to thank all the paddlers. I really appreciated your kind words and support, it is your thanks that meant the most to me.
Check out http://www.worldfreestylekayakingchampionships.com for results
And www.xpaddlers.com for pictures
Thanks to Lara Grant for the picture of me
May 10, 2007
The Petawawawawaw
Whilst in Canada I made it to the water just a few times, here's some pictures from our trips to the Petawawa. There's a feature, called Catwalk, that you can park and play at about a 45 minute drive from Wilderness Tours and the Ottawa.
Canadian Kelsey Thompson
Australia's Tanya Faux
Ruth Gordon going for a flashback
Jon Best cleaning it up
Kelsey, Jon and the brows of power
One more of Kelsey
Canadian Kelsey Thompson
Australia's Tanya Faux
Ruth Gordon going for a flashback
Jon Best cleaning it up
Kelsey, Jon and the brows of power
One more of Kelsey