It was that time of year again, the best extreme kayakers from around traveled to the small alpine town of Oetz to battle for the championship belt! After a long drive from the UK I arrived in evening with my wife, father and friend. We were meant to be camping but to our delight we were offered a free upgrade to a cabin, a good start to the week! It rained hard all night which filled me with a little concern as to how high the river levels would be the next day.
Lift off! Crazy fast line during my qualifier heat
'Champions killer' in healthy flows
We awoke to a damp misty day and after eating we packed up and headed to the river! We first took a look at the course, it was extremely high! The course was monstrous and no one was training on it as it was just too full on and dangerous. I met up with a group of Swiss and headed up to the middle section of the Oetz river which has a little less gradient. This was a grade 5 section of river in high water and I had never paddled the kayak I had before and was not fitted into it properly. Needless to say after three big sections I got pinned against some trees and had to exit the boat. After an hour of trying to recover the boat it finally came loose! Interesting first day!
Signing my life away!
Throughout the week it got drier and the river level dropped everyday to more manageable levels. For the rest of the week I met up with fellow paddlers and competitors and trained on the course. It was extreme water and it was awesome! Throughout the week we witnessed some awesome carnage, luckily no one was hurt. On Thursday I registered for the event, got my bib and goodies and had an early night for the big day ahead, qualification day!
After downing a couple of Beet-it shots I got geared up and headed to the event. The river was a little higher but still manageable. The event has a fantastic safety record, using the local mountain rescue and swift water rescue to help anyone getting into difficulty. The 150 competitors were split into two groups, I was put into the second group, and we then had to do our mandatory training run to ensure we were capable. My training run was one of my best and this filled me with confidence for the race! It was now time for the real thing. There were two qualification runs with both of your times being added together to form your score, the top 45 then go through to the finals, slim pickings!
Most colorful dude around!
So calming my nerves I carried my boat down the ramp and launched into the hissing white-water below! My first run was extremely good giving me a time of 1:24, this put me right up there with the pro’s. Feeling pretty chuffed, it was time for lunch! I knew I needed to match my first run or do better to qualify, which I knew I was perfectly capable off. After launching again, my line was good. But after dropping into the crux of the run I got pulled slightly right and slowed down, I paddled as hard as I could to get back on line. This minor mistake cost me six seconds giving me a time of 1:30, bugger!
Going deep in 'Minus 1'
This dropped me over all to 69th place. I was disappointed but also proud of my first run. My first run was not even my best so I know I have massive potential for the future. This was my first major race and out of roughly 15 GBR competitors I was 5th fastest. It’s just the name of the game, nature is unpredictable and sometimes it shows you whose boss! After a good night at the Loser’s party we headed to the course the next morning for the super final! A young Kiwi chap named Sam Sutton had won it three years in a row so all eyes were on him. After and epic final a young slalomist from the UK took the belt!
Practicing on the qualifier course during high flows
No turning back! Cruising into 'Minus 1'
Needless to say the Champions party was a little nuts! With slightly sore heads we started the long drive back to the UK. This was the most professional, intense and amazing event I have ever taken part in and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It’s made me more hungry to do better and put pressure on the racing scene, as we speak I’m working on purchasing a faster boat. With plans to hit the USA racing scene and dominate the UK racing scene, next year is looking full on! I’m very grateful for Nookies support throughout the event and supplying me with fantastic gear! Cheers guys, see you on the water!
The Paracanoe team drove out to Germany on 24th
September 2013 loaded with the boats and took Euro tunnel across.On the first day of the competition (Monday
26th) the team had training and start bucket practice.My first race was on Wednesday 28th
and i was in Heat 2 at 10:40am racing the Polish athlete Jakub Tokarz who beat
me in the European championships in June.My first goal was to win my heat and beat Tokarz, which i did and it was
close on the line but job done and straight through to the final which was set
for Friday 30th.The weather
in Duisburg was good with temperature low to mid 20’s and a slight head wind.
On the Thursday i watched some of the other GB athletes
compete in their finals, which was very stress full and exciting at the same
time.Some of the team had also competed
on the Wednesday with heats and some had straight finals.I did another practice session on the
Thursday afternoon, working through my process.
I found it hard being one of the last GB athletes waiting to
compete in the final when the rest of the team had done the race and got
medals, so the pressure was more intense.The atmosphere at the event was amazing with over 850 athletes both
Paracanoe and Olympic from around the World.The evening before my final i was not feeling great, and in the early
hours of the Friday morning i was being sick and had a very bad stomach and
spent the rest of the night in the bathroom.I was due to leave the hotel at 8:15am Friday, and at 7:45 my coach
knocked on my door to see if i was up because i did not come to breakfast.I just said i had gone to eat early before
anyone was up, but the truth was i was still in the bathroom not well and not
able to eat or drink as nothing would stay in me.
I kept quiet and got down to the lake, the noise was amazing
as some of the Olympic athletes were racing early and the crowds were growing
even before 9am. My final was at 10:40
and i was in lane 4 again as the fastest qualifier gets the middle lane. This was great as it was exactly the same set
up as my heat. I warmed up in the GB
camp area and got ready to get on the lake, by this time the rest of the team
were down ready to watch and the noise from the crowd was getting louder.
I started my water warm up as it was a long way
to the start area over 1500 meters, the weather was good and warming up with no
significant wind. I was called to the
start area and then to the start bucket, they announced lane 4 Ian Marsden
Great Britain and the noise was amazing even 200 meters away as we had a big GB
following with flags all over the stands.
The bucket went down and race on, i had a slow start but stuck to my plan
and got to speed quick and kept going. I
could not see anyone next to me as i never can when i race i just focus down
the lane. I crossed the line and next to
me Fernando Fernandes from Brazil also crossed the line and i heard only one
beep. When the rest had finished i
paddled to the big screen with all the athletes and the replay was on, we had
to wait for a photo finish. The announcement
came and Fernando had won Gold with me second and less than 100th of
a second in it. It was so very close
and the best race ever, he was dead over the last 20 meters and i was on
it. Fernando has been racing for 5 years
and has been number 1 since the start, and i have only been racing a year. No other person has ever been that close
before, even last year the second person over the line was 6 seconds back like
all the other years. We had both smashed
the World record too on that race. He
admitted he was very nerves before the race and he panicked and had to change
his game plan in the race. One thing i
always remember is the noise of the crowd, drums and air horns on the last 150
meters it was amazing
So yesterday was my day. After a week of waiting since the
opening ceremony it was finally the C1 heats. I was down to go 2nd in heat 3.
In my heat were some of the top guns including Dane Jackson and Tad Dennis of
the US and Sebastien Devred of France.
Waiting in the sign in eddy above the feature I was excited,
if not a little nervous. I had spent the last week and a half training at this
site to get the maximum possible points from my move list and it was to come
down to the 90 seconds of paddling that I was about to do.
I dropped down into the bottom eddy once the previous heat
had cleared. Due to the big wall on river left, the crowd of over 1000 on river
right and the massive concert speakers above the feature the noise was intense.
I tried not to focus too much on the noise or the big screen and concentrated
on staying relaxed. I find that by cheering on the other competitors and
encouraging others I paddle the best myself. Once Sebastien's 45 seconds were
over and the judges had totalled up the scores it was my go.
I can't really remember much about my rides... I was in
doing mode... not thinking, just doing. I nailed my loop and a right cartwheel
but then unfortunately flushed. My McNasty didn't quite go so my first ride
finished with a score of 103 points. The second ride was similar, a loop then a
flush. The second time however with about a second to spare I threw the McNasty
and hit it clean resulting in a better score of 250 points. Immediately knew
that I had finished 11th after my ride due to the "megatron" big
screen, I didn't know how close it was going to be however. Jez from Australia
in 10th place went through to the semis only 13 points ahead.
Considering this is my first world championships that I have
competed in I am super happy with my performance, I may have hit much better
rides in training butthe experience of
repeating the same training routine for a week then the mental stresses with
waiting around is going to be extremely valuable for future competitions. The
preparation that I did on the day of competing is also valuable. Each time that
I do a competition such as this I gain valuable information about how best I
perform, this can be fed into the preparation for next time.
In the feature
Despite being knocked out of the competition, the day was by
no means over. The women's heats followed ours. Clare O'Hara put in another
brilliant performance to finish top of the women's prelims and Islay Crosbie
also got through.
The men's quarter finals also took place. We had strong
British interest in the event as all 6 of our paddlers had made it through to
the top 20 out of 71. The standard of competition was extremely high. With the
scores in the top 5 it could of been a final. Both Bren Orton and Alan Ward of
GB made it through to the semis in 8th and 9thplace respectively. Dane Jackson topped the leader board again with a
combined score of 3,106.. the first 3000 point combined 2 ride competition
score that I am aware of. Dane did this by throwing all of his moves clean and
huge... his McNastys were something special to watch (easily head dry). My ride
of the day however goes to Mathieu Dumoulin of France. He is the cartwheel
specialist and linked perfectly tricky whus, lunar orbits and phonix monkeys.
He also had time to throw a few massive McNastys and Space Godzillas to finish
with a combined score of 2,616 (2nd Place) but only 40 points behind Dane's
best ride. A round up of the day is linked below.
Day 4 Round Up - Sportscene
The next big event to follow was the 8 Ball Race. 8 Ball
Races are known for their carnage and tendency to knock teeth out... and this
one was no exception! 50 paddlers had chosen to compete in this mad race where
the aim is to get to the bottom of the course as quickly as possible... sounds
simple? It would be if it were not for the "8 Balls"... 8 heavily
padded paddlers intent on causing destruction to boat, body and ego waiting
downstream. The briefing went something like this "We will try to hurt
you. If you think you can hurt us, you are wrong. We will aim to ram you, flip
you over and ride your boat down through the feature until you swim". The
only rules for at least some margin of safety is that hands must remain on the
paddles at all times and you can not hit someone in the face with a paddle...
apart from that everything goes. Chief 8 Ball Ken Hoeve (the guy who invented
the game) did give us one bit of advice... do not end up heading down first
place!
There were 5 heats of 10 paddlers with the top two from each
going through to the final round. A brand new creek boat was on offer so
everyone was keen to win, if not a little apprehensive after seeing the carnage
of the first heat! Sitting on the start line of heat 4 I was more nervous than
for my freestyle run earlier in the day. 3, 2, 1... Go! All doubts were
forgotten and 10 crazy paddlers charged off downstream with two objectives; get
to the finish line first and do not end up as an 8 Ball's dinner!
Having seen an 8 Ball waiting near the top of the course I
decided to take the far line under the first bridge, thus avoiding the first
bout of carnage. This was a slightly longer line but did mean that I was in a
strong position (3rd ish) coming down into the main channel of damage. Ahead of
me I saw a Green Boat take out 1st place by ramming him into the bank. Paddlers
to my left were being taken out and 2nd Place got taken out by another 8 Ball
who would have gone for me otherwise. This allowed a clean sprint to the finish
line through the eddy in a relatively clean race for me. Next round... the
final.
Tactics for the final were pretty much the same, avoid the
first, let a few people go ahead and slip through to take the win. Despite
having to boof over a few playboats who had ended up 8 Balled into the middle
hole I managed to slip through just behind one person. They got nailed and I
headed for the right line again. Sprinting to get back into the flow to cross
the line Matt Hamilton managed to break through the carnage and being in the
flow just piped me to the line by a boat length + a bit. Great fun! Video of my
heats bellow (Im paddling the blue boat sporting the Nookie TI Vest and much
needed elbow pads)!
8 Ball Race - My heat and final
Overall a brilliant day... more semi-finals today so keep an
eye out on the live feed!
Day 10 saw the squirt boating and junior women take to the water. In both
these categories we did really well. Ben Aldred and Clare O'Hara of GB both
progressed through to the next round in the squirt boating. In the junior women
both Kim Aldred and Jen McGaley also progressed through to the final in a very
tight prelims. All of these 4 paddlers did really well, particularly Clare O'
as she beet her closest rival by nearly 1000 points!
Today the men took to the water for the first time. Though 14 heats the aim
of the prelims was to cut from over 70 men to 20 for the quarter
finals. This was a massive cut and with both rides counting the pressure was
on. Luckily the GB athletes showed their talent and all 6 progressed through to
the next round. Dane Jackson lead the way in the scores with a massive combined
score of 2704 including one 1400 point ride.
Tomorrow (day 12) I take to the water for my first world
championships! This evening I had the last training session before the
competition. This was the first C1 only session and paddling with the
15 best C1 paddlers in the world was a special experience. We all
were paddling really well, feeding off each other energy. Its not
often such a large group (with such talent) of C paddlers
get a feature to themselves for an hour. Some big moves and massive
combos went down. I am in heat 3 tomorrow which will be at about 12.30US time
(5.30pm UK Time). I am so excited and cant wait to get out on the water. My aim
is to go out, have fun and enjoy myself. This for me is the best way to paddle
at my best. Whatever the result, I will be really happy if I hit my ride and do
my best for Team GB. Remember you can check out the Live Feed to
cheer all the GB paddlers on from home.
We also have the K1W heats and Mens Quarter Finals tomorrow... should be
pretty awesome!
Since my last blog post there have been lots of changes here
at NOC… you can definitely tell there is a World Championships on the way! The
stands, or bleachers as they are called over here, have been erected, lights
for the night time semi-finals have arrived and tents have been put up
everywhere to designate the different athlete zones. A massive banner
stretching across the wall next to the feature has also be put up, making a
great backdrop for the media’s photos. More and more athletes are also around the
site. 90%+ of the competitors are now taking part in the training sessions
during the day. We have also received our accreditation passes which allow us
into various parts of the site and which we will need to wear at all points
during the competition (apart from on the water). All together it’s creating a
great vibe around the site. As everyone is getting used to the feature the
practice ride scores are ever increasing. My bet is on for a 1500 point+
winning ride.
The GB team in particular are doing great on the water. One
thing that is interesting to note is that there are often more people watching
our sessions (despite the time changing) than all other countries except
perhaps the Americans where similar numbers turn up to watch. Coaches from 3 of
4 different nations can normally be found videoing our sessions to see where we
are at. I think this comes from the quality across the board of British
paddlers, not just a few superstars. Yesterday we had our team meal. We have a
team meeting every day to discuss various issues and communicate information
but the team meal is a great opportunity to relax as a whole team in a more
informal environment and thank all the volunteers such as Den, Sam, Tim, Dave
and all the parents for their support.
One of the best experiences over the last few days has been
the communities outreach program that has been organised. The GB team were
asked for a few volunteers to go into a local school to talk about the sport
and educate the kids. I put myself forward for this and was really pleased that
I did so. At 8 in the morning yesterday 7 of us met to head off in one of the
NOC trucks to Swain County Middle School. Islay Crosbe and I spent about 40
minutes with one class of 12-13 year olds discussing the world championships,
kayaking and England. We took our boats, paddles and kit along with us. Most of
the kids hadn’t seen a kayak before (or met anyone from the UK) so it was a
great experience for them to sit in the boats, try on the kit and ask us loads
of questions. The kids were really enthusiastic and it was a really rewarding
experience to get them excited about the event. Most of them are going to be
involved in the opening ceremony on Monday and they are going to be trying
rafting on the Nantahala River at some point next week. We also gave a second
presentation to a larger group of kids; they were all wanted photos wearing the
kit with us. Fantastic morning!
As a thank you for giving up our time the school then
invited us back to their football (American Football) game that evening. This
was an experience in itself! Considering this was a high school football match
the crowds were huge! About 5000 people turned up to watch the game, the
cheerleaders and the band that played during intervals. Despite not being a
massive football fans all of us got caught up in the atmosphere and were
pleased to see the “Maroon Devils” win 34-20 over the “Mustangs” from another local
school Smokey Mountain High School. It was a nice surprise to be welcomed over
the loud speaker and throughout the game locals were coming up to talk and ask
us about what we do. It was also great to be welcomed by a bunch of the kids we
met earlier in the day. We were also allowed to throw around a ball on the
pitch with the quarterback which was pretty cool!
So over the two days nation training continues but on Monday
competition begins with the opening ceremony in Bryson City. This involves a
parade of flags down the high street with the marching band from Swain County
High School and performances by the Warriors of Anikituhwa, a traditional
Cherokee dance group. Following this there will be a big air competition off a
30ft ramp from the town bridge crossing the Nantahala! This is something that
they want all the athletes to be involved in. The Smokey Mountain Times says “Kayakers will perform acrobatic moves when lifting off the
ramp’s kicker. Each kayaker will go multiple times and be judged loosely by a
panel.” Sounds like its going to be fun! Word on the street is that they
are expecting 10,000 people to be at the opening ceremony!
To finish off today’s blog post, here is a quick video of
one of my training competition rides from today...
As with many great kayaking trips; the journey begins at
stupid o’clock in a UK airport with an overweight boat and an argument with the
check in assistant over why they shouldn’t charge you an extra $100 for taking
a paddle. Why all the stress? The 2013 Freestyle Kayaking World
Championships of course!
My journey to the world champs actually began four months
ago with GB Team selections held at Nottingham and Hurley. These events are
designed to select the best team possible to bring home medals with between
three and five spots available for each class depending on the event. I placed
well in each event so was selected as first place C1 paddler. After selections
the training then begins in earnest. Training for me involved individual
paddling sessions and the official GB training sessions. At these three weekends
the GB team have access to some of the best freestyle coaches in the county
(Dennis Newton and Sam Ward) as well as strength and conditioning experts and
physios to fix any niggling problems. Jonathan “Malley” Males, one of the key
people behind the Australian Olympic Slalom team also was on hand to help us
with the psychological aspect of competing. It is due to these people giving up their time
to help that we have been able to bring such a strong team to the event.
So, back to the competition… the event is being held at the
Nantahala Outdoor Centre in the Smokey Mountains, North Carolina, this meant
that I had to fly into Charlotte Airport which is about a four hour drive away.
A shuttle bus was provided to get us to the competition, what with the long
flight and the time difference it was a pretty tough journey but when we were
arrive we were treated to our first sight of the feature, all be it in the
pitch black! Despite the late hour there was still a queue of about 15 paddlers
trying to maximise their time on the feature. Despite the urge to jump straight
in my kit and hit the water I knew it was best to catch up on some sleep and
get into the swing of American timings.
Local Transport
I arrived at the site late on Sunday evening and Monday was
the first day of nation’s training. Nations training always starts about a week
before the event and allows all the paddlers to have a constructive session
with the other athletes from your country without massive queues. Each paddler
is allocated about 135 seconds (3 x 45 second rides), so for the GB team gets
about an hour on the water each day. These sessions are vital as it allows us
to work with the coaches and dial in our moves for the new feature. We split
the session in half with to allow for two more intense half hour sessions with
the women, girls and C1 paddlers in the first and men and junior men in the
second. In these sessions we get between 4 to 5 rides… not much considering we
travelled 4000 miles to paddle here! The parents and non-paddlers all chip into
help with the session. Every single ride is videoed for analysis later in the
day. We also have a buzzer at 35 and 45 seconds to show when your time is up in
the hole. We have a set order to paddle in so that no time is wasted with
deciding who’s go it is. Everything is set up to maximise the time on the
water.
Going for the loop!
The water is dam released and depending on the day, the
water normally arrives between 10 and 10.30 with nation’s training starting at
11.30. This also gives a bit of time in the morning for free practice. The
queue in the morning is about 30 paddlers long and when you are in the line-up
with paddlers such as Eric and Dane Jackson it doesn’t move quick! Normally you
have to wait about 30 minutes for one ride so it’s important to make it count!
Monday’s training for me was about getting to know the
feature, learning the best way to set up and playing with a few tricks.
Yesterday’s session was focused on starting to throw all the moves and get the
scoring percentages up. Today my aim was putting together full rides. This will
continue through the rest of the week. My ride plan will be developed with Den
and Sam to maximise my potential in the competition.
Nation’s training continues until Monday when we have the
opening ceremony in the local town of Bryson City. The competition then runs
throughout the week with heats, quarters, semis and then finals on the Sunday. There
are over 25 countries competing at the event from Australia to Costa Rica with over 200 athletes attending.
Team Costa Rica
One thing that is really evident about the whole event is
the friendliness and helpfulness of all the staff and helpers. We have an
awesome local chef who will cook us anything we want who makes some pretty mean
brownies! Everyone goes about their business with a smile on their face and a
can-do attitude.
I will keep posting on the blog throughout the event,
hopefully daily from next Monday so keep your eye on the blog for all the
latest news!
