OK- so the World Freestyle Championships are over. It was delayed by a year due to Covid, but was so awesome to finally get the best freestyle kayakers in the world on one feature again, and hanging out as well!
The British Organizers did a great job putting the event together and made it easy to know what is going on. I was pretty pumped to be able to compete in so many events here as well. The debut of the Master’s Class at the World Championships made it so that I could paddle to the end, which is something I always strived for. More paddling, same trip, same event, equals more fun!
This event featured two kinds of kayaks, primarily- Jackson Kayak, and Gui Gui Prod. There was a few Wavesport Project X’s that are from when Wavesport went out of business and was bought by a company in Europe. They are back in business now under new ownership. It was awesome seeing the logo again on the water! There was an even mix of Rock Star 4.0’s, 5’s, plastic Gui Gui Helixir, and carbon fiber Helixir boats, it seemed.
There was the debut of the first Apex Rebound, of course. Reminds me of 2004 when I had the All-Star prototype, and was the only one in it. It was the “Pre-Worlds” in Australia. It helped me win the Pre-Worlds for sure.
2022 the Rebound helped me perform in a bunch of events, including winning the Masters World Championships. Since this is the debut of this boat in competition, it doesn’t have much for a resume’ yet, but here is what it has after the Worlds:
2022 World Championships-
- Masters World Freestyle Championships- Gold
- Freestyle through the rapid- 1st Place
- Inlet Gate Freestyle- Masters- 1st Place
- Jam Session- Troll Hole and Ferry Wave- 1st Place
- Synchronized freestyle with Tom Dolle (who paddled a Rock Star 5)- 2nd Place
- World’s Biggest Loop- 3rd Place
- Senior Men K-1- 22nd place (not my best work. ;))
The boat is super short, super lightweight, it makes things easier, goes huge, and is super fun to paddle.
The Future:
Often people ask me what kind of features my freestyle kayak is designed for? #1- I always assure that it is the best tool for the next World Championships. Anyone who has followed my athletic and design career knows that showing up to a World Championships at a disadvantage is not acceptable to me. In this case the Rebound was designed for Columbus, GA. I didn’t know if I would have it in time for Nottingham, but am glad I did!
What kind of boat do you need at the 2023 World Championships in Columbus?
- A great “All Around Kayak” that excels on waves.
- The competition feature has a foam pile (hole moves), so retentive vertically and goes big on loops.
- it has a weird shoulder (needs a FRIENDLY boat)
- it can be flushy, so it needs a very retentive boat.
- Sometimes it also needs a very fast boat (depending on level and fluctuations in the wave).
- Certainly it needs a boat that get air easily both forward and backwards.
OK- so the Rebound checks all of those boxes in a wonderful way. There are a few nuances to the Rebound that are designed into it that I am not prepared to discuss yet, meaning, I don’t want to give away some subtle secrets that make a not-so-subtle difference. I will discuss these by Summer of 2023, or after people figure them out on their own, whichever comes first.
We saw the Rebound in a small hole in Nottingham, where it showed that the shortest kayak out there can loop huge, and that “easy” has a new face. There are smaller holes, shallower holes than Nottingham- the Rebound will excel there.
FYI- you’ll notice that from a side view, the Rebound sits slightly stern down/bow up. Hmm… that is pretty unique among freestyle kayaks (only one?). That is by design. I’ll discuss that later.
Whoa- I got off topic- 2022 World Championships- Nottingham.
Dane Wins his 4th Title:
OK, so one of the most memorable moments was when Dane won his 4th Men’s Kayak Title, tying my record. I was 43 when I won at Buseater Wave on the Ottawa- Dane is 28. I was 28 when I won my FIRST world championships at the Ocoee River, TN. 37 when I won in Sort, Spain, and 41 for my win in Australia, and 43 for my last one. Nick beat me in Switzerland to win his World Championships at age 19, and I got second at 45. Dane won Juniors at Plattling at 18, and then Seniors at NOC at age 20. Then he won Garberator in 2015, got 2nd at Argentina, and won Sort Spain in 2019 at 25 (20 years after I won at the same location), and then just won this one in Nottingham at 28. We both have 4 World Championships titles in the men’s K1 class. No other athlete has one more than 1 title before. Eric Southwick was close in 2001- he Won in 1999 and got second to me in 2001. I also have 2 silver medals at the World Championships. I like to say that Nick took my daughter and my title in the same year. 🙂 All of this information is just to better understand how much it means to me that Dane won this year. He had Covid and had to quarantine for over a week and couldn’t train after getting second at the North Fork Championships. He did what I knew he would do, which is to get better at each round, and perform under pressure in the finals. I am proud of Dane for his paddling accomplishment at this worlds. I am more proud of how he did it, and how he supports everyone around him, and is kind and helpful. It is also very awesome to see that he has a steady girlfriend in Chloe, who he can share his experience with and who supports him. She was amazing at this event, which was hard for them. Quarantine in a small room the size of their bed for a week with Covid, knowing that everyone else was training.
My second favorite moment is when Emily made finals. She is such an amazing human being who has a lot on her plate with two kids, an important job with a lot of stress, a TV Show, etc. etc. and she focused on her training and got to compete at the highest level and did amazing. She was 5th at the last World Championships and 4th at this one. She has won 2 Women’s titles already and also a junior title. She broke down in tears when she found out she made finals. All of her hard work, all of the times she couldn’t train due to her job, her kids, etc. and the fact that she was able to get her paddling back to top levels, and realizing that, sent in a flood of emotion that was cool to see. She displays Self acceptance, yet, sets the bar high for herself, versus accepting a declining graph in her athletic life. Meanwhile, she is doing all she can for all of the paddlers in JK boats on her team. Amazing to watch!
Some other moments- I met many amazing paddlers for the first time, and a lot of people that I haven’t seen in a while..
Here are a few:
- “Rasbo” and “Kidder”- Ian and Andrew Raspin- I competed in the 1995 World Slalom Championships against them in Nottingham. They were both on the British Team and BAD ASS!
- Heather Corrie– 15 years on British Slalom Team- got to see her again.
- Eddie- Team England- 1999 Freestyle Team- competed in New Zealand with me.
- There was the cool safety volunteer who reminded me of Hugh Grant in Notting Hill and would stand there with a throw rope at every wave and hole I surfed. I have never been so safe on a river.
- Clive– http://clivewoodsportsphotography.com photographer- this dude lived at the river all week and took photos of the paddlers, and loaded them daily on his website and sold photos for $1 each, that is when he wasn’t just giving them away. Not the best business guy, but certainly was fun to have around.
- Stu Hoyland- this is a random kayaker dude that also has an eye for video making, and has a bar company for providing entertaining bar tenders that do all of the cool tricks like in “Cocktail”. He is making the freestyle paddlers at Nottingham look good! He offered to do something for me as well with my new Rebound. https://www.cocktailhire.com/blog/
- The Irish- The British and Irish live so close together, but they are not the same species. There must be a study somewhere that explains the personality differences. Not to mention the Irish managed to spend all day in the sun and still look like a bar of Ivory Soap. I didn’t know skin came that white. Both the Brits and the Irish are super fun to hang with, but their brains don’t work the same. I like that.
- Tomasz Czaplicki– I give him the award for the best freestyle moves in the world in the Nottingham hole. On average he goes bigger, straighter, cleaner, and at a higher percentage than anyone else. I want to train with that guy. I haven’t paddled with him for a while, and seeing his progression is inspiring. Watching him dial the Rebound in with only three rides was also quite impressive.
- Jessie Stone– Always a pleasure to paddle with, Dr. Jessie was awesome as always and not only made the USA Team, but made it to Quarter Finals. She is in her 50’s. She also got 2nd place in the Master’s world Championships to Hitomi from Japan. Awesome!
- Clay Wright- Yes, sorry, another American being celebrated by an American, but he deserves it with his 5th Squirt boating Title. Going from 3rd to 1st on his final ride with a super long mystery move, even though his longer than average boat was hitting bottom during his routine, he never stopped. Clay also did a 700+ point ride in the Super Finals of the Masters class to my 510 on first rides. I had a high bar set by him to win that event on my second and final run. Clay is 55 and still on the USA Team for Freestyle. He is also one of those who are very likely to make the team for Columbus. He spends a lot of time there and is very good on that wave.
- Hitomi from Japan- This amazing Japanese paddler was the reigning world champion coming into this event and while she had some good rides, she struggled with this hole and her moves throughout the competition. She pulled it out, making each cut, barely, and then threw down a huge ride in finals to secure a silver medal to Ottilie Shaw.
- Ottilie Robinson- Shaw – She is like the Tomasz, but a female. Huge moves, linked moves, aggressive/powerful style, consistent, and clearly trains to perform. While this is her home spot and she grew up paddling here, her skills will translate to any location we go to. We will see more from her. Yes, she won C1, Women, and Squirt- total domination by this young woman in 2022. Very fun to paddle with her. Her boyfriend Harry Price is not far off on the men’s side, with a bronze and explosive moves. Another power couple in freestyle- there have been quite a few- Pringle/Katia, Eric Southwick/Tanya Shuman, Tomasz/Zofia, and of course, Emily/Nick Troutman.
- Landon Miller- his smile is contagious- his C1 paddling is out of control! He is the clear World champion in 2022!
- Rob Crowe- Highest single ride score in the comp! His opening 4 move combo was sick! Such a long term powerhouse in freestyle! He is still waiting for his win!
Juniors: So many amazing junior paddlers- some highlights:
- Abby Holcombe- I think she focused more on this event than any other junior. (Just my outside observation). My dad always said, “You will beat 99% of the people just by working harder then they do.” She is your new World Champion.
- MK Hargrove- 710 point ride- best junior woman ride I have ever seen in a hole at world championships.
- Tim Rees- WOW- only 15 years old- and the most common thing I heard seniors say is, “I am glad he has 3 more years as a junior!”
- Ben Higson- 17- I can’t help but to smile every time I see him. That kid is going places.
- Onni- from Finland- not the best kayaker out there….yet. He is going to be a name you’ll know one day. I love the “Dark Horses”. Remember when Stephen Wright was an unknown? If you don’t know who Stephen is- you’ll meet him in Columbus- he also has 2 Bronze Medals in World Championships. He Rocks Columbus!
- Mason Hargrove- OK, so he isn’t a Junior, but he won the last Junior Worlds and is a senior this year. He had some amazing rides, and trained so well. Watching him is super fun. I would always stop what I was doing to see his rides. I have a feeling that he won’t get 10th place in Columbus. Motivated and one of the nicest young men you’ll ever meet.
Food:
- Meat Pies at the “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem”- The oldest Inn in England – built in 1089.
- Beer- all of it was amazing- but I only did the “cask Beer” that is hand pumped… old school. Did miss my Fat Tire.
- Nick cooked some good old fashioned pasta and sauce at the house… sweet!
- Vegan Food- while I don’t go after it, myself, the rest of the family was raving on all of the awesome options. Such as lunch at “Bread and Butterflies”, owned by two grumpy vegan twin sisters that were fun to try to get to smile, even if I never succeeded.
Summary:
This World Championships is the first post-Covid era. While there were countries not present due to Covid or other worldwide events (Russia for example was not allowed to enter), this event was a celebration of togetherness of paddlers. While sparking friendly debates, I enjoyed seeing the Young Guns competitions, and other events happening during the week. It gave paddlers who were knocked out of the competition after prelims something to look forward to besides just the “losers party” which is pretty epic as well. Columbus is only 1 year away and people are asking about it already. World Cups are this fall and people who said that they are not likely to make them at the beginning of the world championships two weeks ago, were saying that they will be there by closing ceremonies a few days ago. You get caught up in the excitement and this world championships jump started the momentum again after a 3 year Covid break. Game on!
