I was there running some FlowFree coaching sessions – as well as getting involved with some of the events. Here’s a summary of a fun, wet weekend in Wales.

Saturday was full of events such as the Dynamic Duo rolling contest and the eddy-hop challenge: where you had to try and get as far back up the graveyard as you could from the slalom hut.

Saturday also saw a “multi-sport race”, which involved running up the Tryweryn, kayaking down and mountain biking back up, round a short course and down again to the finish-line by Chapel Falls. Sadly there were only a few entrants but competition was hot as everyone wanted to beat their mates! Carl Mitchell did a cheeky over-take to beat Lynsey Evans to the top spot.

For those of a less competitive nature, there was an en-masse paddle down to Bala or plenty of opportunity to just play about on the upper section. As well as quality coaching sessions available; from an intro to white water up to nailing those eddies on the Graveyard.

After an evening of films, food and beers; Sunday’s events got going. The morning’s big event was the 8-ball race – an utterly hilarious head-to-head race where various moving obstacles came out to get you at every turn.

Photos by Paul Smith

Having already completed a morning’s playboat coaching session I was stoked to make it into the Open final (after 5 knockout rounds) and finish in 3rd over all. But then the organisers decided to run a Ladies-only final too! Race no. 6…. and this time I got 2nd, to the legend that is Lynsey Evans.

Just enough time to collect my prizes and get a quick sugar fix, it was time for the freestyle at NRA wave. This event was all about fun and encouraging others – and prizes were only given to non-sponsored paddlers. The jam format of the heats allowed everyone to have fun and try some new moves and throw in some old school. Everyone loves the shudder-rudder-to-air-guitar combo!

Photos taken by: Adrian Trendall

All in all, I think this event showed a lot of promise. Getting all the manufacturers involved meant there was something for everyone. It was a shame that the rain and clash with WWPF meant numbers weren’t as high as they could have been – but hopefully next year at least one of those factors will be arranged differently!

Hope to see you there next year!

If you want executive summary:
coaching, NSR, coaching, snowboarding, shenanigans, coaching, Level 5 development, Hawaii-sur-Rhone, new river-wide wave, slalom, Rugby 7s, player of the match, players’ player, won trophy, more coaching…Val Sesia, European Rafing Champs, Teva Extreme Games, French Alps…

If any of that interests you further, read on!

NSR
For the first time in 6 years, I went to NSR as a non-student so rather than competing, I was running coaching clinics and promoting FlowFree (as we were an event sponsor). The event was once again bigger than ever before and is a real credit to the organisers. More competitors than ever, more events, more sponsors, a bigger party and the Dream Result premier with star guests Tyler Bradt and Rush Sturges. However, there was but one star of the show, and that was without a doubt the legendary Rodeo Rabbit.

Snowboarding & Shenanigans
Not satisfied with the weeks of snow on my local hills, I travelled to Andorra for what was to be a fantastically fun week skiing, boarding and general shenanigan with some old Uni friends. It seems that with a ratio of 1 guy to 4 girls, we were in high demand in Mandorra – perhaps too high a demand when a couple of drinks were spiked. Other than that, it was an awesome week with plenty of banter – both on and off the slopes.

Level 5 Development
After just a week back at work, it was time for my BCU Level 5 coach development, which was certainly a valuable experience with plenty of affirmation and positive feedback. I am now even more fired up about coaching as my chosen profession and look forward to continuing my professional development.

Big Wave Surfing
Straight from the Level 5, I headed to Lyon to run a FlowFree Intro to Big Wave Surfing course. It was great few days, made memorable by discovering a river-wide wave with eddy service that never normally exists! A write up and photos can be found here.

Slalom
After whimsically saying I’d enter a slalom during my Level 5, I realised I had just 4 days back in the UK before I was supposed to race in a Div 1 (for those who don’t know much about slalom, it has leagues like football, which go from Premier down to Div 4 – Premier is for extremely good people, usually GB Team and those sponsored for slalom who regularly train, so Div 1 is kinda like the best of the rest i.e. very good!). There were a few problems with my plan: a) I had been in a slalom boat just twice, ever before b) I didn’t own, nor have access to a slalom boat c) The only rules I knew about slalom were that you had to go through the sticks. In order. Fast. Luckily, I found a slalom boat, a few nice people told my some rules (like what the beeping at the start meant) and I didn’t miss any gates. So I managed to finish middle of the field and now have a Div 1 rank!

Rugby 7s Win
May bank holiday has been blocked out in my diary since I accidentally played one match of the annual Aberystywth Rugby 7s tournament last year. For a few year now, the canoe club (plus a few extras) has put together a couple of charity teams for the event – the boys team being named Hawks and us girls the Sparrowhawks. The tournament gives all us graduates a reason to go back to Aber and see all our old mates while playing in the social league. There is always amazing team spirit, dedicated supporters and plenty of banter as part of the Hawks weekend.

The weekend saw some pretty bad injuries (on top of the standard rugby knocks) with two of our boys suffering from broken shoulders while one of our girls was in hospital for 3 days with a misaligned neck. Thankfully it seems everyone will make a full recovery.

Meanwhile on the pitch, Sparrowhawks went from strength to strength, despite having never played together before. There were some cracking tackles made be every team member and some outstanding runs. I was delighted to get player of the match twice on Saturday and (thanks to Ed missing out on Sunday) ended as top try scorer of all Hawks teams. We played 11 games in total and in the end…

…We won the social league trophy!

What’s next?
I will be at the Palm Big Paddle next weekend, giving coaching clinics and manning the FlowFree stand. Please come and say hi!

Then after a few more days of coaching work, I’ll be setting to sea – well, boarding a Dover-Dunkirk ferry at least – on my way to some bedrock slides, clean waterfalls and steep creekin’ action in Val Sesia.

From there, I head east within Italy to the Noce for the European Rafting Championships, which myself and 3 other Welsh girlies are competing as the GB 2 R4 team. With sprint, head-to-head, slalom and a gruelling 18km endurance event, it is not going to be easy but we can’t wait!

The following week Italy hosts the Teva Extreme Games and I have been invited to compete in the kayak races.

Once the Italian action is over, I will head to the French Alps to do some more FlowFree coaching work – get in touch if you are interested in some coaching or guiding in the French Alps in June or July. I will also be available for all manner of playboating clinics at Hawaii-sur-Rhone, Lyon (even if it is your first time on a big wave!).

Further on this year, I have plans for a couple of bigger expedition-style trips – details coming soon!

So, that’s it for now… expect more regular updates in the action packed weeks to come!

I arrived back just in time for Pyranhafest in the sunshine and was able to catch up with friends and compete in the fun freestyle. I was given a place in the men’s final and finished second to local junior hot-shot Brendan Orton.

After a month of low water and sunshine, the rain finally arrived in North Wales. I’ve been getting plenty of sneaky mid-week runs in:

Top drop on the Gamlan, 10 years since I first ran it in a Topo. Photo: Chris Eastabrook

Top drop on the Goedal. Photo: Tom Parker

Less than a month after the World Championships, it was time for the British Freestyle Championships and the first 2010 Team selection event!

Photo: Tom Laws

Photo: Tom Laws

A few weeks later and I was at another British Championships, this time for rafting. A gang of us female raft guides from the Tryweryn got together to enter on my 25th birthday weekend and had a superb time. We blitzed the ladies competition in all events and finished 3rd in the open over all. Cheers to all involved for a great weekend.

Team Rafture in action (you can tell by the smile that we’d already won this particular race). Photo: Tom Laws

As well as competitive rafting for the first time, I’ve been getting involved in lots of other disciplines and sports recently including several forays into squirt boating, some fun white water open boating down the Dee, bouncy trampolining and some very muddy mountain biking in Scotland. Fun times.

Photo: Tom Laws

Squirting in Nottingham – extra points for being colour co-ordinated! Photo: Emma Runciman

Sinking – but not how I’d planned! A deck blow gets me wet at selection. Photo: Peter Isaacs

Me and Mum covered in mud after a day on the bikes. Note to self: people who were sponsored for biking are probably still very good even after 10 years of not riding! Photo: Tom Laws

And just cos I like them, here’s a few more photos from the summer:

Upper Rauma. Photo: Dave Fairweather

My Mum watching the finals of the World Freestyle Champs in Thun. Photo: Lowri Davies

Erika and Nina watching me at Skjak. Photo: Tom Laws

But, it’s not all play, play, play. I’ve been busy with FlowFree coaching work and in my new part-time role as coach education co-ordinator for Canoe Wales too! Checkout www.flowfree.co.uk for more information on the coaching courses I offer.

A couple more weeks of paddling some of the classic sections around Sjoa such as the Store Ula, Upper Jori, Bovra, Lora & of course plenty of runs of the Amot passed…

Photos courtesy of Gene 17 – see more on the Gene 17 Flickr account

…until it was time to fly back to the UK for a couple of days of FlowFree work and my University Graduation.

Photo: Tom Laws

Proving that no matter what the occation, chocolate milk is always appropriate. Photo: Rhian Davies

I returned to Norway just in time to compete in the Sweet Rumble: a 4-at-a-time boater-x down the steep, bouncy and little bit random Amot Gorge.  After winning my semi-final, I found myself lined up with Mariann Saether (NOR), Monica Gokey (USA) and Silvia (NOR). Mariann and Monica made it out infront after Silvia and I got caught up in a crashing hole at the bottom of the first rapid; but all is not over until each competitor has touched a banner in an eddy on river right of the last big rapid of the gorge. Throughout the event there had been unexpected twists right in this last rapid; with more than one person throwing away convincing leads by ending up in one hole or another – and our final was no different. Mariann got pushed off line and missed the eddy leaving Monica to take home the gold and a bumper cheque. Silvia and I battled up the eddy to take 2nd and3rd within milliseconds of eachother. The randomness and beatdown potential helped to make the event an excellent spectacle and probably the most fun race I’ve been in.

Photos: Tom Laws

Since then I’ve had a week of working for Gene 17 on the Norway Progressive course with high water levels, lovely people and tasty food. Again, lots of photos on the Gene 17 Flickr.

And now Skjak and Jurgens waves are working and I’ve returned to my playboat to prepare for the World Freestyle Championships which take place at the end of August in Swtizerland….

Practicing the pistol flip. Photo: Tom Laws

Here’s some photos from the weekend’s Rodeo action:

Looping in the Final – Photo: Paul Wilkinson

The ‘Pop-out-to-point-at-judges’ combo move in the hectic Expert Ladies heats – Photo: Dave Wortley

I tried my hand a squirt boating and made finals in an all-male field – Photo: Tom Wardill

And what student event would be complete without dressing up like a fool for a party in a huge marquee in a field?

Marvin-the-Martian prior to ‘operation black up’

For more photos from NSR, check out the photos page on the event website.

Paddlefest seemed to go relatively well considering it was the first year of running at HPP. There was plenty of controversy and certainly room for improvement, but I am sure that next year’s show will be an extravaganza not to be missed.

The feedback from FlowFree‘s coaching clinics has been extremely positive and our summer courses are filling up. Take a look at our website to see what’s on offer.

Here we met the Morgan family, who? are a lovely bunch, and a couple of multi-activity days of fun ensued; including…

playboating…?

hydrospeeding…

duckies…

…and what day would be complete without declaring war on the Germans and boarding their upturned raft like true pirates?

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With the sweet taste of victory still feeling sticky on our lips (or was that the ice cream?) we headed south through the mountains. “Is that white stuff up there snow?!” Tasha exclaimed as we trundled up one of the passes. “but it’s soooo hot!” Having braved mountain “bear dogs”, we made our way to Canoe Control’s alpine base where we would be camping for the week. We arrived to find a bit of a party with a who’s who of boating’s Old Boys chatting around a big BBQ. Rumour has it someone stole Slime’s beloved ‘Fluffy’, but I’d know nothing of that sort of terrible behaviour…

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Over the next few days we paddled the Durance, Gyronde, Onde, Upper Ubaye, Ubaye Racecourse and did several runs of Chatau Q. I even got a high water evening run on the Gyr and a blast down Fresquierre, thanks to John and Penny Allen.

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For me, the highlight of the week was not the paddling itself – but the company. All week we paddled with the Morgan and? Allen families, plus a couple of others now and then. Females always outnumbered the males on the water, with most girlies being under 18. Having such a young female dominance, the group dynamics were definitely different to the usual ones I paddle in and it was great to see the girls encoraging each other? and pushing one another to try new things.

Another girlie day out. Photo: Jackie Morgan

Some people are dubious about the benefits of ‘female only’ sessions, but if I ever had any doubts, this week quashed them all. I would highly recommend all females try? paddling with just other females? at least once.

More photos from our trip can be found HERE. Sorry that the photos are on facebook!

Llandysul: meet 10am @ Llandysul Paddlers – DIRECTIONS
If you need any more info, just drop me an email. Spread the word!

Updates on what I’ve been up to? in the past month? coming soon, but suffice to say I’ve been pretty busy…

Jon Warwick paddling the Fournel with a back brace on. Gnarly.

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Nick Pearce and I on his virgin mission into Chatau Q. Photo: John the open boater

Nick? immerging from? Chatau Q with a big grin!

A week with Leeds and Regents Canoe Clubs

The CC bus overheating on the Col de Var

Surfing at St Clement. Photo: Willam

More photos from the last month can be found here. Thanks to everyone I’ve hung out with and paddled with this month

Anyhow, I had two days of coaching an intro to big wave surfing at Hawaii-sur-Rhone in Lyon on my way down. Here’s a few photos:

Jon Soper-Dyer looking shocked as he gets his first big wave surf!

Me going for the air blunt. Photo: Andy Calland

Seppi? Strohmeier going big

In four days time, I head out to the French Alps (via? the big wave in Lyon)? with my University Canoe Club – an annual? tradition. Usually we get lovely sunshine and low-to-medium river levels, but this year there has been a lot of snow and a lot of recent rain. Reports from those already out there, including my brother, are that the rivers are super high and brown…? which? should make for an exciting trip!

After two weeks with the club, it will be time to style it up in the first ever invite-only SlopeJam contest on the Fournel and party hard at the Student Boater-x – where I will also be providing free FlowFree coaching clinics for a day.

As the students recover and start to make their way home, I will head a couple of miles up the road to start work with Canoe Control for a month. During this time, I will also be training for the European Freestyle Championships, which I fly to in? mid-July.

Sponsorship update:
After my last post regarding sponsorship, I have recieved a lot of interested and would like to thank anyone that has done anything to help? – whether it resulted in? sponsorship or not. I want to particularly thank:

• Netcase for financial contributions and support
• Sam Lumb? @ Aberystwyth Guild of Students
• The Welsh Canoeing Association
• Ruth Jones, my landlord, who reduced my rent for June by way of sponsorship!
• The guys on sv650.org for all their help and support
• Olympus for a shiny waterproof camera
• SquareRock for continuing playboat? support
• Palm Equipment Europe for continuing kit support

I am featured in the next issue of? Planet Magazine, thanks to Dilwyn Roberts-Young.

Should everything that has been promised come through, I should be on my way to the Europeans without any stresses about financing it, for which I am massively grateful.

And now, to the packing… A parting shot…

Photo taken by Tom Laws