National Freestyle Kayaking Competition
Text: Deon Breytenbach. Photos: Prokayak.co.za & Rudolf Botha. Article from the February/March 2012 issue of DO IT NOW Magazine.
Kayaking weekends usually involve waking up early, driving for hours and meeting up with friends, thus ensuring there is a strong emphasis on rapid rehydration and a general sense of jolliness.
This was especially true of the National Freestyle Kayaking Competition (NFKC) weekend, which took place on the Vaal River in early November 2011, as it also coincided with the Parys Dome Adventure Festival, the only festival of its kind in the world to take place inside a meteorite crater.
The Fluid Freestyle event on Saturday morning was about having fun and learning from the more experienced paddlers. The afternoon was an informal competition where everybody had three 45-second rides, the best two were added together and that’s it. Kendo Man and I arrived at a very empty rock next to the Slot, but luckily this soon changed and we had a great turn out from the youngsters and newbies. The Slot, particularly at very low levels, is a bit of a tricky spot to get into because of some sneaky rocks, so I spent quite a bit of time helping others into the hole and giving varying degrees of advice to the kayakers in the water.
Competition time arrived so everybody attempted to take things a bit more seriously, even if it was only for three 45-second sessions. I decided to do my first ride with my hand paddles because I knew I still had two rides to get decent scores on if things went pear shaped. The result of my first ride was more like Rocks 1 Deon 0, so I ditched my gloves and used a paddle for the remaining rides. In the end, the winners were Tammy Hetherington in the Women’s division, Jonatan Pienaar in the Juniors, Ryan Strong from Southern Cross Schools in the Beginners, Jan van der Walt in the Intermediates and myself in the Open Men.
Unfortunately the venue where the prize-giving ceremony and party were to take place turned out to be slightly overbooked. Thankfully kayakers are friendly people and local paddler and Parys’ water hero, Lloyd Wallace, is an exceptionally friendly guy who has a big garden, which we made use of. The fires were barely going when the dreaded Element Funnel, a kayak turned beer funnel, suddenly appeared and was attached to the side of his house just in time for the prize-giving and penalty ceremony. Things got a bit carried away after this and from Lloyd’s house, the party moved to the festival grounds. This is when some of us snuck away so that we would actually feel human for the nationals, for a change, and be in a state to get the most out of the water release.
I headed down to the river early on Sunday morning to help set-up things and get some early practise in. Arriving at the river I was a bit disappointed to see that the water hadn’t arrived yet, but just as we finished getting everything in order the river came gushing through. I always enjoy riding these waves, as they get progressively bigger during the course of the morning.
The competition format for the nationals was a bit different to Saturday’s Fluid Freestyle, and the judging a little more serious and stricter. In the prelims you get three rides, of which the best two count. The top four or five paddlers in each category then end up in the finals, with two rides and the highest scoring ride counting. This meant that you had to ensure your rides were not only good, they had to be consistently good throughout the competition. It’s always amazing to see how all the kayakers look on form during the warm-up session, but as soon as the judging starts things change. And this event was no different. Suddenly it mattered if you flushed off the wave or didn’t get through your ride in time, and with everyone watching your every move the nerves start to fray a bit under these trying conditions. Coming from the world champs a few months earlier, where there were hundreds of spectators watching, streaming videos of your ride and photographers everywhere, I found the NFKC all rather relaxing and exceptional fun, as I was competing at an event where there were only 50 spectators, two cameras and a bunch of friends in the eddies with me.
In-between my heats, I also commentated and kept the humour going as best I could, which was rather easy because the kayakers are there to have a good time and the vibe is always a very festive one.
Finals started around 13h00 and I was so proud of Sam Dold and Ryan Strong, two junior paddlers from Southern Cross School, in Hoedspruit, because they are from my little kayak school and both had made it through to the finals. In the end Sam placed third in the Open Women’s class, which was fantastic seeing as she was the only junior female and had to compete in the Open Women’s group. Two new ladies to the kayaking scene claimed the top positions, with Tammy Green in second and Vaal River local Tammy Hetherington in first. Ryan came third in the Junior Men’s category. Don Wewege from KZN placed second and 14-year-old Jonatan Pienaar came in first, a place he has secured in all the white-water competitions he’s entered this year. This was Sam and Ryan’s first National Freestyle competition, so keep your eyes open for them next year, as they will both be aiming for top podium finishes, which would see them on the team for the next world champs in the USA.
Three young friends dominated the Beginner’s section, with Shayne Nice in third place, Divan Barnard in second and Morne Barnard in first. In the Intermediate group, it was a tight competition with paddlers not only fighting for the number-one spot, but also to ensure that victory didn’t go to American paddler Scott Alexander, who was entered under special conditions as he is living in Gauteng and dating a South African girl. Unfortunately for Scott, Ryan Peel managed to land a magnificent loop on his last ride to win the event, with Scott in second and Lloyd Wallace in third (thanks again for allowing us to invade your house Lloyd).
The Open Men’s finals was one of my best ever because I was paddling with four of my friends. After our first rides I was pretty sure that I was leading, but if Luke Longridge had pulled something big out of the bag on his second ride, I would have been in trouble. We were all equally tired by this time and it showed in round two, with some moves not being executed quite textbook style to score. Luckily my first ride pulled me through and I took the top spot, with Luke in second and Dewet Michua in third.
I must say that the 2011 NFKC weekend was really one of the best white-water events of the year. Well done to super girl Mirka de Lange, from Whitewater Training, who also brought us the MoustAsh Festival, for organising another superb event. Thanks to all the sponsors, especially Jacques Botes from R.E.A.L Adventures for the cash purse, Sunwa Rafting, Fluid Kayaks, Peak Uk, Palm, Blyde Adventure Camp and designer label Mirkava. Lastly, but definitely not least, a round of applause for the parents (that’s you Terry, Anthony, Groot Hannes and Tannie Barnard), who have put in so much effort to make it possible for their youngsters to attend these events. They are the future of this sport and without your support their future would not be as bright, exciting or rewarding.
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