Hurley Classic

Saturday

With so many international paddlers attending the 25th anniversery of the Classic, Jacko organised a morning workshop in conjunction with Younguns. All the junior paddlers were split into teams and assigned a “star”, and then each team moved round workshops and stations, which include land and water based sessions.

Rest Bay – Porthcawl

Usually no rain is seen as a good thing; however, this has meant rivers have been very low and many of the waves that would normally be running are too low to be working. Therefore, it has been difficult to get training on waves and many sessions have been cancelled due to this.

Club Championships – HPP

Younguns Nottingham

After returning from Europeans, life has been busy with starting Sixth Form so have struggled to get on the water. But at last, I was back in Nottingham.

With the aim of a floodlit final, registration for the event didn’t begin till 3pm, but we headed up earlier to paddle the course. We arrived just after lunch and I was straight on the course!

European Championships – Part 2

Official Team Training

Nations’ training began slightly earlier than expected on Monday, which has been beneficial as queues have been shorter, but you have limited time when you can paddle. However, this only applies to kayaks as squirt boats use a different feature.

European Championships – Part 1

After arriving late Thursday afternoon, I had a quick session in the evening aiming to just figure the feature out a bit. Prior to arriving, I had heard lots if rumors about it being shallow and only having a very little drop. Despite this, it was better than expected. As the session continued, moves were very hit and miss and I only got a few rides before the water turned off.

Palm FXr: First Impressions

A quick look at Palm Equipment’s newest Buoyancy Aid…Courtesy of CKT Team Paddler Ian Bailey…

I like to keep my kit simple. Simple lasts. Simple is uncluttered, easy to use, with no extra “features” that add little to the product. The new Palm FXr is simple and so far, I love it. Palm have packed a lot of useful features in to a low-profile, minimalist design.