"What we did at the weekend" - a great piece by one of our champion race paddlers!
The Wavehopper Finals
Saturday - After setting of at 10am, me (Rhiann), Nadine, Alex, Cari, Carol and Chris all arrived at and helped set up the campsite opposite the HPP white water course. (This was after a 5-hour drive, during which Carol had insisted on buying a box of assorted donuts much to my, Nadine and Alex’s delight!)
Alex, Nadine and myself decided to walk over to the course to get a good look at it before me and Alex had a go down it with the Div A paddlers later in the evening. However, when we got there we were lucky enough to get the chance to watch the Younguns Freestyle competition in which one of our friends from another club was competing.
Later that night, Alex and me did a practice run down the whole course and got out just above the Dalek section. Having been spun a couple of times I decided that I didn’t want to go down it again but keen Alex went down it again with Rob Jeffries however, being as unorganised as he is Alex didn’t get his entry in on time so didn’t get to do the Div A race.
It was good fun to watch some of the country’s top athletes in action on the spectacular, flood lit course. We were also very appreciative of how helpful and supportive everyone was towards us while we were there, it was also nice to see so many familiar faces competing. After it was over we headed back to the campsite for food, hot chocolate and a good night sleep after a long day and before the finals the next day….
Sunday - We woke up bright and early and headed down to the HPP course to meet the majority of Duddon’s race team. After (what I would call) a fabulous photo shoot we took to the water for our practice runs. We all really enjoyed playing on the bouncy white water – Breaking straight out into the flow and paddling down the Dalek section was a lot of fun for all of us. After perfecting the line on our practice runs it was now time for the team to add speed.
Just before the race the wind and rain started, we all got very cold and very wet so we had to do lots of jumping around to keep warm. During the first and second runs Duddon were very supportive, not only of each other but other competitors as well. (I think we got a bit carried away with the cheering, but at least it kept us warm!)
Prize giving - Duddon not only won pretty much everything we entered AND the overall competition on the day (despite good efforts from other teams) but also everybody in the team brought home a prize AND the race team brought home the Wavehopper Finals Trophy for the fifth time in six years.
WELL DONE EVERYONE!!!
The Wavehopper Finals
Saturday - After setting of at 10am, me (Rhiann), Nadine, Alex, Cari, Carol and Chris all arrived at and helped set up the campsite opposite the HPP white water course. (This was after a 5-hour drive, during which Carol had insisted on buying a box of assorted donuts much to my, Nadine and Alex’s delight!)
Alex, Nadine and myself decided to walk over to the course to get a good look at it before me and Alex had a go down it with the Div A paddlers later in the evening. However, when we got there we were lucky enough to get the chance to watch the Younguns Freestyle competition in which one of our friends from another club was competing.
Later that night, Alex and me did a practice run down the whole course and got out just above the Dalek section. Having been spun a couple of times I decided that I didn’t want to go down it again but keen Alex went down it again with Rob Jeffries however, being as unorganised as he is Alex didn’t get his entry in on time so didn’t get to do the Div A race.
It was good fun to watch some of the country’s top athletes in action on the spectacular, flood lit course. We were also very appreciative of how helpful and supportive everyone was towards us while we were there, it was also nice to see so many familiar faces competing. After it was over we headed back to the campsite for food, hot chocolate and a good night sleep after a long day and before the finals the next day….
Sunday - We woke up bright and early and headed down to the HPP course to meet the majority of Duddon’s race team. After (what I would call) a fabulous photo shoot we took to the water for our practice runs. We all really enjoyed playing on the bouncy white water – Breaking straight out into the flow and paddling down the Dalek section was a lot of fun for all of us. After perfecting the line on our practice runs it was now time for the team to add speed.
Just before the race the wind and rain started, we all got very cold and very wet so we had to do lots of jumping around to keep warm. During the first and second runs Duddon were very supportive, not only of each other but other competitors as well. (I think we got a bit carried away with the cheering, but at least it kept us warm!)
Prize giving - Duddon not only won pretty much everything we entered AND the overall competition on the day (despite good efforts from other teams) but also everybody in the team brought home a prize AND the race team brought home the Wavehopper Finals Trophy for the fifth time in six years.
WELL DONE EVERYONE!!!
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