By MIKE SHAW

Photos:
Kevin Bonar
Nichole Jones
Insta: @nixearthpix

Mike Shaw is a professional coach and playboater in his spare time, sponsored by Jackson Kayaks, Mitchell Blades and Square Rock.

Mountains tumble

Blink, and you’ll miss it Britain sets the bar in freestyle.

Even to those who follow whitewater paddling, it would be natural to assume that freestyle is a sport whose peaks are scaled only in far-off rivers with huge standing waves and by big-name paddlers. A coterie of the unbeatable and the unpronounceable made up of big-wave specialists like America’s Dane Jackson, Frenchmen Sebastian Devred, Tom Dolle and Mathieu Dumoulin and Catalonian Joaquim Fontane I Maso.

These are all regulars at monster waves across North America, Africa and France. You would not necessarily pick an ageing whitewater course in a Midlands town best known for Robin Hood as the place for new world records to be established. But on Saturday, September 4th, exactly 735 days since the UK’s last freestyle competition, that’s precisely what happened when the previous points record for a freestyle ride was not just beaten – but obliterated. Twice.

Inlet gate on Nottingham’s Holme Pierrepont Whitewater Course, a powerful but predictable deep hole, might not be a training ground for the sort of big-wave surfing that has glamourised freestyle in recent years; but it has long been known to be one of the best spots in the world for hole-riding, a place to link together all the latest moves in freestyle into new combos, and to throw down new trophy moves.

That’s where a small, elite, tightly-knit group of paddlers took freestyle to a new level throughout the summer of 2020. It was a summer of progression brought about by countless sessions in the inlet, the world’s eyes unable to peer into the void, bar a few interested hikers and dog-walkers – rumour and gossip spread. By the time September 4th arrived, these men and women had been busy training, preparing in secret, perfecting their routines, forging their moves, preparing themselves for the next major event.

The 2000-point score at an ICF judged event is a barrier akin to the four-minute mile, the two-thousand-yard rushing season in the NFL or the two-hour marathon in running. This barrier had only been broken once before by Gavin Barker of Team GB, who scored 2,055 points in the 2019 Brit Champs. With the recent ICF rule change, would it happen again? Could it even happen again?

2000-point barrier

The British Championships 2021 is a day that will live on in the memories of those who were lucky enough to be there. It was speculated that we might see the 2000-point barrier broken again, but who would do it? The answer came early in the senior men’s heats when Gavin Barker broke the 2k barrier, swiftly followed by Robert Crowe, who set a new ICF Record with 2,400 points. Harry Price quickly followed to become the third member of the elite 2k club, securing himself a place in the final just behind Rob Crowe with Matt Stephenson and ex-world champion James Bebbington… AKA ‘Pringle’.

The men’s final took things to even giddier heights. Rob Crowe’s astonishing 2,400-point ride stood as a world record… for all of four hours. Then Harry Price laid down an epic 2,600-point ride when it counted most, securing himself the title of British Champion as well as the ICF record. Rob Crowe had to settle for silver with Gav Barker third, with a score of 2,045.

Not only did we see the senior men smashing records, but we also saw the first-ever women’s C1 competition. This was a long time coming and marks a significant moment in the sport’s history. Buoyed(!) by her squirt-boating British Championship title she had earned the week before, Ottie Robinson-Shaw dominated the competition, posting scores that will set a benchmark for the other C1 women in the years to come.

One-horse race

Not only did the phenomenon known as Ottie RS win gold in C1 and squirt boating, but she also dominated the women’s K1 with a ride featuring many top-scoring freestyle moves. Many of these were being thrown for the first time in women’s competition with lunar loops and back loop Mcnasties. Ottie has turned women’s freestyle into a one-horse race, but veteran contender Lowri Davies made a strong showing with a trophy move of her own to take the silver medal.

Juniors

With Ottie only recently moving up to the senior category, it remained to see who might take up her mantle in the juniors. Thankfully that void is filling, with three strong contenders, any of whom could have taken it in the final. Jackson Kayak’s little shredder Issie Wormall took gold on the day, her years of coaching and hard work paying off as she saw off her older rivals with a ride of loops, space Godzillas and McNasties. The junior ladies are a group to watch and will be fiercely competitive leading up to the world.

The junior men’s competition was a battle between Toby Marlow and Ben Higson. Toby finished first with a ride of 1,790 points. He will have his eyes set on competing for a senior men’s team spot at the following selection event – and only a fool would bet against him.

In the Men’s C1, Matt Stephenson (who also made the Men’s K1 final with a phenomenal ride just shy of 2k) displayed his prowess with one blade, edging out the competition to claim the top spot. Veterans of their field James Ibbotson and Adam Ramadan finished in second and third, respectively.

In the OC1 Category, a peculiar discipline where athletes compete in open-cockpit canoes, the biggest move tends to be the order of the day. C1 specialist Adam Ramadan was edged out of the top spot by Chris Noble, who ultimately proved victorious.

The next event on the freestyle calendar will be the European Championships near Paris at the new Olympic whitewater stadium. After that, it will be the (deferred from 2021) Worlds, back in the land of Robin Hood at Nottingham from June 28th to July 3rd 2022.

Team selection

The team selection event to represent team Great Britain takes place in Nottingham on 23-24 October 2021; spectators are welcome.

As events on that huge Saturday in September show, those big-name paddlers from the broader world of freestyle are going to have to bring it to Nottingham next year if they’re to have a chance of edging out the likes of Ottie, Harry, Gav and Rob. One almost feels sorry for them.