WORDS: DEL READ
PHOTOS: DEL READ
Del Read by Jack Ledwith
Del Read
https://delkayaks.co.uk
@del_likes_kayaking
Jack Ledwith
@jled_photo
GB Freestyle Academy Camp 2023
If you were in Nottingham at Holme Pierrepont white water course at the end of August, you might wonder why every eddy and feature seemed full of teenagers in playboats. The reason was that the GB Freestyle Academy Camp was happening! This camp aimed to improve and inspire young paddlers in freestyle kayaking, something I was lucky enough to be involved in.
- For everyone to have fun.
- To build self-confidence.
- To develop communication and teamwork skills.
Having these three underpinning aims throughout the week catalyses the overall aim of improving and developing freestyle skills.
The overriding goal of the camp is to spread the love of freestyle kayaking as a sport. By nurturing the enthusiasm of these junior paddlers, the hope is that they can encourage and inspire others they know (parents, clubs, school friends, etc) to get involved and give it a go!
How did the paddlers get on the camp?
Paddlers who attended the camp had to be first nominated by their club and then selected by the freestyle committee to gain a place. Clubs had been invited to nominate any junior paddlers for the camp, and to nominate a paddler; they had to answer two questions. What does this paddler do? And why would this paddler be a good fit for the academy?
The selected paddlers needed to show that they were determined in their paddling and had a good attitude. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, they had to show they were willing to give back to themselves somehow. Examples included helping other paddlers in their clubs, introducing their school or friends to kayaking, or advocating for their sport.
The quality of applications was high, and the freestyle committee were blown away by many of the applications, making it a tough choice. Ultimately, 30 paddlers were invited to attend the camp, plus some current junior team members who were invited to join in/help out with the coaching.
Who were the coaches and staff running the camp?
The camp would not have been possible without the volunteer coaches and staff who ran it, so let me introduce you to them and ask what motivates them!
Dennis Newton
Dennis Newton
Dennis was described to me once as the ‘best technical freestyle coach in the world’, and after a week of observing him coach, I think that is a fair statement to make! Den has a wealth of paddling and coaching experience in river running and freestyle. When asked what Den’s motivations are for his hard work and time spent volunteering, his answer is, “For the love of the sport and giving back what it gives to me.”
Mike Shaw
Mike Shaw
Mike has paddled for 25 years and got into it through the scouts. He started coaching at 15 and hasn’t looked back since. Mike runs a centre, London Kayak School, and works with paddlers just starting their paddling journey and those competing internationally. Mike said, “I like kayaking, and I enjoy helping others progress in a sport that brings me so much joy.”
Matt Stephenson
Matt Stephenson
Matt might just be the most enthusiastic paddler you will ever meet, and he is a master of all trades when it comes to paddling. Matt is an immensely talented and well-rounded paddler, as well as just being a really friendly, happy guy. He has paddled on class 5 rivers around the world and competed in international competitions for freestyle. He is a phenomenal white water SUP paddler and a well-loved raft guide. Matt said, “I like helping others find joy in our wonderful sport.”
Tamsyn McConchie
Tamsyn McConchie
Tamsyn is a freestyle paddler who competes in C1, K1 and squirt boating. She won a silver medal in the last Freestyle World Championships. She has recently set up her own kayak coaching company and specialises in coaching both freestyle and junior paddlers – WetRock. Tamsyn said, “To facilitate others in their discovery and development of their passion for kayaking.”
David Rogers
David Rogers
David has been kayaking for 15 years and is the current British Champion for squirt boating. David had dedicated much of his time to sharing his love for squirt boating with others and spent two days this week helping our junior kayakers try and develop their squirt boating skills. David said, “I enjoy getting people out on the water.”
Leo Rathburn
Leo Rathburn
Leo is an absolute superstar. Leo is a coach at Manchester Canoe Club and had noticed a rise in junior paddlers asking about how to do freestyle. Determined to support these paddlers, Leo asked to join the camp for the week to learn how to coach in freestyle. As Leo said, he aims to, “Spread the freestyle obsession back to the northern reaches of the UK.” Every club needs a Leo!
Del Read with Tanya Neilson
Tanya Neilson
Tanya is the team manager for GB Freestyle and a director for Canoe Wales. Tanya has been paddling for another 40 years and has been instrumental in driving freestyle kayaking in the UK for the last three years. She says, “I want to use my skills to enable others to participate in what they love.” And we thank you for it, Tanya!
Em, Baz and Bella Walker are a brilliant kayaking family who kindly organised the food for the camp. Trying to feed 50 people four times daily is no mean feat, and the Walkers have excelled this week. They have not stopped; I cannot express how grateful we all are to have them. As Em said, “Something like this needs volunteers to run it. And so we volunteered!” Em is a keen kayaker herself who has recently got into freestyle. She wanted to see how grassroots freestyle works and hopefully take back some ideas to spread with her club to increase freestyle participation, particularly among the female and junior members of the club. Thank you SO MUCH, Em, Baz and Bella, for all your hard work keeping everyone fed and happy this week! And thank you to Frome Canoe Club for loaning all their kitchen equipment for the week!
Finally, there is me. I bumped into Tanya a few months ago at HPP, and she asked me if I would be keen to be involved with the camp pastorally as a ‘camp mum’. I am a keen paddler who enjoys getting out on the water and sharing that passion with others. As a teacher, I also love working with young people. Their energy and enthusiasm are infectious! So, combining that with paddling, it wasn’t a hard sell to get me to say yes. It has been wonderful to see the kids grow over the week on and off the water, and it is an absolute privilege to be a part of that.
The week of the camp
Camp officially started on August 21st, but things were already getting busy on Sunday. River Legacy kindly lent and put up the camp’s main marquee as a mess tent. As paddlers arrived, more tents were put up, and the feeling that something exciting was about to happen grew.
Day 1:
Monday morning saw a flurry of activity. Half the paddlers arrived on Sunday evening, and the other half were due on Monday. The rest of the juniors arrived in beautiful sunshine, and the final tents were set up. Camp started with some introductions and an initial session looking at boat outfitting. After a nutritious lunch, everyone geared up, and we headed down to the white water course.
The afternoon was spent on the water with the paddlers split into two groups for two sessions. With such a variety of paddlers in age, experience and ability, it was essential to ensure that everyone felt safe and could build confidence before focusing on freestyle. The first session was with Mike and Tamsyn on the lake doing some roll practice. I hopped on the water with them and joined in. This session was finished with one run down the course to catch a few eddys.
The groups then swapped, and we met Den and Matt for a swim safety session. We were looking at how to swim down the course safely. No one minded jumping in for a quick swim on such a hot day! This session also ended with a quick lap down the course.
After this, it returned to the camp for food and throwline practice games before a well-deserved sleep!
Day 2:
Tuesday morning came with a pre-breakfast yoga session by Tamsyn. It was another sunny day, and the paddlers were keen to get back on the water. Following a mass warm-up on the bank, the paddler split into groups and got straight onto the white water course. After one day, it became clear what each paddler wanted and needed to work on, so groups were roughly split to try and accommodate this. I swapped my boat for a camera and witnessed the sheer joy happening.
From surfing and working on river running skills to going straight into working on specific freestyle moves, each paddler had something to focus on and a coach to support. During lunch, the conversations were shared excitement as they caught up on what each other had been doing. Everyone seemed happy and had a clear goal they were working towards.
Post lunch, there was the opportunity to have a go at an inflatable ball race. This involved working in teams to get a giant inflatable ball down the course, with the team completing it in the quickest time winning. Paddlers threw themselves into the challenge, and it was great to see the competitive side of many of them come out. Who can be scared of going through the features when the aim is to win the race?
It was back to camp for another well-received delicious dinner and some ball games before sleep.
Day 3:
Wednesday brought more sunshine and some morning slacklining with Tamsyn and Matt. After breakfast, it was back to the course for some more paddling and coaching. David arrived to coach squirt boating for the day. This was met with an equal amount of excitement from some paddlers and confusion about how anyone could fit into a squirt boat from others. Quite a few paddlers wanted to have a go at squirt boating and C1/OC1, so their group started on the lake before heading down to an eddy line on the course.
The other groups continued to work towards their goals. It was fabulous to see so many first loops, tailees and mcnasties happening. Lots of big smiles as the last few days of hard work brought the rewards. By the evening, the paddlers returned with a healthy trajectory to find food and sleep. Luckily, Em and Baz were to the rescue, and the post-river/pre-dinner snacks quickly became everyone’s favourite part of the day.
There were some more slacklining and ball games followed by yet another delicious and filling dinner followed by bedtime.
Day 4:
Thursday morning brought some circuit training with Tamsyn, followed by a well-deserved breakfast. It was back over to the course for another fun day of paddling. By this point, everyone was into a routine but also beginning to feel the effects of so much activity. We had a longer lunch break to give everyone a bit more rest, and then we were back on for another afternoon of fun. Dinner at camp was followed by a mass volleyball game, with everyone heading off to bed by about 21:00. Much to my delight, the juniors led this, as they were as keen for sleep as the adults!
Day 5:
Friday was our last official day of camp. Despite being exhausted after four days of paddling, our juniors found some hidden energy and threw themselves into their last day of paddling. The morning was spent in groups for their final coaching session before a competition-style afternoon session. All the groups gathered for this final session to showcase their progress over the week. It was wonderful on Friday to see so many happy teenagers, each having made progress against their personal goals. I had so many “Del, did you see my *insert awesome white water move*?” It was great to share their excitement!
What happens next?
After five days of camp and most paddlers staying to compete in the Euro Open, the next steps are lots of sleep and rest! However, once the tiredness has eased, we hope everyone involved in the camp will use the week’s excitement to motivate them to get back on it and out in their playboats.
If you’ve been inspired by the juniors of this year’s GB freestyle academy camp and are interested in trying some freestyle, do check out the GB Freestyle Instagram page and get in contact if you need some advice about the next steps.
Happy freestyle paddling, everyone!
