By Mike Shaw
Photos: Bence Vekassy/
International Canoe Federation
and Lisette Nixon
Hosting the 2019 ICF Freestyle World Championships this year was the idyllic town of Sort in Catalonia, Spain. The town has previously hosted the 2001 world championships and, last year, two world cups, in a challenging, flushy hole. Since then the local government has invested heavily to create a new feature in the centre of town, almost unrecognisable from the year before.
Mike Shaw
Mike Shaw started paddling at the age of 12 with his local Scout group. Turning it into his full time career, passing on his skills to groups of all ages and abilities. Mike is most at home in his Jackson Rockstar. Turning his hand to freestyle, nothing is more satisfying that getting huge air! He is supported by Jackson Kayaks, Mitchell Blades and Square Rock.
2019 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships
This new feature, built with a million-Euro budget, has transformed the river and surrounding area into something reminiscent of a theme park. The dam release feature turned out to be what many expected: a feisty, powerful hole, shallow in places and difficult to set up in, making the linked combo and trophy moves incredibly difficult to pull off.
White water warriors would battle it out in their craft of choice. Many questions would arise and many more would be answered.
Would Team GB top the medal table once again? Would GB’s reigning world champions, Ottie Robinson-Shaw and Claire O’Hara retain their titles? How would our senior men’s K1 team perform? Would USA’s Dane Jackson reclaim the title or would Quim Fontane defend successfully on his home turf? Would Japan’s multiple silver medallist Hitomi Takaku finally take the gold? Who would step up to fill the void in the junior men left by Tom Dolle and Harry Price? And how would those juniors now step up into the senior divisions?
The difficult nature of the feature and lack of training time levelled the playing field, bringing up the bottom end and tightening the top. The ICF judging would be as strict as ever, allowing no room for error.
The national teams of USA, France and Great Britain are the true powerhouses of freestyle with a depth of field unmatched by other nations. This world championships would prove to be a highly competitive affair.
Jackson Kayak released the Rockstar 4.0, specifically built with the feisty Sort hole in mind, retentive in its high-walled hull form and build for huge air! Meanwhile, GuiGui Prod had crafted a carbon Helixir built to the specification of Quim Fontane Maso, faster and slicier than its rival. The Helixir was also available in a plastic version. The shallow nature of the hole broke many a boat, and resin was in limited supply. Several paddlers made the switch from carbon to plastic opting for durability and the ability to throw down without fear, while others maintained the bonus of the stiffer, lighter paddling machines.
Squirt boating
Kicking off proceedings was the freestyle squirt boating event, bizarrely taking place before the opening ceremony, the action unfolding on an eddy line seam several miles upstream of the main feature.
For those who don’t know, squirt boating is the niche within a niche. Using ultra low-volume boats, the main aim is to use the underwater currents to propel the boat down into the depths, performing a ‘mystery move’ which is then used as a multiplier to modify the athletes’ freestyle score.
A routine would consist of one or two mystery moves (the longer underwater the bigger the score) combined with as many freestyle moves as possible. Some of these you might recognise if you follow float boat freestyle. You’ll see such moves as cartwheels, tricky woos and bow stalls, but others such as the one-armed bandit, washout and screwing around are exclusive to squirt boating.
Prelims saw every British competitor advance through to the next round. Particularly impressive was Ottie Robinson-Shaw, who finished second in the prelims and semi-finals, before advancing through to finals. All three British men made it to finals, previous silver medallist David Roger finished in fourth by three pointss. Squirt newcomer and fan favourite Sam Wilson put together an impressive routine, maximising his mystery moves to take third. Fellow Brit Alex Edwards stormed into second place.Veteran Clay Wright, wearing goggles and utilising hand paddles, studied the seam line before his routine, slowed his breathing down and smashed out a 25-second mystery move. Enough for him to convincingly take home the gold medal.
In the women’s, Hitomi continued her run of success finishing second.Just behind her, taking home a bronze medal was the young gun Ottie Robinson-Shaw. USA’s Rose Wall was the true master of downtime, storming into the lead with two huge mystery moves, scoring enough to have rivalled the top male score and taking the title.
Following on from squirt was the opening ceremony. A parade of nations marched through Sort while the locals watched and cheered. The squirt medal ceremony took place in front of the arrayed nations and Sort residents. A truly huge crowd for those squirt boaters who had earned their place atop the podium.
Riding high from the previous day’s GB medal success (two bronzes and a silver, but who’s counting;), another day’s team training was squeezed in before the main event started.
Open Canoe (OC1)
Possibly the only event to rival squirt boating in its truly bizarre nature, canoeists compete in open boats, reminiscent or otherwise, converted from regular freestyle boats.The rules require a boat to be able to hold at least 40 litres of water. Tactics would vary among the competitors, some opting for a single high-scoring move, others opting for a less risky approach using simpler, lower-scoring moves to rack up points.
Adam Ramadan was GB’s only competitor, treating the event as a fun break from the more pressing C1 competition. He had a very real chance at winning a medal after advancing through to semi-finals. His high-risk approach very nearly paid off but he just flushed on what was otherwise a perfect McNasty.
In the OC1 final, the first of the week, American C1 extraordinaire Jordan Poffenberger stormed into the lead with some big moves, Frenchman Jean Moustrou placed in second, while the young drysuit-wearing German Philip Josef placed in third with a solid air loop to the delight of many fans.
Mixed C1
Using the same freestyle boats as the K1 category, athletes compete in a kneeling position using a single-bladed paddle. England’s James Ibbotson (‘Ibbo’, organiser of the NFL/Nottingham Freestyle League and the European Open) would be looking to make finals after climbing the rankings over the years, finishing a very respectful eighth in Argentina. Unfortunately it was not to be his year, finishing 14th ahead of fellow competitor Adam Ramadan in 17th.
C1 newcomer Matt Stephenson made it through to the semi-finals in sixth place with an incredible score of 750 points. Unfortunately he missed out on finals, where the top athletes put on a spectacular show. Frenchman Tom Dolle narrowly beat Dane Jackson to take gold. Dane secured silver with his final ride while fellow American Jordan Poffenberger earned himself a bronze to go with his OC1 World title, with a varied routine featuring his signature trophy move the Vader flip.
As the athletes congratulated each other, Dane greeted his young protégé Tom Dolle in the eddy with a warm embrace, happier it seemed that Tom would be crowned world champion than if it had been himself.
Junior K1 Men
Dominated by the older American paddlers, our younger athletes put on an impressive display, particularly Toby Marlow, a Lee Valley Paddles ports club member who narrowly missed the cut to the semis in 11th place, closely followed by Asha Gurung in 13th and Ben Higson, our youngest competitor at 14, finishing in 21st place.They certainly proved at their first worlds that GB Freestyle has a promising young team, with a bright future ahead.
Three Americans, one Australian and a lone Argentine competed for medals in the finals. The American boys stole the show: Mason Hargrove had a spectacular ride to take gold, closely followed by his team mate and rival Dally Kellogg, while the Australian Jake Newland finished third.
Junior K1 Women
After taking gold and shocking the world in Argentina, this would be Ottie Robinson Shaw’s last junior competition. Eager to prove that she can make the jump to the senior division for Nottingham 2021, her aim was to put together a true show, one to rival the seniors.
The nations three other junior competitors: Jen Leal, Abby Goddard and Maya Ray Cross, competed hard, finishing in 11th, 13th and 16th place.
Ottie stormed into first throughout the preliminary rounds in a class of her own, putting together impressive rides, while being chased by a trio of American girls and joined in the final by a lone German.
Flushing early in her first ride, she came back to throw down a flurry of moves, enough to comfortably take the lead just shy of 200 points in front of her nearest rivals, Olivia McGinnes and Katie Fankhouser.
Ottie continues her run of success, taking home the world title, the first junior to win gold at two ICF World Championships. She put together a safe, tactical ride knowing exactly what she needed to do in order to beat the competition. Knowing the moves she has been working on and what she can throw, the senior women will certainly be looking to her as a real medal contender at the next world championships.
Senior K1 Women
A team of six senior GB women prepared to compete at this year’s world championships.Our eight-time and reigning world champion Claire O’Hara(MBE) would be looking forward to coming back to competition after recently giving birth to baby Sky. Not yet fully healed, it was a welcome surprise that Claire would compete. Surprising everyone including herself, Claire progressed through the rounds to the semi-finals. Expectations of another title however, would be curbed until Nottingham 2021, as she ended up finishing in seventh place, the highest placing of the GB contingent.
Fellow long-time team member Lowri Davies and Islay Crosbie would be looking to contend for a podium finish. Unfortunately Lowri injured her back and was unable to achieve her full potential, falling to 14th place after making it through to the quarters. It was here that Islay made it through to semi-finals after a nail biting quarters where her deck popped during her first ride, resulting in the safety team collecting her boat after a brief swim. Islay was unable to move through to the finals and finished in eighth place.
Fellow team member Emma Witherford proceeded through to the final 20, finishing a very respectful 12th place in her first worlds at senior level. Whilst Kimberly Aldred and Heidi Walsh finished in the preliminary round 36th and 33rd.
The night-time final itself would feature five athletes from five separate countries spread across three different continents.
Japan’s Hitomi Takaku took the lead with her first ride, but missing her loop at the end meant she had left points on the board that her fellow competitors took advantage of. Poland’s Zofia Tula took the lead with her second ride and seconds later France’s Marlene Devillez leaped into gold medal position before Hitomi threw down a mega ride, scoring 646.67 points, enough to secure her the title of world champion!
Marlene placed second, Zofia Tula took third and rounding out the results was Germany’s Anne Huebner and the USA’s very own Emily Jackson.
Senior K1 Men
This was the most competitive category with a huge depth of field. Our five senior paddlers all had a real shot at topping the medals table.
The British squad was a strong as it has ever been, featuring 2011 World champion James ‘Pringle’ Bebbington on his comeback tour, 2017 World Junior bronze medallist Harry Price, and the oldest member of the team at 37, reigning British champion Gavin Barker, proving that passion and perseverance in this great sport is the great equaliser to youthful enthusiasm. Alan Ward, the longest-serving GB team member of 16 years would once again be looking to equal his 2005 junior worlds gold medal performance, while all-round nice guy and 2017 worlds finalist Robert Crowe, having narrowly missed out on a medal at the previous world championship, would be looking to prove that he has the skills to improve upon his fourth place finish in Argentina.
All five GB senior men proceeded through to the quarter finals, where the field would be cut to the top ten. Harry price and Alan Ward missed the cut, finishing 17th and 12th. The quarter finals also saw several other big names miss out, losing Canadian Nick Troutman (18th), Americans Bennett Smith (13th) and Hunter Katich (13th)
GB’s Pringle, Gav Barker and Rob Crowe all progressed to the next round. The semi-finals followed the same format as the women’s. A brutal cut ensued, and any one of the top ten could have made finals.
The first heat was made up of Polish competitor Tomasz Czaplicki, looking to follow his partner Zosia into the finals, with Slovakian Peter Czonka, winner of more than a few medals at world level wanting to do the same, sandwiched between the trio of British athletes.
Taking place in the morning and unusually on the same day as the evening finals, the water was at a lower level and rising, a full 1.5 cumecs lower for the first men’s heat than the second.
Posting unusually low scores, not one of the athletes from the first heat could put together a ride to progress through. Gav Barker and Rob Crowe were cruelly unable to show their best when it mattered most and finished eighth and ninth.
Pringle proved that he has a head for competition, finishing in sixth. His comeback tour complete, will he now be here to stay?
K1 Men’s Final
Moving into the finals, Dane Jackson had looked human, beatable, having been wrestling with Quim Fontane throughout the week for top spot. Quim had put on a show in the semis showing how this home feature suited his raw energetic style, and would be looking to retain the world title in front of the home crowd made up of fellow Catalonians.
The French duo of Sebastian Devred and junior world champion Tom Dolle, proved that France is indeed a powerhouse nation within freestyle and could easily take home medals.
Relative newcomer Irishman David McClure had thrown down some of the most fun rides of the competition. David has been training hard throughout the winter months, living for a period in Nottingham to train at Holme Pierrepont.
With the grandstands filled beyond capacity, the crowds watched Sebastian Devred throw down his best ride of the night under the spotlights of Sort, hitting all but one of his routine moves and in the process beating Tom Dolle’s first ride by a significant margin. This would be enough to cling onto third place with the young Frenchman snapping at his heels.
Tom could not quite capitalise on his earlier success finished in fourth, but still showing any naysayers that he can indeed stand on his own among the more experienced senior competitors. He will certainly be a fierce competitor in years to come, and among the favourites for the title next time around.
Irishman David McClure was unable to put together the ride he wanted and is capable of. Unfortunately he never got into the groove during the final. Nevertheless, finishing fifth was a truly impressive feat and one he should be incredibly proud of!
Dane Jackson and Jaquim Fontane Maso looked to be a cut above the rest of the finalists, and they battled it out with the crowds roaring heavily for the Catalonian.
Dane’s first ride was the one to beat, scoring 1406.67 with a flurry of moves: lunar orbits, tricky woos and huge air on the loops! Quim looked capable of upping that ante and looked closest do doing so on his second ride, ultimately falling just short at 1,260 points. The silver medallist critically missed on his tricky woo and the huge air bonus on other moves, showing just how fine the line is at the top end of freestyle.
Greeted by his waiting friends and family, Dane was crowned world champion on the same turf that his father Eric had also won gold in 2001, some 18 years earlier.
After the fireworks had blasted into the night sky, the athletes, spectators, fans, support staff, trainers, coaches, judges and officials partied the night away together in the local bars.
Freestyle kayaking is unlike any other sport.To the outside world it is like most others, but those within the sport know otherwise. Athletes meet and mix, more friends than competitors. It’s less about the competition and more to be part of a celebration of freestyle. Competitors take time out of their own training routine to help each other, coach’s push on athletes from other nations, pushing the sport in new directions with the aim of improving freestyle as a collective whole, rather than worrying so much about personal gain.
Nottingham 2021 and beyond
With the 2021 Freestyle World Championships coming home to Nottingham’s Holme Pierrepont. It is certainly an exciting time to be a British Freestyle paddler. We have arguably the best coaches in the world. Freestyle chairman and 2021 organiser Andy ‘Jacko’ Jackson’s five-year plan is coming together, and for those looking to get involved in freestyle at any level, it is most certainly an exciting time!
Holme Pierrepont will be host to a world cup in 2020, an event open to all, not just the selected national teams. Before then, the European open takes place from Saturday 31st August to Sunday 1st September., an event catering to all levels of freestyle from true beginner to international athlete. If you feel inspired by team GB’s latest success, then even as a complete newcomer to freestyle, this is the event for you!
