Words:
Sophie Macken

Photos:
Tom Clare &
David Rogers

Sophie Macken

The Youth Freestyle Series will be back for 2026! Keep an eye on GB Freestyle Kayaking on www.facebook.com/GBFreestyleKayaking or @gbfreestyle 

Youth freestyle wrap up

The Youth Freestyle Series (YFS) was back for its second year with many new faces joining the events alongside returning paddlers eager to show off their progress since last year. The goal of the YFS is to get young people out on the water, learning to improve their paddling with the help of some of the UK’s best coaches. The second aim is to help connect young paddlers so they can make new friends with other keen paddlers their own age. 

2025 consisted of four separate events held at different locations. Mile End Mill on the river Dee, The Nene Whitewater Centre, Lee Valley Whitewater Centre, and the Canolfan Tryweryn. As a member of the Junior GB Freestyle Kayaking team, who has grown up around events like this, I was beyond happy to take on some coaching this year and help develop the next generation.

The Dee
First up, it was back to Mile End Mill on the Dee, where we were greeted by low water and bright sunshine! After a quick briefing and warm-up, it was off to the flatwater to see what everyone could do. Whilst Alpacas went for a swim behind us, everyone got to know each other and worked through what we could do. We had everything from flatwater loops to people trying their first rolls. A quick rundown to throw some tailies and get warmed up on the white water had us splitting up to play in the side channel hole and the bottom wave. A bit of technical rock dodging saw moves of all varieties thrown.

We then headed up to try some pogo flips and seal launches off the big rock, with lots of stylish faceplants, and Jacob throwing the biggest pogo flip of the day!

A quick lunch break, then straight into a fun competition. The YFS competitions are run as jam sessions, where everyone gets as many rides as they can fit into the time, and the aim is to score as many different moves as possible. Judge Charlie, who was getting his eye in for judging the World Championships in a couple of weeks, had his work cut out for him with the low water and incredible variety of moves being thrown! After a quick prize giving, it was time to dry off and head home.

The Nene
The second event this year was held at Northampton Active, or the Nene, as most people know it. After spending some time on the flat learning everything from rolling to pogo flips, the lovely Laura and I took a small group up to the bottom section of the course to practice some ferry glides and even some tailies. Right from the start, it was clear that there was some real talent amongst the group, and by the end of the session, we were running the whole course and stopping for some surfs. We practised some NFL scoring tricks like Paddle Spins and Shudder Rudders to get ready for the competition in the afternoon.

Once lunch was over, we split into three groups: one started in the pumps and pour over, while the other stayed at the wave further down. We started with the idea of heats and a maximum time, but this quickly changed. After about four rides each, we all decided we were too hot, climbed out of our boats, and had a chaotic swim session.

My personal favourite moment was when I managed to push Tom Clare into the water (once he had put his camera down) and made him body surf in the pour over. Further down, we had a friendlier competition full of enthusiastic paddlers and surfs with Paddle Spins, Cosmic Donkeys (rocking backwards and forwards whilst making donkey noises), Harry Potters(waving your paddles and shouting a spell), and so much more. It was lovely to see so many younger paddlers who seemed a little nervous during the morning session, enjoying themselves with huge grins. Once it was time to jump off the water, we held a prize-giving and said our goodbyes before heading home. It was truly a great day kayaking with the most amazing and enthusiastic group.

Lee Valley
The next event was held at Lee Valley White Water Centre near London, where we paddled the Legacy Course. After a quick catch-up with a lot of familiar faces from the Nene event, we held a quick briefing and warm-up before heading onto the flat to learn some flatwater tricks. Once again, we had everything from rolling to flatwater loops, and the progression from just about half an hour was insane to watch. Sophie and I decided to stay at the bottom of the course to work on some ferry gliding skills and a few more flatwater tricks (I know, both coaches named Sophie weren’t confusing at all…).

We started off the session with a quick walk up the course, showing the best places and learning about reading the water and where you would like to go. Whilst fellow coach Sam Wilson built the afternoon freestyle feature, we decided to run laps of the lower section, which proved to be quite technical. I would have to say that the funniest part of the session was when I realised I couldn’t keep up with Mackenzie, and I had to sprint after him to keep up, only to realise he actually thought we were racing! Once we got to the bottom, we both had similar looks, wondering what we had disturbed. All around, people were pulling each other’s spraydecks and making people swim, including me!

After a chaotic morning play session, it was on to the competition in the afternoon. Laura and I held one heat lower down, where it was less rowdy, where paddlers could choose between the hole and the wave towards the bottom, which was full of Roll In The Holes, Crowd Pleasers, and anything else you can think of. I loved watching everyone support each other and see paddlers cheering and clapping for one another with each trick they tried. After we finished up the competition, we headed over to the pontoon to try Pogo Flips. We even tried some synchronised ones, which turned out better than I expected. We wrapped up the day with prize giving once again before saying goodbye. I definitely think it was one of my favourite days on the water this year.

The Tryweryn
This year, the last event was held at the river Tryweryn in Wales. Once again, we decided to split into two groups, with one group staying in the World’s Hole above the Chipper and the other going a little further down to catch some smaller and less intimidating waves. After some impressive surfs and wall grinds under the bridge, we moved down to where half of our group had found a series of waves to surf, just above the Graveyard section. This was where we later held part of our competition, so we decided to work on as many fun tricks as we could think of.

We even managed to create some of our own before moving on to King of the Wave and a quick game of ‘who could make Sophie swim the quickest’, which Leri won! This even lasted further into the day when Charlie (Coach and Chief Judge) told everyone they would get loads of points if they could make me swim!

After a cold (and wet) session, we jumped off the water just in time for it to start raining and grabbed a quick lunch before heading back into the river for an afternoon competition. First up was a paddle in World’s Hole, where we mostly spent the time running back around between rides, as the eddy proved to be quite hard to get into. Once the heat was wrapped up, I headed up to the Graveyard section, where we held another competition. Due to this year’s turnout, we ended up having three heats, all full of enthusiastic paddlers keen to make me swim!

Just as I was about to get out of my boat, I realised I had managed to escape the shenanigans and stay dry; however, fellow coach Charlie had other plans. He made sure I was absolutely soaked and full of water before leaving! Once again despite the pouring rain the paddlers all decided that being in a boat was just not enough fun and by the end of the session most if not everyone was swimming around the eddie. After all the heats were finished, we all headed back to the vans to get warm before gathering for prize-giving and a final thanks to all the volunteers throughout the event.

Overall, the series brought in several new paddlers, and I absolutely loved seeing so many familiar faces, along with new ones, throughout the events. Many of the young paddlers who attended the events were able to make new friends from around the UK, and it was exciting to see these friendships grow over the series. Many of the paddlers also attended the GB freestyle academy camp, and their progression over this time period has been fantastic to see.