2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
3
K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Freestyle

Pumps cause delay as freestyle and downriver comp graces Lee Valley

canoe kayak freestyle lee valley great britain competition results bcu sportscene pumps london 2012 downriver

Photos: Richard Nutter | Article: Nick Harding | @nickhdg | Sportscene - The 2-jam freestyle and downriver event on the Lee Valley Legacy course (Olympic's little sister) eventually took place on 30th June following an hour and a half pump hold-up.

Paddlers descended on the London 2012 venue for the GB Freestyle-organised competition. Competitors were divided into three categories of increasing difficulty: novice, open and expert (for GB past and present).

canoe kayak freestyle lee valley great britain competition results bcu sportscene pumps london 2012 downriver The downriver heats were up first. Unforeseen, one of the Legacy's three pumps had to be switched off resultant of a technical issue.

When they did start, the heats interestingly began on the lower lake – on the pontoon to be more precise. Adversaries had to sprint for conveyor-belt where no overtaking was permitted.

Next it was on to the freestyle event, the reduced flow on the Legacy, down from the usual 10.5 m3/s meant that the decision was made to run the event on the Olympic course – a blessing in disguise for the competitors? The wave just before the first bridge made for a tough-old slog for the podium.

Heats were 20-minutes long and each move counted once.

In Expert; first, second and third went to Alan Ward, Duncan Hickman and James Weight in K1M. Junior K1M was won by Jake Norman and Kim Aldred in Junior K1W.

In Open, a division below, Hugo Anthony harvested the win in Junior K1M, Andrew Goodsell took home unisex C1, Martin Green the K1M and Chris Lowe won the over-35 masters.

Connor Armstrong proudly went onto to win the Junior K1M in the novice category.

canoe kayak freestyle lee valley great britain competition results bcu sportscene pumps london 2012 downriver Heats and a spot of lunch over, it was now time for the Super Final which was taking place on another wave passed the half-way mark of the Olympic course.

After three runs each James Weight was victorious with an overall score of 440. 1st place in the heats Alan Ward got second and Ben Aldred realised third.

A successful day of eventing overall using official ICF and YFS scoring with some promising GB freestyle talent ever emerging on the scene.

Results: http://gbfreestylekayak.com/etive/?p=257). [Love seeing handwritten results, something nostalgic about them!]


Post your views:

  1. Are pump failures an inevitable part of artificial canoeing?
  2. Or, are we looking at a wider problem, (where pumps have failed at two locations, Cardiff Canoe Slalom World Cup and Lee Valley, in the last couple of weeks)?