Bartosz Czauderna | Sportscene - Freestyle kayaking is young discipline for sure. It arrived in Poland at end of the 20th century. The first events were held in 1999 as part of other competitions – creek racing or simply organized trips. It was getting popular fast but so it was just a matter of time before the first events were going to start.

We’ve had one main problem – Poland isn’t the smallest country and most kayak clubs are located in big cities all over the Poland but our country is about 91,3% flat! Moreover, our mountains are very beautiful but they aren't very high so to get water into creeks we need a lot of rain storms which don’t happen either enough of the time or they are too weak. But there were more and more short boats and supporters of this cool discipline. So somebody came up with conclusion – if we can practice it in winter at pools why don’t we have competitions there?

So it started. In year 2005 we had our first nationwide competition which took place on flatwater! The year after the first 'hole' event took place which named the first Polish Championships. Our hole was hard to catch even though it was located at beginning of the course and most of the time there was too little water.

So from 2007 when I had opportunity to start my adventure with freestyle we had two championships happening, one at flatwater and a second on a hole. As for most of people, training on a pool was easier then travelling through all of Poland to a small playspot which might or might not be there. The result was one more event at the end of the year, the Championships of Mazowsze, a fun event which brought a lot of people together, it wasn’t meant for titles but for enjoyment – exactly in the way as freestyle is meant to be done. As for other events there aren’t that many participants, this particular one brings the largest amount of enthusiasts maybe also because it is sort of a memorial for our friend, Michal Radek “Fido”,  who took big part in freestyle development in Poland but died on the river. Last year there were over 130 participants!

In year 2011 we even transferred our freestyle routine into a squirt category which took us to great places although we couldn't stand a chance against mystery moves we were trying hard which put us at top places. Personally I started it as fun idea in Plattling 2011 at the World Championships but when it got out of control and became a place-race instead of fun idea, it scared me a bit. Despite this, I’ve heard a lot of positive attitudes that it brought new spirit into this and made it more entertaining.

For the past years we were mostly basing our training on flatwater – whole winter at pools and lakes in summer. The most dedicated paddlers were travelling to other countries to get desired 'hole' fun; I had a few monthly trips in a row. As always with freestyle, it has given me a lot of fun travelling and paddling with so many great people. All the adventures which freestyle kayaking have been unforgettable but there was one thing we were dreaming about all the time; a good playspot in our country that was available for everyone.

You might say, “Poland is flat country, but you have few courses. With many organised slalom events at Cracow, why not make a spot there?” We’ve been working on that a for long time and finally thanks to the Cracow Canoe Club, which has been host of the course, we will have desired playspots. With rebuilding the channel for this years slalom European Championships there will be new possibilities, we plan to organise first event in Cracow in July.
Sportscene would love to have your opinion:

1. Do you train at flatwater? Do you find it useful?
2. Is there a place for flatwater Freestyle tricks in Squirt or any other category?