reel them back in . He also made a minor course error which meant third place would have his name written all over it . Blue did everything to rein Joep in after some tense drafting on the last corner into the finish line , but it was not to be . Joep is a true champion and can now add a GBSUP national race win to his bio ! Ben Moreham would have given Joep and Blue a run for their money without those minor errors ; such is his talent .
14 ’ women
Well , if we thought that was exciting , the women decided otherwise ! Four dominated and worked together with clever drafting strategies . Ginnie Betts , Emily Evans , Marie Buchanan and Holly Pye gave us an inspiring and exhilarating race . Paddling back past the WW centre , Ginnie led Emily , Holly and Marie , but as they came back around the corner towards the finish line , Emily had pulled away with Holly and Marie battling it out for second and third – Holly just had the strength to get a second place by a second or two with Ginnie in fourth . Emily was spent but delighted to defend her win from last year and qualify for the Welsh team , as did Ginnie . Holly and Marie also qualified for the English team . Some super strong females will be representing the UK later in the year .
12 ’ 6 classes
On to the 12 ’ 6 classes and a thrilled new champion in Natalie Cant from Norfolk , with Felicity Hurst in second and reigning champ Emily King in third . In the men ’ s 12 ’ 6 , Al Hughes defended his title , with Philip Sparkes second and Dave Scott in third .
It was great to see such a healthy fleet in the UKN1Sco class – it ’ s always got a great feel about it with paddlers competing on similar boards . Local girl Kerry Baker won for the ladies with Helen Russell second and Gemma Cone third and Simon Day for the men with Glyn Smith and Craig Hughes second and third . Some of these competitors have been racing the Naish One Design board for years – they love the concept !
6km Challenge Tour
Twenty-four paddlers took part in the 6km Challenge Tour . Even though it ’ s not a race , we can applaud Trevor Goodman and Victoria Utting for being the first man and woman to finish , with special mention to 10-year-old Jacques Thomas from Jersey coming in second – it was a ‘ race ’ for Jacques . He did superbly well against all the adults .
GBSUP is trying hard to nurture the juniors and was lucky enough to have six who benefitted from a creative and fun workshop from local instructors Emily Evans and Sarah Perkins with support from the Water Skills Academy and the white water centre . They then took part in sprints and technical races , and all came away with new skills , smiles , medals and prizes . Well done to Gracie , Flick , Isabelle , Jacques , Mylo and Tije . Mylo and Tije take after their father , Joep , as their sync turns were better than most adults ! GBSUP hope to see ALL of these youngsters back at future events .
We had a rare treat with tandem paddlers Allistair Swinsco and Alison Rennie showing us how it ’ s done , paddling perfectly in sync on their beautiful 425Pro tandem board – this couple has competed all over the world and has such a skill .
Prone
Not as many prone paddlers this year at Cardiff but special mention for the winners , Mark Norton and Kezia Elliott , with Mark Rees coming in second for the men .
5 s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k