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SUPJUNKIE REPORTING :
THE GBSUP NATIONAL RACE SERIES 2021 Words : Sarah Thornely Photos : Antony Thornely & Jonathan Greatrex for Supjunkie
THE RACE SERIES CONTINUES and with it , we have champions crowned and news of some incredible fundraising for the RNLI .
SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIPS – NOTTINGHAM
But first , let ’ s talk sprints ! This event was not always set in stone for 2021 . Still , with the help of some good dialogue with British Canoeing , GBSUP were delighted to be invited back to the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont , for a day of super-fast racing . Racing here brings out some interesting thoughts and emotions from the paddlers ; an uncontrollable fear of those buckets , will I be able to paddle straight , will I fall off , how fast will I go , will I get through to the final ? Until you ’ ve had a go , your biggest focus is that yellow start line bucket . Popping the board nose in it whilst you try and keep straight is a challenge in itself , and don ’ t even think about jump-starting the race . You also get to experience watching great racing from some of the best British Canoeing members in other crafts , and the timing of the heats here is a thing of beauty – these guys know their stuff !
So , 40 paddlers attended , having confirmed that they could paddle at a certain speed over 200 metres even to be allowed to enter . Twenty men , 20 women ! All paddlers would get the chance to sprint twice over 200 metres , and then the fastest nine men and women would qualify for the final .
All the heats were incredibly exciting , no one could let up at any stage in either heat for fear of missing out in that top nine , and the finals were on fire with some record-breaking times . In the end , Ben Pye retained his crown as the National Sprint Series Champion . For the women , Holly Pye saved something in the bank to beat the incredibly fast Emily Evans . Brother and sister Ben and Holly celebrated their wins together on the water . The fastest time of the day came from Ben at 1:01.09 for 200 metres – the sprinters are getting faster , and we know the one-minute barrier will be broken next year . Ben was delighted in retaining his title , and the win from Holly set her up for competing in the ICF World Championships in Hungary later that week . Beautiful trophies made by the very talented Jade Rogers were awarded to first , second and third .
I was lucky enough to be invited to join the British Canoeing official live feed on the Sprint Racing Committee YouTube Channel . There was some excellent camera work and drone footage throughout their coverage so if you missed it live , check it out ! Hopefully , I gave them some insight into our wonderful world of SUP . Once again , we feel we brought something slightly different to their party , and we are sure they will want us back next year .
GBSUP were lucky enough to secure some great prize sponsors for this event , so decided to hold a
s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k
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