Blink , and you ’ ll miss it Britain sets the bar in freestyle
Words : Mike Shaw Photos : Kevin Bonar , Nichole Jones . Insta : @ nixearthpix
Even to those who follow whitewater paddling , it would be natural to assume that freestyle is a sport whose peaks are scaled only in far-off rivers with huge standing waves and by big-name paddlers . A coterie of the unbeatable and the unpronounceable made up of big-wave specialists like America ’ s Dane Jackson , Frenchmen Sebastian Devred , Tom Dolle and Mathieu Dumoulin and Catalonian Joaquim Fontane I Maso .
These are all regulars at monster waves across North America , Africa and France . You would not necessarily pick an ageing whitewater course in a Midlands town best known for Robin Hood as the place for new world records to be established . But on Saturday , September 4th , exactly 735 days since the UK ’ s last freestyle competition , that ’ s precisely what happened when the previous points record for a freestyle ride was not just beaten – but obliterated . Twice .
Inlet gate on Nottingham ’ s Holme Pierrepont Whitewater Course , a powerful but predictable deep hole , might not be a training ground for the sort of big-wave surfing that has glamourised freestyle in recent years ; but it has long been known to be one of the best spots in the world for hole-riding , a place to link together all the latest moves in freestyle into new combos , and to throw down new trophy moves .
Left : Ottilie Robinson-Shaw Below : Gav Barker
That ’ s where a small , elite , tightly-knit group of paddlers took freestyle to a new level throughout the summer of 2020 . It was a summer of progression brought about by countless sessions in the inlet , the world ’ s eyes unable to peer into the void , bar a few interested hikers and dog-walkers – rumour and gossip spread . By the time September 4th arrived , these men and women had been busy training , preparing in secret , perfecting their routines , forging their moves , preparing themselves for the next major event .
The 2000-point score at an ICF judged event is a barrier akin to the four-minute mile , the twothousand-yard rushing season in the NFL or the two-hour marathon in running . This barrier had only been broken once before by Gavin Barker of Team GB , who scored 2,055 points in the 2019 Brit Champs . With the recent ICF rule change , would it happen again ? Could it even happen again ?
K1 SENIOR MEN 1 . Harry Price 2600pts 2 . Rob Crowe 2410pts 3 . Gav Barker 2045pts
K1 SENIOR WOMEN 1 . Ottie Robinson-Shaw
1460pts 2 . Lowri Davies 620pts
3 . Emma Witherford 440pts
K1 JUNIOR MEN 1 . Toby Marlow 1790pts 2 . Ben Higson 1150pts
3 . Ellis Pimborough Jones 610pts
K1 JUNIOR WOMEN 1 . Issie Wormall
360pts 2 . Niamh Macken
240pts 3 . Jennifer Leal
230pts
C1 MEN 1 . Matt Stephenson
1055pts 2 . James Ibbotson
940pts 3 . Adam Ramadan
920pts
C1 WOMEN 1 . Ottie Robinson-Shaw
760pts 2 . Jak Fantastic
90pts 3 . Rebekah Green
30pts
OC1 OPEN 1 . Chris Noble 120pts
2 . Adam Ramadan 42.5pts
3 . Connor Proud 40pts
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