PADDLER 64
Jake Deakin
Sennah Nadie-Humphrie been all day ; you could feel the hustle and bustle , the competitiveness building between the paddlers . They started with a timed run to help put them into their heats , men ’ s and women ’ s ; the top two of each heat went through until the semi-finals and the finals .
Amber Maslen
Ben Higson
Etienne Chappell
PADDLER 64
Jake Deakin
Ramping it up to 8 cumecs , the first event of the afternoon was ‘ extreme ’ Ducky Derby , where once again , a mix of ages , abilities and duckies raced their way down the course to claim the Ducky Derby Champion title .
Once the ducky havoc had ended , it was time to watch and heckle some freestyle paddlers ; once again , we had paddlers of all ages and abilities throwing down their best moves to the judges to gain their points to put them on the podium . Not going to lie ; I had no idea of any of the moves they were making , but it looked pretty cool ! Even though it had been raining and heavy showers throughout the day , the vibe was still good , and the sun started shining for the main event , the boater cross .
HUSTLE AND BUSTLE
The water went up to 10 cumecs , and suddenly , it felt like there were more paddlers than there had
Sennah Nadie-Humphrie been all day ; you could feel the hustle and bustle , the competitiveness building between the paddlers . They started with a timed run to help put them into their heats , men ’ s and women ’ s ; the top two of each heat went through until the semi-finals and the finals .
Even those who weren ’ t paddling or had got off for the day stuck around to watch , heckling and shouting their support for their friends and family .
Overall , day one of CIWW PaddleFest was memorable and full of fun !
Bank Holiday Monday welcomed over 100 slalom paddlers and even some Olympians for the Prem race . Demos from Cardiff ’ s own Andy Kettlewell , course walks with the athletes and visualising , followed by a lot of class racing ! It was another good day on and off the water .
Amber Maslen
Ben Higson
Etienne Chappell