PADDLER 38
Words : Peter Astles Photos : PeakPS
PADDLER 38
CROMFORD MILLS ADV
Over the showery August bank holiday , local charity and canoe club Paddle Peak allowed a record-breaking 300 local Derbyshire youngsters to try kayaking on the beautiful and historic Cromford canal .
Back-to-back 30-minute sessions of ten kids at a time took place over the three days as part of the Cromford Mills Adventure Weekend . Visitors could also enjoy other exciting activities such as SUP , rock climbing , archery tag , bushcraft and more .
On top of the daily come-and-try kayaking sessions additional demonstrations and coaching clinics were performed for the crowd to enjoy and be inspired yet further . Paddle Peak ’ s regular group of local youngsters were given the opportunity to join in with the experts .
On Saturday , Olympians Adam Burgess and Kimberley Woods took time from their busy competition schedules to come and visit Cromford . They coached local youngsters on the River Derwent in front of the magnificent Willersley Castle . Then , during the lunch break , I participated in a fun canoe slalom race on the canal . Paddle Peak members had a chance to complete two runs of a ten-gate slalom course against the clock , with time penalties added for hitting or missing the gates ( two poles hung above the water ). The slalom race ran through the heaviest downpour of the weekend , but undeterred , the youngsters raced well against their Olympic role models . Overall , 9-year-old Eadie Whiting from Milford won the top spot , with Wirksworth ’ s Eli Hill , also a 9-year-old , placing top lad !
Over Sunday ’ s lunch break , there was a demonstration of Kayak Cross – a new Olympic paddling discipline that will debut in next year ’ s Paris Games . Local juniors and veterans participated in a time trial , followed immediately by a knockout head-to-head parallel slalom race in the canal basin . Milford ’ s vintage master and past world freestyle medalist Andrew Whiting won with Derby ’ s Jess Shreeve as top lady and Cromford ’ s Matt Rogerson as top junior . Awesome racing !
On Monday , onlookers witnessed an incredible Freestyle kayak demo by World Champion James Bebbington and up-and-coming star Sam Booth . They wowed the canal side full of spectators with their aerial kayak stunts , including front flips , super clean cartwheels ( end over end with no paddle assistance !) and Space Godzillas ( a front flip with a twist !). This was followed by a demonstration of canoe polo ( a ball game similar to water polo played in kayaks ) by the local Viking from Belper - multiple times national champions . Paddle Peak ’ s youngsters were given the opportunity to join in a match with the local experts that ended with an exciting penalty shoot-out !
Words : Peter Astles Photos : PeakPS