PADDLER 38
Bren at the Tees Barrage Park Jam in 2023 Photo : Tom Clare
PADDLER 38
FINAL THOUGHTS
Park Jam this year was always going to be different . Bren has always been a huge part of Park Jam , so his not being there this year would always mean that it felt very different . Yet Park Jam 2024 was still incredibly special in its own way . Throughout the four events I attended , the vibes were always fun , and there were so many happy paddlers who were being brought together on the water . Memories and friends were made throughout the event ; whilst Bren ’ s name often came up , people generally shared nice memories of him or previous Park Jams . He was such a driving force behind the Park Jam series ( it used to be called Bren ’ s Park Jam until he asked it to be changed ) that it was nice to honour him by continuing to have the best time ever at these events .
All of the team paddlers who joined to help run the event made it such a welcoming atmosphere and so inclusive . I think this might be the highest number of team paddlers ever involved . Some paddlers could attend one or two events whilst others are attending every single one . The constant enthusiasm and good energy from everyone were amazing . I saw so many wonderful interactions between team paddlers with each other and paddlers attending the events over the last two weeks . One of the Tees paddlers said , ‘ Adrian Mattern just came over to me and said , “ Hi , I ’ m Adrian ’ – can you believe it !” The interaction stoked this paddler . People across the events have just been so
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Bren at the Tees Barrage Park Jam in 2023 Photo : Tom Clare
Adrian on the Dee . Photo : Jack Ledwith
Mat and Ellen rocking the duo ! Photo : Tom Clare
nice , and it makes such a difference . It really has been a couple of weeks of good vibes and happy memories . Shout out to all the great Palm and Pyranha paddlers who were involved this year and helped to make that happen .
There have been some bumps along the way , but the events have gone so smoothly , which is massive thanks to the people behind the scenes . Special shout-outs to Mat from Pyranha and Janice / Chips from Palm , who were the driving forces behind making these events happen . A lot of work goes on behind the scenes , and that isn ’ t always known . Thank you , guys , for your incredible hard work in making this happen .
Thanks for letting me be involved , everyone !