The PaddlerUK magazine April 2016 issue 7 | Page 5

ThePaddlerUK 7 April digital 2016.qxp_ThePaddler 31/03/2016 21:54 Page 5 STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES The rollers Gino Watkins Do you remember your first roll? Or, I should say, your first rolls, because there are a number of firsts in reality. The first roll, the first roll outside the warm clarity of the swimming pool, the first roll on moving water, then the first unplanned roll. It is not the hardest move in kayaking these days, not even close to it. Almost anything in freestyle is harder, particularly the building blocks like double pumps and bow stalls, so the move has lost something of its cachet over the years.These days, it’s more realistic to see the roll as the crux move that enables you to start your kayaking career. It marks the end of beginner status and entry into the real club. It remains, however, the single most iconic move in kayaking and probably always will, because it represents something fundamental and important, and something that is nearly unique to the kayak: the ability to come back up after complete inversion.To the non-paddling world it is more impressive than anything else. You don’t have to go back far in time to see its evolution in the sport. Various kayaking films of the 70s and even 80s show paddlers performing it as a victory flourish after a rapid or as a statement of intent before one. One good example is the first legal descent of Niagara Gorge – have a look on YouTube – it’s a great video. PADDLERUK 5 Far left: Gino Watkins book cover by John Ridgway. Left: Gino Watkins illustration by Ian Ribbons scanned from the book OUP1974