The PaddlerUK magazine March 2015 issue 1 | Page 29

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In seven months time the ICF
World Championships will be
taking place on ‘Garb’ wave on
the Ottawa river in Canada. The
Ottawa River is renowned
amongst freestyle kayakers as one
of the best training venues and is
home to some of the best surf
waves in the world. In the
summer there's warm water,
sunshine and a mixture of small,
smooth and fast technical waves,
whilst in the spring it’s home to
some of the biggest and most
challenging waves ever surfed.

A test to its quality and standard, this will be the
third time the river has been selected to host a
freestyle kayak World Championships. In 1997 the
Rodeo World Championships took part on the
waves of the McCoys rapid. In 2007 the first ICF
World Championships took place on the Lorne
rapids ‘Bus Eater’ wave and now in 2015 it will host
another ICF World Championships again on the
Lorne rapids but this time on ‘Garburator’ wave.

On a wave

This is my fourth World Championships and
second on the Ottawa river and will be one of
my biggest competitive challenges yet. I will be
returning as the three-time and defending Squirt
Boat World Champion and two-time and
defending Freestyle Kayak World Champion, to
do battle for gold in both events. I will be
competing against the best paddlers in the world,
in categories where the standard is rising rapidly
week after week, this time on a wave!

Claire training on the White Nile
Photo by Dennis Newton
ThePaddlerUK 29