p
Lambert’s not alone in thinking that last year’s World Cup, also held in Europe and Now serving number 42.
competitive freestyle kayaking may be washed climaxing at Thun, the winners were Slovakian
Photo BRad steels
up. More and more paddlers are choosing boater Peter Csonka and 18-year-old U.S.
ashed U
events like Palmer Fest, NantyFest and the phenom Emily Jackson.
Gauley River Festival over competitions—in For Stephen Wright, a three-time U.S.
W
effect subscribing to the Rapid-coined notion National Freestyle Champion and coach of the
of “freeboating,” says Lambert. Freestyle Ottawa Kayak School Keeners crop of teenage
All
kayaks once ruled the whitewater market, but boaters, the Thun World Championships are
for the 2009 season only one new design, the a big deal. If Wright is correct, the Swiss event
Liquidlogic Biscuit, was released onto North could be the coming out party for the future of
American rivers. At the dawn of the 2009 World freestyle, the next step in bringing air screws,
Freestyle Championships—the latest installment McNastys and loops to the Olympics and the
of a flailing push to get the sport into the passing of the torch to a younger generation
Olympics—paddlers everywhere are asking: of playboaters. There may be good reason why
What is the future of freestyle? the Thun World Championships are falling
beneath the radar of middle-aged forum boaters:
With the notable exception of forty-something
Tourists often ignore Thun,
Eric Jackson, freestyle kayaking is becoming
Switzerland, population 42,000, in favour
increasingly dominated by kids.
of the popular Interlaken region—at least so
Case in point, says Wright, is the fact that
say the pages of world travel companion Rough
20-year-old Canadian Nick Troutman, the
Guide. But its highlights are classic Swiss:
runner-up at last year’s World Cup, has “come
medieval castles, views of the snow-capped Eiger
pretty close to doing a double air screw,” an
and Heidi-esque girls with braided blond hair
aerial double barrel-roll trick that has never
and plaid skirts. Thun (pronounced “Toon”) has
been successfully landed. “Kids come with no
been inhabited for the past 2,300 years.
preconceived notions of what is possible in a
The average paddler could be forgiven for
kayak,” says Wright. “They’re going to be able to
mistaking Thun for Thunder Bay, as was the
do things that we’ve never dreamed of.”
case on an online forum this spring, or being
According to McGuire, Eric Jackson’s
ignorant of the fact that the city will be the
willingness to share his competitive drive and
site of a small invasion of whitewater boaters
sponsor up-and-comers under his Jackson
for the World Freestyle Championships this
Kayak brand has had much to do with the
August–September. After all, North American
sport’s changing demographics. “With E.J.
hype for the 2009 event has been virtually
training with Nick [Troutman] and Joel
non-existent—nothing like the excitement for
[Kowalski], he’s really taught them how to
the 2007 championships on the Ottawa River’s
compete,” says McGuire. “It’s crazy how much
gargantuan Bus Eater wave. At press time, the
planning goes into these competitions. They
International Canoe Federation (ICF) event
keep track of points on Excel spreadsheets and
website was only accessible to English readers
know exactly which moves they need to get into
through the garble of Google translation. Most
the finals. They’re absolute machines on a wave.”
Joe-kayakers have no idea the championships
are even taking place.
Matt McGuire, the chief organizer of the Longtime freestyle competitor Jay
2007 World Championships, says North Kincaid was once a hole-riding machine, logging
America’s ambivalence towards the 2009 over 300 days on the river per year. The Reno,
Worlds has much to do with the fact that it’s Nevada-native participated in his first rodeo
being hosted in an overseas backwater on a event in 1993. He made a living as a professional
non-descript wave. “The feature isn’t as good freestyle kayaker for over a decade, claiming the
as the Ottawa can provide,” says McGuire. “It’s 2003 World Championships and a respectable
flushy and small and it’s going to be a little wad of sponsorship dollars from Dagger,
trickier to land and stick tricks.” Still, McGuire Werner, Kokatat, Teva and other paddlesports
is anticipating big crowds and a competitive heavyweights along the way. For freestyle
event. “When the championships are held in insiders, it was a shock last spring when Kincaid
an urban setting the atmosphere is livelier,” he resigned from the U.S. National Freestyle Team
adds. “Europeans are big into freestyle. All of and competitive kayaking altogether.
the competitors are excited for that.” “The 2006 World Cup [at Rock Island,
In an effort to make freestyle paddling an Tennessee] and the 2007 World Championships
Olympic sport, international events have been on the Ottawa were the first kayaking
administered each year since 2006 by the ICF, competitions that I didn’t enjoy,” says Kincaid.
a worldwide body of competitive paddlesports “I love competition, but I realized I was
that’s recognized by the International Olympic spending 95 per cent of my day floating in a
Committee and also handles flatwater racing lineup in an eddy, rather than actually paddling.
and whitewater slalom. It was decided that a I thought, ‘there’s nothing I like about this.’”
series of at least two World Cup events would Over his career, Kincaid says he’s watched
be held in even years, says McGuire, and a the scope of professional kayaking shift from
single winner-takes-all World Championships whitewater slalom to instruction to freestyle,
would take place in odd years. At the 2007 and finally to making videos of hairy first-
World Championships, U.S. freestyle ironman descents in creekboats and big wave surfing.
Eric Jackson and Canadian Ruth Gordon took “When I started, freestyle was the easiest way
senior men’s and women’s titles, respectively. At to get noticed,” says Kincaid. “You were either
22 Rapid summer/fall 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48