how i got here
Trophy
Moves
TropHy Move /’tro:fi’mu:v/ n. A move not yet listed
in the ICF’s competition list of basic moves; based
and scored on intermediate, advanced or expert level
skills. past trophy moves at Worlds competitions have
included the Bread and Butter—created in 2007 by
patrick Camblin and widely recognized as the first
combo move—and the Splitwheel, which eric Jackson
says he invented at the 1993 Worlds to help him claim
first place.
In the assiduously objective scoring regime of the
ICF, the trophy move is a flicker of the subjectivity
inherent in judged competition. After all, without
the allure of a high scoring “trophy move” allowance—
witness Kurt Browning’s quadruple toe loop, a never
before completed 1,440-degree aerial pirouette, at the
1988 World Figure Skating Championships—what would
encourage athletes to push the envelope of their
sport? Competitions would become a monotonous stream
of safe, previously seen tricks.
So the question is, if a trick is new and cool
enough, does it beat a routine—if perfectly executed—
ride? Most of the time, no. Browning received 6th
place for his historic performance. At the 2009
P
hoto Blake Mahoney
Worlds, a 200-point trophy move is worth just 20
points more than the well-worn Helix. Not worth
the risk for most athletes, but for some… simply
irresistible. For those who care more about showing
off their best tricks in front of the world than
winning, there’s no tellin’ where the money went. —vM
thomas ‘Deuce’ Fahrun, 20
technique
» living the Freestyle CirCuit
Blame my parents for bringing home a Dagger super Ego for me when I
was 12, family friend Dean Atherton for teaching me how to roll, or my
BounCE HigHEr
buddies nick Troutman and Joel Kowalski for going boating every day,
PATriCk CAMBliN
The bounce is one of the most important and
because after that I was hooked. since those first fateful events I’ve been
often overlooked aspects of freestyle kayaking.
spending a couple of months every year on the road living in cars and
The starting point for all aerial tricks, the bounce
working hard to support the lifestyle. Teaching kayaking, safety boating or
propels you off a wave, allowing you to rotate
renovating houses—I do whatever it takes to pay the bills.
your boat for anything from roundhouses to
It seems like a pretty exciting lifestyle—and it is—until you run out of airscrews. The better you are at bouncing, the
money. I’ve sold every boat I’ve ever owned to get home from the river, pay
more easily you will learn every aerial trick. For
rent and eat. My friends and parents have always been there when I was
serious airtime, focus on timing and edging.
broke or hungry. I’m also very fortunate to have several sponsorships that
On bigger waves, doing a pre-bounce is
help offset some of the gear costs and keep me on the water but it isn’t a
crucial to maximizing the force and height of
P
hoto Ma
your actual bounce. The pre-bounce mimics
free ride. Getting to where I am has involved making sacrifices and work-
the body motion of a bounce but at a much
ing through some interesting challenges. I recently graduated high school,
X
lower intensity. On all sizes of waves, a power-
i
M
ilian
having spent my final year living in a shady little apartment in Beachburg,
ful forward stroke from the top of the wave will
Ontario. I had to hitchhike to school every day in the middle of winter
help set up correct edging and begin your ac-
k
niew
because I couldn’t afford a car. celeration down the wave’s face. While sliding
asse
When I was 17, I got left in the middle of nowhere, Tennessee, on
down the face, lean forward or push down with
R
the first World Cup tour. I hitched through several states and spent a few
your feet to weight the bow and drive it into the
nights on the side of the road in the mountains before catching up with my
hard water. As you feel the boat start to rise, crunch your abs and lift with
friends. Taking second place, half a point behind fellow Team Wave sport
your knees to weight the stern and send you into the air.
If you look at the crux of a successful bounce, you’ll see that it all comes
member Evan Garcia, at the 2007 World Championships the following
down to timing. Timing a bounce to occur at your maximum speed on the
year made it all worthwhile. Living the circuit isn’t a lifestyle that suits ev-
wave’s launch area is the first step to going huge. The faster you shoot
eryone but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. —As TOLD TO DAn CALDWELL
down the wave, the more potential you have for big air, but also the snap-
pier your reactions need to be.
#
The other key to getting high is edging. Edging your boat as you bounce
does two important things: First, it helps you penetrate deeper into the wa-
ter resulting in more lift; and second, it gives you significantly more traction
reality
check
4
Gear shop salesperson
to throw tricks. Just before your bow hits the water, edge towards the side
of your last forward stroke. As your hull makes full impact with the water,
The closest you’ll get to mountain surf is restocking
arrior tells
start to switch your edges. This combination of body motion and directional
sprayskirts w
hile some hyperbolic weekend w pressures is the key to an effective bounce.
If you have all these mechanics down and are looking for that last extra
you how wicked V
ail is.
meanw
hile, you can’t possibly work
advantage, study the waves you are surfing. Many waves have a sweet
enough minimum w
age hours to pay for all the pro-dealed
spot that gives up the best passes—a rib that can help launch you higher or
gear you’ve already ordered.
a shoulder that you can jump from. Combining your perfected bounce tech-
nique with any of these will send you higher than you’ve ever been before.
0 Rapid summer/fall 2009
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