Standing Waves Competition
Big Cojones, Greyhound Bus
Two–hour freeboat session in the Bus Eater. The Lorne, Ottawa River
Eater Rodeo Drink beer, shell peanuts and be a judge—The future of freestyle?
by Scott MacGregor
On May 23, Ottawa Kayak hosted the first made-for-TV- judging freestyle event. The Ottawa River was running at an even higher than expected water level. The notoriously nasty river-wide Greyhound Bus Eater hole was a surging wall of dumping surf. In a two- hour open “freeboat” session, big wave freestyle athletes either dropped in from far above or ferried onto the mon- ster wave with the use of a waterski rope—video tape run- ning. Then it was back to the bar to watch, and peer judge, who would be crowned the “big wave” king and queen.
We asked Steve Metcalf, marketing manager for Wilderness Tours’ and Ottawa Kayak, why the Bus Easter? And why video judging? “The Bus Easter demands a
little more attention as freestyle boating continues its migration towards big, technical flips and variations on somewhat impos- ing and monstrous waves. The Bus Eater is quickly being rec- ognized as the best wave in North America for this emerg- ing boater sub-sect.
“As you know, in most top-
level surf contests there is not only a lot of prize money at stake but also a lot of sponsor- ship dollars and media support on the line. Surfers are notori- ous for unleashing on the judges if they feel they were misjudged. Introducing video as a back up or leading judg- ing tool really diminishes potential contestant anguish. “This way, the winners are chosen by their peers and all contestants get to re-live the event in a more laid-back envi- ronment. It also helps contest- ants see what it takes to win as they may not have always seen the performances of the others while giving them a better idea of where they rank among the group.”
But more importantly on the
big screen replay, with digital video clarity, everyone in the bar truly knows who has the biggest cojones. Ryan Whetung and Dominique Gauthier were crowned king and queen of the big wave event. Big trick winners were Guillaume La Rue and Laura Nash. Bartender, another round for the queen!
photo top by Scott MacGregor. photo above and right by Rob Faubert/
holeriders.com
Anchored far upstream, the ski rope was the ticket to ride.
10 //
www.rapidmag.com
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