GB Freestyle Selections

Many more paddlers turned up to GB selections for the British freestyle team than I expected on the sunny Saturday morning. This was my first time at selections so I was doing it for the experience. As with all freestyle kayaking events the briefing started slightly late. We were told that we would not get a practice run before our run. Super quick change time! I had half an hour on the water before the squirt kicked the competition off. My practice went well so I got off the water happy before getting a place on the bridge and watching the other competitors. The OC1s were very funny, nobody scored a point but hey, it was great entertainment. In the C1 we were surprised to find David Florence (silver medalist at Beijing Olympics) in the line up. He did well considering he is a slalom paddler and managed to get in the squad. Now it was my turn. I was feeling the pressure but my warm up helped me relaxed and I used the 'Circle of Excellence' to improve my performance. I managed 1 good ride but unfortunately flushed early in my other rides due to a very green 3 gate wave. In the end I came 13th. I believe that I could of came about 8th if I had another good ride. It was a really good experience and I will definitely go again next year.

Big thank you to KJO for the coaching (www.kayakojacko.com) and PGL for the support (www.pgl.co.uk).

I am training again next week so hopefully Hurley will still be on 3.

See you on the water

Josh