The full team has just been announced on the GB Team website if you’re interested. The date and venue of the 2012 European Champs is yet to be confirmed, but I’m stoked to be part of the team and look forward to training with everyone again.

Fran will also be out representing Great Britain next year as the newest member of the GB Ladies Rafting 1st-team. The GB Ladies Team is one of the best in the World so this is a huge achievement, so congratulations Fran!

We’ll keep you updated on both of our progress on the international stage next year.

When I heard there was going to be a new ladies Palm Element suit, I was really exited. New zip shape and materials to make it more manoeuvrable, drop seat for ladies relief and the same articulated cut and lightweight but durable material as my favourite cag – the Aqua (see this video for more technical details).

Last weekend an exciting parcel landed on my desk: a pre-production model for me to test! I rushed straight down to the Tryweryn, disregarding the fact that we were having the hottest October days on record. Over the course of the next couple of days I played about in my playboat, bashed around in my creekboat and fell out of inflatables trying to splat NRA bridge. I had an awesome time messing about with my mates, and hopefully you’ll enjoy this video.

Lowri does some playboat coaching at the newly improved Campsite Wave (aka Super Wave)

Fun times in the King of the Wave event

Saturday’s highlights definitely included the Big Dog Freeride event, where you had one minute to impress the judges by doing anything you liked on any part of the the river between the raft take-out and and NRA. Be careful when you say “anything goes” to a bunch of paddlers, you never know what you’ll get!

Big up to Pete Woods for some impressive head stands and somersaults with bells on from an inflatable “orca”. Gez’s seal-lauch into fingers was inspired and there were some funky moves pulled off by Tim Burne and local boys Vito and Beesley but I somehow beat them all to win the “new school” category. There was no competing with the boys in orcas for the “spirit of the games” awards though!!

Saturday also saw a cool new relay race, where teams of 3 had to choose one boat and one paddle that they would all use. The boats were lined up at the top of Ski Slope and there was a mass-start in middle car park, where the first racers from each team ran up to their boat, hurredly pulled on their deck and raced on down the river through Ski Slope, International Wave and Davies Bridge. At this point they had to make an eddy on river left, where racer 2 was waiting. As people piled into the same eddy, trying to get to their team mate, the first racer had to get out of the boat and pass it to racer 2 , who has to run with it to above Davies’ before launching in and racing down river to cafe wave. It was here that the final racers awaited. The field had spread but the small change-over eddies soon had everyone battling to try and be first down fingers and towards the finish banner at NRA. A last minute entry of Tim Burne, Dan Heyworth and Danny Young took the win.

Saturday evening we were treated to a first look at the footage from a recent China expedition which featured some local heros such as Tom McLay, Simon Tapley, Rob Litherland, “Crazy” Dave Thompson and James Shrimpton.  We watched in awe as the guys tackled some of the biggest white water on the planet in cold and remote mountain regions. By the end of the video I think most people were either itching to get on an adventure of their own or glad that they only had to face the Tryweryn tomorrow! As custom would dictate, there were of course a few beverages in a local establishment afterwards.

Sunday morning came with a few weary heads, but also the event we’d all been waiting for after the epic hilarity of last year. The Palm 8-ball race is a boater-x with a difference. You race in heats of 4 with a couple of downstream gates to go around, but watch out! There are “blockers” in various places along the course, usually involving a big inflatable orca, so being in the lead isn’t always to your advantage!

Lowri getting smashed by an orca while in the lead

Another big impact in the same race!

The great thing about 8-ball is that there is a massive random element to it. You never know what’s gonna happen! In the end our own Dave Hollins took the win in the open and Lynsey Evans took the ladies, pipping me to it in the final eddy after a great neck and neck race. Fran was victim to dirty blocker tactics when her deck was pulled, though apparently I’d been the original target… shame I was too speedy for them

The silliness and carnage was not over yet though! It was soon time for the King of the Wave. Choice of craft was tactical: choose a manoeuvrable little playboat or go for a big boat that will wipe out the opposition? I went for the Dagger Green, deciding that the comedy value was well worth the lack of manoeuvrability. Dave Hollins went for an orca, there was a Speeder and a Fusion, all sorts of creek boats and a plethora of playboats.

Myself and Dave managed to get a couple of classic moments where we wiped everyone else off the wave, but in the end it was the Fusion that won out with Tim Burne at the helm.

All that was left to do now was claim our tea and medals – quite literally.

TrywerynFest is a fantastic weekend of fun and frolics – whether you wish to compete in the events or not, there is loads going on from demos to coaching and a river to paddle for free. But the carnage is definitely worth watching!! Make sure you come along next year, it’s not to be missed. So see you there, I’ll most likely be the one under an orca…

All photos with thanks to Sam Beesley, Alex MacGregor and Palm Equipment.

DeeStyler! from Tom Laws on Vimeo.

Here’s a short video from the day, for a full write-up check out the organiser’s blog.

1. Get replacement cord

I use 5mm prusik cord, available from most climbing shops (e.g. Rock Bottom in Betws or online). This is rugged and hard wearing, while also being rough enough to have good friction in the cleat. You need about a metre per side you wish to replace. I’d replace both sides at the same time.

2. Remove old cord

But don’t remove both side at once! Leave one side in while you do the first, then you have it for reference if you get confused about where the cord needs to go. Note the knot used on either end, it is usually a figure of 8, like below. There is a plastic washer on one end of the cord – put that safely to one side, you’ll need it again in a minute.

3. Start at the cleat

This is probably not the obvious place to start, but trust me it is the easiest! Tie a figure of eight in one end of the cord then feed the other through the cleat from the end closest to the front of the boat.

4. Feed it through the larger hole

Starting from behind the cockpit rim, feed that same untied end of the cord through the larger hole in front of the hip pads.

5. Loop around the backband ring

Note the direction that the cord is passed through the ring, this ensures the cord can pull through freely to tighten the backband.

6.  Pass through the smaller hole

7. Remember the washer!

Find the washer you put down in a “safe place” and stick it on the end of the cord then tie another figure of eight. Pull the washer down onto the knot.

Pull the cord through until the washer is against the inside if the cockpit rim. Ensure the washer is sitting flat or it can damage either the washer or your cockpit.

8. Do it all again for the other side!

9. Trimming

Remember that excessive lengths of string could cause an entrapment hazard. If you need to trim your cord, use a hot sharp knife.

After introducing our coaches and helpers for the day, our GB Team paddlers put on an inspirational display of flatwater acrobatics to get everyone fired up and to show what freestyle is all about.

We then split into groups depending on experience and ability. The beginner group was all about the first experiences of playboating. Trying lots of boats, playing with edging, enders, tailies, lean-cleans, rolls and some even got on to double pumps!

The more experienced group worked on double pumps, flatwater cartwheels, bow stalls, loops and flatwater pistol flips with Bren Orton and Matty Nicholas. Video feedback was used to breakdown some of the more advanced moves and track progression.

At the end of the session paddlers of all abilities not only had a big smile on their face, but had plenty of skills to work on with a clear idea of how to progress towards their next goal – whether that was consistent tailies or learning the flatwater McNasty.

The following day the more experienced paddlers had a follow-up session on Hurley Weir, where we again split into groups depending on ability and worked on anything from catching the wave and front-surfing up to blunt-to-pistol flip combos!

If you’re thinking that this looks like fun, why not organise a session for your club? Details here.

I kicked off proceedings on Friday with a photo slideshow of the expedition to Georgia I led last August. I hoped to inspire paddlers to get out on adventures of their own, or visit Georgia… or both. There certainly seemed to be plenty of “bar chat” of future Georgia trips or other potential destinations that evening, so I guess I managed that!

Throughout Saturday and Sunday there were a range of courses and workshops that participants could sign up to. I was running an expedition river skills workshop and armed with a hand drawn river map, I headed out with 6 lovely paddlers for a day on the Blackwater Weirs. Despite low water this proved to be an excellent coaching venue for working on group dynamics, lateral momentum and key strokes for drops and stoppers.

Sunday was a little slower off the mark and with a shorter session we were only able to venture as far as a tidal spot, which provided enough flow to work on efficient ferrying and driving across boily eddylines. Once the tide became slack, we returned to where iCanoe had a bunch of demo boats on offer – allowing us to give people an intro to playboating or work on their double pump while others practiced their rolls or just tried out different boats. We also discovered that lean-cleaning uses the exact same motions as hula dancing… so dig out your hula hoop!

More photos and comments from the weekend can be found on our facebook page.

 Over the trip we paddled the whole Futa  including: Inferno Canyon, Terminator  Section, Bridge to Bridge, Mas o Menos and Casa de Piedra and the Macal Section.Anyway here are some photos of our trip for you to look at.

Photos thanks to Katie, Pamina, Christiano, Tzak, Dave and Me

On Friday 18th Feb, the Presidential Elections were held in Uganda – a country which hundreds of kayakers visit every year to enjoy the wonderful white water offered by the White Nile. Uganda is generally one of the most stable and safest countries in Africa to travel around as a tourist but with the political instability of countries across Northern Africa and the Middle East hitting the headlines, I think it’s fair to say that we were all a little anxious to see that this election went smoothly in what paddlers affectionately call “the centre of the Universe”.

The current president, Museveni, has been in power here for 25 years and expectation was that he’d win once again. The results released today show that was the case, though opposing parties claim unfair practice and fraud – something I suspect will never be proved either way – a sad fact about African politics.

In the lead-up to the elections there was much excitement and loud rallies (often with a big sound system playing upbeat music in the back of a truck) were common sights across Uganda. People went around wearing the T-shirt of the candidate they supported and posters were stuck all over: from shops to mud-huts! I thought it was great to see a country really engaging with their politics and being proud to show they care about their vote and the end result. Sure, the system is flawed – for one it is almost impossible for many poor Ugandans from rural areas to register to vote – but it was still a refreshing change from the apathy you see in the UK. If only people would realise that at least every vote DOES count in the UK!

The video above was taken 2 days before the Presidential Election and shows a rally in support of Besigye, the main opponent to Museveni. We’d already been stuck in the middle of this rally for at least 10 minutes before I remembered I had my camera with me! There was very little in the way of trouble across Uganda prior to the elections – though this rally later met with a rally for Museveni and there was reportedly some small scale violence. On the whole, the people were enthusiastic and passionate, which was great to see (if a little daunting in their large numbers!).

I feel I need to finish this post by relating it back to kayaking, since that is what FlowFree is all about. I hope to do that without diminishing the importance of the democratic process (you judge that one?) that has just occurred here. Museveni regaining power means we can expect another term of stability in Uganda, which will allow us to travel there as tourists without too much concern for our safety… the major issue for paddlers there now is the immanent closure of Silverback and plans for further hydro schemes on the White Nile. But that is another story entirely…