Devils Extreme Race 2020

 Last weekend one of biggest whitewater events took place in southern Czech Republic in Lipno at Vltava River. Event gathers hundreds of paddlers from all around the Europe to enjoy one of very few water releases that happens over the weekend. Multiple kayaking disciplines take advantage of it organizing events in Slalom, Rafting and finally Extreme Kayaking.

 

Devils has been on Whitewater map for a while now especially as for few last years European Championships and the final of the European Cup were taking place. My first time to the event was 10 years ago and that was probably mine first whitewater river. My friend took me over for the trip with my playboat and said - just follow me, you should be fine. Continous waves, pushing water and literally paddlers all around you sometimes waiting in the queue to run the rapid but sometimes running it alongside you and bumping in the middle of the way, that is sometimes Devils. But it has some great rapids too, the window, papiernia and stairs are the most reconized ones being big, intense and for stairs - technical rapid. There is one more that only the bravest will run which is called bloody hand. Gives you twinkles? It is not spectacular, nor very technical. It is just pushy and edgy and rocks that get covered by water few times a year, despite being round - they will work like sand paper for your skin. Would you dare? On the end of the day you can see a lot of people walking around with fresh bandages over hands showing what bloody hand has done to them.

 

Very unique thing during the weekend to be remembered is that you don’t have to worry about the shuttle! You simple get to the take out, walk to the train station where every 30 minutes comes a local train ready to bring hundreds of kayaks and kayakers to the middle or upper section to enjoy as many runs possible! 

 

During the whole weekend, numerous events are taking a place including slalom, whitewater race and rafting all of them happening in the upper part of the kayak course. At the same time, Devils Extreme Race takes a part that has welcomed 83 paddlers this year in two main events.

 

The race kicks off with a sprint where each paddler goes on their own down 1.5km trail through Papiernia and The Window finishing just above the Bloody Hand. The top 32 competitors make it to the next round of kayak cross which takes place at the most technical rapid of the river called the stairs. This year it didn’t disappoint providing a huge show to the crowd as always. Matthias Weger snatched the win before Janosch Plathner and Andi Brunner in Men's category while in Women Nouria Newman took a win followed by Martina Rossi and Elena Luciotti. 

 

The second race is over 7km through the whole river section where all paddlers start from below the dam and go through the racing course at the top, lakes in the middle, papiernia and towards the window. If you are in the top 20 during the race you pass the checkpoint and continue down to the finish line. In this round fastest was Matthias Weger followed by Michele Ramaza and Janosch Plathner. In women, Nouria Newman came first followed by Lucie Součková and Elena Luciotti. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second part of the day is at least as important as first one during the Devils Extreme Race where paddlers gather to share the stories of the day, make plans for upcoming year and enjoy Czech traditional beverage dancing to live music or DJs. This year the part was led by incredible bands The Closing Date and Move Breakers which definitely everybody is looking forward to seeing again next year. During the party, winners were announced with the overall winner for the whole event being Matthias Weger in Men, Nouria Newman in Women, Lucie Součková in K1JW and Huw Butterworth in K1JM.

 

 

It was a great event and I hope to come back next year! In the meantime, enjoy the short video from paddling:

 

https://youtu.be/q_aXVDPQFOo

Is it Selfish to Play Outside During the COVID-19 Pandemic? by Ben Osborne

"COVID-19 has taken over the news streams, our personal lives, and the lives of everyone around us. As outdoor enthusiasts, we have a pre-programmed response: Go get some fresh air and get away from it all. It seems harmless—a solo bike ride or ski tour won’t harm anyone and should only boost our immune systems and keep us mentally healthy.

But what happens if things go wrong?

Most of the sports we partake in—biking, skiing, climbing, hiking, and more—are dangerous on numerous levels. This may be due to their high intensity, remoteness, or a combination of the two. Any health complication undoubtedly puts a burden on our healthcare system, and with hospitals in the coming days likely to see far more traffic, putting yourself at risk could be considered an unnecessary risk.

There’s plenty of folks telling you to get outside—but it’s important to modify how you participate in these activities during a time like this.

In Italy, the situation is far worse than in most places. So bad that hospitals eventually became overcrowded to the point that “ventilators became like gold” according to Dr. Daniele Macchini, an Italian physician who published a long Facebook post about her working conditions. Patients were unable to be taken care of, and Italy quickly became the epicentre for the virus.

For many people in British Columbia, as the snow melts away in the valley and ski resorts shut down due to the spread of the virus, biking seems like a safe escape to clear your mind—but is that in the best interest of the health system?

A recent study conducted by the Enduro World Series clearly demonstrates the dangers of riding a bike—even for professionals. While most injuries are minor, is your broken clavicle an unnecessary burden on your local hospital’s already dire situation?

For the biking mecca of Squamish, it is. The local hospital has already reached out to the SORCA, expressing the fact that they “do not have the capacity to deal with mountain bike-related injuries”, and specifically requested that the local trails association spread the word.

For ski touring, a similar situation arises—if you get into trouble, the burden falls on search and rescue, your local hospital, and eventually rest of your community. Is that worth it?

The pull of social media to get outside is very real—but at what cost?

There’s nothing wrong with getting out, getting some fresh air, and getting some exercise. In fact, it will be vital during this time of social separation and for some, quarantine. The most important thing is taking care of yourself, and those close to you.

But, in the age of social media, as athletes, influencers, and brands set the example urging their followers to get out and self-distance, it’s important to emphasize playing within your own ability more than ever. Consider what types of activities you choose to do, and how you do them. Because when things go wrong, they could have an effect on someone who is in much worse shape than you. Your surroundings are more important than ever, and now is the time to pay attention. —ML"

I think it is a very good article as it is very important to approach those things responsibly these days. Whatever activity you take - make sure you stay within you abilities. Stay active - at home or outside but not at the cost of others. ~Bartosz

Source:

https://www.mountainlifemedia.ca/2020/03/is-now-the-time-to-be-rushingn-outside/?fbclid=IwAR1Gn1y2qd36LMq3zB1EiMm0SXq_j2wU449ND9dz07t9jVaoGlzgsOmHP3c

Galway Fest 2020

Galway Fest!

One of the most flourishing events around the Europe in the last years. If you love kayaking in any sense, great community to hang out with, taste of freestyle, whitewater and boatercross and all of it spiced up with few drops of buckfest – well, Galway Fest is dream to go! Oh. If you go – be prepared for weather changing from sunny and warm into hail into sun again and then into freezing snow that melts In another few seconds as sun comes out. All of that in land of sheep, Guinness and amazing whitewater!

This year it was massive with 280 competitors coming from all around the world to take a part in this amazing festival. Event tickets sold out in just 2 days! Event consists of three days. Starts on Friday with Freestyle, followed by ~1km time trial whitewater run on Saturday and final boater cross and mass start both made in centre of the city.

Freestyle feature is honestly one of my favourites – it has really nice circulation, deep enough for big tricks and allows you to throw all kind of combinations. It reminds an inlet gate from Nottingham but it is a lot easier to set up and do the moves. Also format is very encouraging as you have preliminaries with all the classes being mixed together and competing in very simple Jam Session mode where you get approximately 2:30 minute in a feature for each of the paddler with the rule that your ride can not be longer than 45 seconds. Also for preliminaries – bonuses do not count! Only the quantity of the moves to simplify everything. To the finals in Men and Women expert goes 10 people and those come with lights, music and huge crowd on the banks really making spot at Tuam feel like a amphitheatre. For Finals you are back to basic ICF final rules with 3 rides and best counting and all usual rules applying. This year’s champion was Quim Fontane, followed by Rob Crowe and David McClure. K1w

Saturday is a time trial at Boluisce. River is class II/III run that is around 1km long with top runs going under 6 minutes and best one going to Nick Benett with 5:33. Slightly slower was Lucien Schreiber and Jack Ledwith. K1w It is very interesting run as it is not very challenging however is entertaining enough to keep you occupied with both small technicalities and lines to pick yet at the same time it is accessible for all levels of skill which led us to huge numbers this year. Seems easy and fun but at the same time it is possible to make small mistakes that really influence your time! Definitely interesting one for those that are into racing and gosh, 6 minutes race can get you out of breath!

Saturday evening is the night that everybody is looking for. Warm up in local kayak club with Guiness and Buckfest – local wine which is sweet and has a lot of caffeine in it to get you running throught he night. For the highlight of the night – we have had amazing party at Arcades at Electric club with whole floor limited only to kayakers and on going back to 80’s costume dance offs and challenges.. well that was definitely worth coming just to see those stylish kayakers dressed up !

This year unfortunately due to high water levels mass start was canceled but I was so impressed about it last year that I will still spill a word about it here. All kayakers from your class starting in one place at the same time running into very narrow channels, small slides and drops, under the bridges, between 8 ball crew and finally joining the main flow – all of that craziness happening in the center of the town where casual people are walking around wondering who are those colorfoul, cherish people in weird water mobiles! That warms up all town for the boater cross which is final event of the weekend. Racing in groups of 5, starting off at flat piece, running through a narrow ditch that is narrow enough for two or three kayaks if you hug intensively and then joining main flow of Corrib river heading all the way to the other side, doing a downstream eddy and racing till the end.. all the way to the Docks by the Ocean! Finals of Men expert are taken even to the next level where

Check out RAW POV from Boater Cross to get a taste of in-town racing during the Festival!

Ending ceremony was held at University lecture hall with inspiring story from the legendary Dave Manby who has done it all from the heights of Everest and the Dudh Kosi to expeditions in Iran & Nepal which was warm up for final results. Overal K1W winner – Sage Donnely, K1M – Quim Fontane

It is an amazing event but definitely very intensive weekend. I can not wait to get back there next year.. If you want to come – Galway is just 3 hours drive from Dublin airport and community is amazing so I’m sure there wont be much problems with getting a kayak! Just be ready for Irish weather : )!

Photos: Jack Ledwith

// Bartosz Czauderna
Join some of mine adventures:
www.loveitliveit.co.uk

World Cup in Freestyle Kayaking 2020 goes to Cracow !

I'm proud to officially announce that after so many years of work and developing freestyle scene in Poland, we managed to bring home one of the most prestigious events in Freestyle Kayaking to my hometown - Cracow on 18-20 June 2020. There are a lot of great paddlers here, community is great and it will be amazing to have you visit us! To give you sneak peak to how the playspot looks like - check it here

and to see my ride during Polish Champs 2019 go here

They playspot itself is great, it is at the top of the course with two eddies on both sides and enough place to recover. Despite the main feature there are multiple small holes and waves that if you are bored with main one - you can play with! For the World Cup we have planned work that will make it the hole even deeper allowing big plug-ins and huge tricks to happen for all the boaters!

Cracow, why not?

However you don't have to be top class paddler to visit Cracow as there are other interesting things to do around here!

Krakow (Cracow) is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. It lies in the southern part of Poland on the Vistula River in a valley at the foot of the Carpathian Plateau, 219 meters above sea level. Approximately 300 km (190 miles) north is Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and 100 km (60 miles) south are the Tatra Mountains, forming the southern border of the country. The city covers an area of 327 sq. km, equal to 0.1% of the country's surface area. Krakow lies in a region of temperate climate. Weather changes are frequent due to the friction of humid air masses arriving from the Atlantic Ocean and dry, continental air masses coming in from the east.

July is the warmest month and January the coldest. Western winds, conducive to rainfall, blow in summer, whereas in winter there are predominantly eastern winds, decreasing the amount of precipitation.

It is not a simple task to describe the unique character of Krakow to those who still have not had the opportunity to visit this city. This uniqueness is primarily due to the rare cultural heritage embodied in the city's walls. Here, in the year 1000 a Roman Catholic bishopric was founded. Here, a royal castle was built on Wawel Hill, which became the coronation and burial place of kings, for Krakow was the capital of Poland from the 11th to the 17th century. In 1364, the Krakow Academy was established; the first Polish university (today renamed Jagiellonian University).

Tradition entwines with modern times nearly everywhere you go, and each stone has its own history. There is a multitude of architectural monuments - estimated at 6,000 buildings and other structures. This is supplemented by approximately 2.5 million artefacts collected and displayed in museums, churches and archives. Thanks to the extraordinary accumulation of cultural wealth, the city was registered as one of the 12 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

  

It is impossible to describe or even list all the tourist attractions in Krakow, but each tourist will discover his own "magical" Krakow. While some will follow the footsteps of Nicholas Copernicus, others will be interested in sites linked with John Paul II. Some will be fascinated by the worldwide unique underground corridors of the Wieliczka salt mine, others will wander round the Kazimierz Jewish district and many will stand enchanted in front of the Veit Stoss altar.

Benefiting from its geographical location, Krakow, aiming to become a meeting place of many cultures and nations, has successfully claimed its position as a Central European metropolis - a city of culture, art and science. Several universities are located in Krakow and many world-famous representatives of Polish culture reside in the city.

The John Paul II International Airport Krakow-Balice is based just a few kilometres away from the Kayak course where you can stay in local accommodation, camp, go to the pool, saunas, gym, paintball and many more!

Direct flights to: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bonn/Cologne, Budapest, Copenhagen, Chicago, Dortmund, Dublin, Frankfurt, Glasgow, London, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Vienna, Zurich, in season: Chania, Heraklion, Rhodes. Strong base for both regular and cheap airlines which are friendly for transporting kayaks.

Come to Cracow, see the city and be a part of World Cup 2020!

If you are planning to come for a whole tour - next event on following week will be based in Millau (France) which is a big music&outdoor sports festival, and then World Cup number 2 in Sort, Spain where last World Championships were held and finally to final event of the World Cup - Nottingham, where World Championships 2021 will be held! On the way you can see many rivers, playspots, tourist places or simply beautiful breath-taking views during Euro trip that awaits for you!

Foto: Krakowski Klub Kajakowy/Tomasz Jakubiec

Legend of a Slave

Back in a day’s fur trade was a huge thing. With increasing demand in fur in Europe the export demand kept growing – Northern Canada being a great source of it. To pass fur from the North people had to cross the Slave River. In winter despite its size it all freezes making solid winter road. In spring it had to be done with the boats. One of the days, there was a crew trying to get to Slave lake with a load of supplies from the south. River was already known for its big and dangerous rapids. In order to check the safe road – small boat was sent ahead to find a path and make sure it will be safe for big cargo. Gun shot was supposed to be signal if he road was safe. As the story goes – one of the pioneers that were paddling on it – forgot about that, shooting a duck. To his horror he realized too late what he had done. All cargo got lost and the rapid was named the “Rapids of the Drowned”. 

I had been paddling in “Big Water” places – spending almost 10 winters in Uganda and paddling on Zambezi. In Love it Live it (loveitliveit.co.uk) we are specialised in it. Big water, fun, coaching. I loved those places and love the drag of big volume, the experience that it gives you, the size of it, power of nature, feeling of conquering the rapids and really trying to push yourself through those beautiful but fiercely waves. First thing that Leif told me – it is not as small as the Nile. You can get lost in there. Imagine for those of you that been there or heard the stories – it is not easy to believe or get a perspective on something being even bigger. The Slave river was a legendary spot that we wanted to visit for couple of years. After few friends reach out to us to organize a trip there, after checking all the options we decided to make the dream happen and run the trip to the North!
Rapids of the Drowned is one of four main sets of rapids. To people horror but joy of kayakers – it is probably the smallest set of all four. Another names are Mountain, Cassette and Pelican rapids. All of it being massive, huge and I wish I knew more words to describe my feelings when entering some of them. “Some people experience fear, solitude, loneliness” as our great guide – Leif Anderson said before dropping down to Fury, one of the largest on the river. You simply must know the lines there. You can either follow your guide or explore the rapids – usually from the bottom on your own.

For the first couple of days, I had the feeling that the map was slowly growing in my head - then I was discovering new and new paths. In 2 weeks we managed to cover maybe a quarter of all the rapids. 
Each of it is just amazing, they all have waves and holes – some small perfect for practicing the technique, learning first moves and enjoying the surfs – and some powerful and big for big aerial tricks. There are also others – the ones that you won’t to simply dodge. That is why it is important to know where you are going – you can simply get lost in there.
Difficulty of the Slave and why it is such an expedition is that it is quite far North. You can either fly to Edmonton or Yellowknife or obviously take a ride through Canada. We flew to Edmonton where we got our pick up monster truck, loaded it with boats and gear and then drove 13 hours north – first to Alexandra Falls as a sightseeing point and quick break for breath-taking views, then to Hay River for dinner and final bit to Fort Smith – going directly through Buffalo National Park. Just the drive there is an adventure. On the journey over 1000km you take maybe 5 turns while all the time driving through beautiful changing landscape where at every moment you can get a wildlife experience. During our trip we saw 7 bears, including 2 cubs, a couple of foxes, a lot of wild birds and finally in Buffalo park we drove through middle of Buffalo pack having a lifetime experience getting a close sight at those marvellous, strong and proud animals.
After the drive we were greeted by our hosts – Leif and Natalie Anderson Who are living there over the summer and were kind to have us there for duration of our trip. Arriving early evening we get to see the place for the first time and my heart shrinks. Camping place, outdoor shower, common area on the patio with place for preparing the food and store some gear, house to hang out in. Everything feels very familiar… Straight away I understand why – it is closest to the Hairy Lemon that I had been since Isimba flooding. Then we played Catan for the evenings, ate and laughed ready to go kayaking next days. It felt like home – and adventure was just starting.
First day we go to Mountain rapids. Everybody in the crew been to Big Water, paddled the Nile, Zambezi or Slave before. They know what it is like to see volume of the river. However we couldn’t get more amazed by first day. We go out to put in which is 5 minutes of drive away. Car stays at the top of the hill and we run down excited. After short warm up we had to the first hole – getting rust of after a long drive and getting some moves in a small and friendly but super fun feature. Just behind it there is a small wave good for surfs and small tricks. Feels like paradise – Yet we have not really left the eddy yet! We play there for a while for the warmup watching the scale of the river that goes around the horizon. Time to head farther in to see Chico wave. There is an important point made – there are nests of protected Pelicans that are very important for community. As kayakers we make sure we keep our distance from them not to disturb their nesting period. We start off knowing it will be a big ferry. It takes us good 10 minutes to get to the other side of the current. It was just one channel; we have no idea yet how many more are there but after few eddy hops we are next to our first middle size wave – Chico. It starts with a small ferry through friendly hole and ends up on a nice steep wave in the middle. It was just a half day of playing – we are back for quick lunch and then come back to the same put in, this time moving a little bit deeper into the archipelago. Afternoon is blowing our minds off. We put in at one narrow side of the archipelago, we spend all afternoon paddling to the other side of the river and running rapids there and finally ferry back to the same take out that we used in the morning... 5 minute walk and we are at our car. Despite paddling for half day, covering only few of the rapids – We haven’t moved much. We barely crossed the river there and back! Yet the highlight of the day is lapping the Molly’s. Huge ramp – wide and high. First Leif checks if anybody is nervous but everybody seems to be okay. Then we go down before watching it, ramp opens up and big drop is revealed. It was an amazing run and everybody is super stoked so we hike back up to have a look on what we had just run. We split into teams. Then we go in, set on the line and hold tight when you see horizon being cut off and then going on a big ramp down into series of crushing green waves. Screams, big eyes and quick strokes on the start are followed by feeling of conquer, happiness and desire for more. Once we ran it – the confidence gets boosted a lot – it is just like a big rollercoaster with water. Everybody wants more! After a couple of runs, we start heading back – we cross Zambuqa, Avalanche and go through Land of Giants. On each of the rapids, there is selection based on how you are feeling – hard, medium or easy line can be selected. Pretty much it is like that on all the rapids that we are running at the Slave. On the way you experience big waves, some green some breaking, few whirlpools, holes and plenty of going up and down while you are slowly heading towards the bank. In the evening we get groceries at local shop and cook together to collect power for following dates. That was an insane opening!

With water levels we are quite lucky – They are unique for this time of the year. Given big rainstorms on south water has raised, Leif wakes up excited saying that rollercoaster will be in. We pack up and hit the road – this time driving the longest distance, around 20 minutes to Cassette rapids. We start off by playing at party hole – Ultimate hole in the middle of the river, slow and flat, great for all kinds of moves. Given it is the middle of the river – you can come back to it only from behind the foam pile. It is possible but staying there very long is a bit exhausting. After a while of play, we head off to new channels going down Carb Cleaner and getting to a small wave hole which is there to work on our surfing position and rotations and then we get to Dubya and Cheney. Those become our favourite to introduce new tips & tricks on the wave. Easy to surf, forgiving, small and slow but high enough and with shoulder each to throw the tricks. After getting an idea on flat water and flat ground we kept coming here to try new tricks. After dialling in the idea – We were moving downstream through famous Rock’Em Sock’Em that led us to Rollercoaster. Rollercoaster turned out to be a pretty wave with easy eddy service, something like Nile on the low water levels with beautiful green face. What was even better – it was getting very steep at the times, making it super fun to throw big tricks! Perfect place to try the tricks after learning them at Dubya. We spent a couple of days running different channels to get to Rollercoaster as it was around prime levels each day the route was different going through TSN, Can of Beans, Poop Chute, Alarm CLock which made it so amazing and introduce us more and more to the area and ending daily on Rollercoaster which was getting better and better. When we were ready for change of scenery, we took a day off from freestyle doing a bit more of river running runs through Heart attack and land of 1000 holes. On the rest day that came after, we enjoyed the walk-through town of Fort Smith, visited Northern life museum and cultural centre. In the evening we took some time watching videos, analysing the tricks and breaking them down during our flat ground freestyle sessions.
After the rest day we came back for Rollercoaster to throw tricks we had been thinking about on rest day and have surfs with full energy again. That was one of the best days surfing we had! Days we had taken playing with Freestyle on all sizes of the waves gave us enough skill for bigger challenges. It was time to explore other rapids and run some of legendary lines. We came back to Mountain rapids this time starting from the top – Running Furies, English Channel, Turnpike, Maelstrom, Forgotten, Avalanche and ending at the Chico. Some of the rapids we run following the lines only, then look on them. Otherwise, we would probably be too hesitant given the size and power of them! Paddling at Mountain is followed by Pelican next day – we start easy, from the bottom with Pelican bottom ferry. Waves are huge, the ferry itself takes a lot of power and confidence because of the size of green waves that like to crash. You can either enter high and move through whirlpools or simply go a bit lower joining the current at the easier spot. With this size of the rapid – it does not make much of the difference, despite the line you choose – you will end up at the same place! We take a while to run some far rapids like Prat Fall, Staircase bottom, snow catcher and come back through Pelican bottom ferry. The group takes a while looking at the Pelican trying to grasp its size and scale while me, Leif and Pierce wander off to run it. Ferry in through 3 big breaking hole waves will set you on the line. Once you are there you go down. Molly was very small comparing to that. It feels like Hair of the Dog from the Nile – Just on huge steroids. Size wisely – biggest thing I ever run! I simply get to the top, first wave does not break on me... it simply opens at the over vertical point, and I fall into the void of water – Feels like few meters down and then get covered by water all around, soft and smooth, no whitewater dragging. Simply opening in the peak, easy roll and I face the next huge wave – That is how Pelican felt from my perspective. We finish off by running a slide next to Pelican and come back home moved by size and power of the river. Getting one more day on the water after having a look at the rapids of the drowned when driving by and thinking about history and importance of that river. We spent last day surfing and enjoying the great Slave River..

The thing with Slave is that it delivers on all the levels and it delivers different things. Levels are likely to rise or drop changing playground that you already know into a different environment reshaping the waves and holes, flooding some treasures and revealing other ones.
I couldn't believe how Ottawa is so popular while Slave is not! If you were to Nile, Zambezi or Ottawa – you will LOVE the Slave - It is really worth a drive... ! We are going back next Summer, join us on the trip to Slave!

Georgia in my mind

One of the most recently emerging kayaking destination is Georgia. For a good reason. This April I spent there second trip and I keep falling in love with this magnificent country ! Have a short read to follow my adventure in this beautiful Caucasian country.

Georgia, country situated on eastern side of black sea just below massive Caucasus Mountains. The green valleys, endless vineyards and ancient churches scattered throughout Georgia will quickly make you realise why Georgia is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world. While we’re here to sample the wine and soak up the beauty, there is also famous white water to be experienced.

First thing that hits you upon arrival is the people hospitality. There are so many rules and traditions in treating guests that it grew up to state of legends. People are really happy and proud that you are visiting them and keen to share their culture and cuisine. You will never walk hungry – it is only two meals usually however there is no option to see an empty table. On every meal you are being served big variety of food from starters to couple different main meals with selection of meat, cheese, vegetables, local chacha (home brewed vodka) and wine.

Landscape is just impossible to describe and various depending on the region that you choose to visit! Same are the rivers – you will find everything from tight creeks in remote gorges to big water continuous rivers that through whole Georgia.

To make the most of the trip we use hired drivers that are also our culture guides for the whole trip spicing our experience with interesting stories. 

We start from Kutaisi, going to famous beautiful Racha region to visit glacier sections of Rioni river with friendly big water character. It spring however it was raging so all the runs were definitely a highlight. Our next stop is lower Svanetii – where Lentekhi village is and Tshenistikali river flows from high glaciers. In spring we have not gone to upper Svaneti because the water levels were ragining at this time of the year but we were there in Autumn last year and to be honest it is probably my faviorite region when it comes to beauty of surroundings! Next we move to stay next to Black Sea in Kobuleti which becomes our base – from there we move swiftly from place to place not further than 2 hours drive every day. We paddle there famous Bzhuza (Bzhuza race is an amazing creek race that happens every year start of the month), Supsa, Kintrishi, Machakhela and Adjaristiquali. Those rivers were typical creeks with beautiful water mostly with green surroundings. Later we moved a bit north to Samagrelo paddling Tekhuri and Khobistikali. 3 weeks of kayaking went so quick that we did not notice !

Do you want to see more? Check out the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNm95j-tGZc&t

Amazing thing about Georgia is that every class paddler can find nice rivers for themselves – there are class V+ runs that in lower parts have amazing class IV and class II-III sections ! We are coming back to Georgia this September - If you want to experience Georgia with us – drop me a message or check with Love it Live it !

Hurley Classic 30

Probably the oldest and one of the most amazing events out there is Hurley classic. It’s contribution towards kayaking community is amazing and each year they do their best to create an unique paddle festival at Thames river. It is a place like no other stepping up the game every year to create a weekend full of water sports in the air.

“It all started in 1989 as a kayak freestyle competition and that makes the event one of the oldest of its type. It has developed from this first meeting between friends in the Hurley Village car park into one of the most significant freestyle water-sports events in the world.”

Amazing thing about the Classic is that it does not matter if you’re just starting out, pretty established, returning from a break or are on a National Team – there will be something in this event for you. Not only you can challenge yourself and compete at world class events but also take a part in multiple side events or meet, chat and paddle with the best paddlers from all around the world while checking out newest gear from kayak manufacturers and other great brands that come along to make that event happen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOSGS_Jnhfw

My all time favorite part of classic is Saturday and the Meet the Stars program. Best paddlers dedicate their day to hang out, paddle, tell the stories, inspire and play with kids that take a part in that event. Despite no snow like last years – there was a big crowd of kids taking a part that were joining a group of two professional athletes and having a chance to spend half of their day with somebody who might be there idol. I wish there was something that cool happening when I was starting ! Who knows how many future World and European Champions are going to emerge between these full of energy young paddlers!

Photo: Jack Gunter

New thing to Hurley classic were Exo Flatwater and Sup Race. Both were hips of fun – Sup race took over 15 minutes and included, jumps, ducks, running, slalom, climbing and ferrying being really fun and entertaining event! Flatwater trickery was really interesting especially for me as this is what I’m specialised in. Yet the tricks were different this time, you were scoring fluency, ninja/jedi/master/rookie bonus and points for tricks themselves which on the end gave you the final result. Also to become a Jedi you had to do tricks like tricky phoenix, cow flip (lunar-tricky-loop), double scoop and so on! LunarLoop, Tricky loop and more were just second level of mastership which made it really entertaining but also very motivating for my flatwater sessions to build a ride around this kind of tricks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlAe2vO6lss

As always you could see Pyranha rolling world championships – which was rolling in the pool during one minute which definitely could get you dizzy. Also this year we seen Wavesport Dream Team challenge which was a club event consisting of racing, freestyle, supping and slalom – you had to score in all of them to do well ! Another of my favorite parts were old school freestyle where you could see really old school boats shredding the wave and team freestyle which is one of the coolest formats ever – where all three paddlers have to be in feature (2 holes and one wave) and perform the tricks while surfing! Doing that in Jam session with another teams was hips of fun!

In the mean time there was boater cross happening. Stack was big but somehow I managed to make it through the ladder and win the final race! It was really cool as usually I don’t do that well in boater cross events yet I was really committed to keep pushing and it worked !

Photo: Jack Gunter

Sunday is all about freestyle with famous Hurley30 Jam going on – it is a Jam Session where you have approximately 2.5 minute per paddler. If you flash – next person goes. You can not repeat the tricks but thanks to uniqueness of the spot you can do both hole and wave tricks! Best 5 paddlers in elite categories make it to final round for a freestyle throwdown!  I didn’t make it close to finals at feature freestyle but I managed to tie on first place at flatwater finals with Michael Shaw which made it even cooler to share the win ! All finals were a great show with Gav Barker taking a win in Men and Ottilie Robinson-Shaw winning in Women!

Photo: Simon Wyndham

Hurley classic is one of those events that you spend all day in your dry suit and you won’t even notice it as it is full of entertainment! Whole event was transmitted live and you can check the footage at hurley classic channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkNvIo37dc4vSQ4uwr6N_sQ

 Photos: Jack Gunter