It was like a gigantic party with all of your best friends, but with a backdrop of awesome whitewater and amazing freestyle moves for entertainment. That was how I'd describe the Midwest Freestyle Championships in Wausau this past weekend.
There were nearly 100 competitors going head to head in freestyle competitions, boatercross races, and other events. We had record numbers for nearly all of the levels of competition, but especially huge beginner's and women's categories. Both had big increases in both over last year and the weekend was definitely more fun for it.
Several pro and sponsored paddlers competed this year, as well as the local experts fighting for the top spots. The expert and intermediate level events were held at Little Drop, which was more retentive and versatile than last year's spot. That difference showed in the number of cartwheels, splitwheels, and other spinning moves competitors were hitting. Don't get me wrong, there were still plenty of big air loops and space godzillas, but it was fun to see some more balanced runs. Also, the new venue was way better for the spectators with tiered seating, lots of space, and no train bridge to get in the way of the view.
I participated in the Boatercross, the Intermediate Freestyle, and the Team Freestyle events. The boater cross was a head-to-head downriver race that started just above Big Drop and ended towards the bottom of the course. Along the way were obstacles and required moves that jammed all of the racers together and led to some great carnage. No one was injured, but Big Drop definitely saw its share of flips and pile-ups as heat after heat of racers piled into the side curling wave on river right.
On my first heat of boatercross, I nearly ran over someone as they flipped right in front of me in Big drop, then I flipped entering the eddy for the attainment. I rolled up, caught a lucky break climbing into the Little Drop eddy, and wound up winning the heat. After that, it was time to run back up to the top for the "Finals." Because there were so many competitors, however, we wound up with 9 finalists and had to split into two semi-final heats.
My semi-final run went much smoother, without me flipping at all. There was a bit of bumping and crowding in the Big Drop eddy, but the run ended up pretty smoothly with me finishing 2nd. That was good enough to get me into the Finals, where the boat bumping began almost immediately. I found myself neck-and-neck with a much longer boat just above big drop. As we entered the drop, he pulled slightly ahead of me and I was able to push his stern and send him off-line. That lined me up perfectly for the bouey, and then it was neck-and-neck again through little drop. Once again, I was saved by a lucky attainment move getting up into Little Drop Eddy and wound up 2nd overall to Collin Kemp, who (in addition to being a really nice guy) is supernaturally fast. Because I was either racing or running back up for the next heat, I didn't really get to see many other people's runs, but I know that nearly everyone gave it a shot.
The Freestyle was lots of fun to watch, with John, Collin, Craig, Tommy, Doug and others really putting on a show. I had a couple decent runs, but definitely know that I could improve upon them next year. I wound up 6th in the intermediate division.
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Huge thanks to Julie, Cole, Collin, Chad, and everyone else who organized and help run the weekend. It was action-packed, full of fun stuff, and definitely made for some great memories for all involved. Also congrats to Melissa for winning the new boat this year! It couldn't have gone to a nicer and more deserving person. Speaking of the boat, that was one of a ton of really awesome prizes put out by Midwest Mountaineering, World Kayak, Whitecap Kayak, Jackson Kayak, Bear Paw, and more.
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