USNWC Pro/Am freestyle competition

this year the worldkayak & the usnwc put on its first ever pro/am freestyle competition as a fund raiser for First Descents...a non profit organization that uses the outdoors as a means of therapy and healing for kids with cancer. we raised $1100 dollars for them, which is absolutely amazing. thanks to jason and samantha miller, with worldkayak & rapid-straps, for putting on the best event that the whitewater center has ever had. thanks to all the sponsors that helped with the event as well... Immersion Research, Shred Ready, Smith Optics, Mountain Khakis, Rapid Transit, Kayak Session, Kokatat, Wakawai, Little River Roasting, H2O Dreams and New Star Marketing.

i was teamed up with this kid anderson, who i actually taught at the beginning of the summer. we had 3 hours to paddle around and teach and then 3, 45 sec rides in the hole. the total from each ride/rider was added up for a final score. during our 3 hour paddle i worked with anderson on his flatwater double pump and then cartwheeling in a feature. like most people learning to cartwheel he could get is bow initiated but couldn't bring his stern around...until his last ride in the competition where he linked 3 ends before flushing out. he was super stoked, as was i. he did an awesome job throwing down and he gets better and better every time he paddles. watch out for this kid, he is going to be good. i had pretty good rides with my 2nd ride being the best with some loops, cartwheels, splitwheels, and a mcnasty. all-in-all i am pretty happy with my rides and i am really stoked for anderson for getting his first cartwheel.

after the pro/am we had a jam session on m-wave for the biggest trick competition. the course had 7 pumps running which makes mwave a little nuts and you are bouncing off of about 3-4" of water...not to mention being on guard for rafts. i really only got one ride in on it and didn't really throw much but it was still incredibly fun. brian jennings, with team bliss-stick, won with a helix.

here is a video micheal brier of bliss-stick (wakawai) put together.



results:

1^st Place Tommy Yon and Michael

2^nd Place Fergus Coffey and Snowy Robertson

3^rd Place Brian Jennings and Shawn Sheffield

4^th Place Chris Wing, Katie, and Marion

5^th Place Andrew Holcombe (Coach), Will Rusdill, Tim Martin

6^th Place Mike Patterson, Kerry Porshe, Rachel Hallberg

7^th Place Trent Thibodeaux and Anderson

8^th Place Sam Fulbright and Matt Walin

9^th Place Corey Volt, Kristin, and Harrison

10^th Place Daniel Dutton, Aaron, Alexis

11^th Place Chan Jones, Kyle and Tad Denis

12^th Place Casey Jones and Haley Popp

13^th Place Adrienne Levknecht, Jaime B, Leanne Smith

this event was so much fun and i can't wait to do it again next year. thanks to everyone for showed up and competed along with all the spectators who cheered us on.

nature is what unites us
–trent thibodeaux