World Championship Competition Week

Over six months of training, countless hours in the gym and more hours on the water - it all came down to this, the 2015 ICF World Championships in Canada. Having already been on the Ottawa for almost a month, it had begun to feel like home. Well, more like Wilderness Tours was home and that Garb was the local park down the road.



The opening ceremony had been insane and kicked off the competition to a great start. With the first day dedicated solely to the squirt boating, I headed upstream to McCoys to cheer on all our athletes. It was a great day and awesome to see the competition held in such an awesome venue, with down time exceeding 20 seconds on multiple occasions. Team GB did fantastic with Jen, Claire, Alex and Ben all making finals, with Ben then taking bronze, and Claire gold (plus a ring)!! 

The following day it was all to the float categories and I was competing in the morning of my 18th birthday. The top 10 would proceed to semi finals, and despite not my best rides, I made it through in 5th place. The majority of the next few days were spent cheering on Team GB from the bleachers and squeezing in sessions whenever I could. 





Then on Friday, it was my turn to compete again. Having had a couple of good sessions, I was feeling ok abut competing, but sat in the eddy, with what felt like the world staring at me, the nerves heightened. 




Two chances, highest score counts. Top 5 make it.

It's as clean cut as that. The next thirty minutes is still kind of a blur and I don't remember a lot of what happened. What I do know is that I missed the wave twice - scoring no points. In between rides, I had tried to stay positive talking things through with coach, Den. However, that day wasn't my day, and as I flushed off the second time, my head hung in disappointment. Everything I had worked for, felt like it had just gone. 

Emily Jackson (now World Champion) had said to me that no matter what, the results don't define who you are as a paddler, and although it was hard to come to terms with at first, she is right. Today, after all the training, I am not a loser - I am a better paddler today than I was before, and on top of that, I have had so many incredible experiences along the way and enjoyed every minute. Competition to me is not about what place you came, and I am only disappointed with 10th place as I did not get the opportunity to properly show what I could do. 




Saturday was then finals day, and despite my defeated feeling, I was determined to cheer on all the other athletes, including Great Britain. Still gutted at my performance, what better way to vent than to do what I know best and go kayaking. I may have been out of the competition, but I still wanted to go boating. For fun. I ended up doing two sessions, trying new boats, and just throwing (or attempting to throw) lots of new moves.




Before we knew it, it was time for the closing ceremony and the finale party. As everyone went their separate ways, I felt grateful for the opportunity: meeting so many incredible people, paddling so many amazing places, and learning so much! I even got the chance to run the river before heading home. 

All in all, I am not concerned about where I placed, but am disappointed in myself that I was not able to show what I could do on the day. Today I am a better paddler, regardless of what the score sheet says. 

I would like to finish by saying thank you to everyone who made it possible and helped along the way: for photos, for rides, for tips and advice, for fun times, for clean washing, for encouragement and just generally for the memories. And also well done to all the athletes, with our sport on the cusp of potential Olympic status, you did it proud. 





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