Peak UK - News

Pete Astles - Three Peaks Challenge

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Our illustrious leader Pete Astles is currently undertaking the classic Three Peaks Challenge but with his own personal twist. He's cycling and sea kayaking between the Peaks rather than driving.

To find out more check out the Three Peaks website and his Blog.

All the best Pete!

Fabian Alejandro in Italy and Switzerland

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Last month we were kayaking for 5 days in Valsesia Italy and Swiszerland around the Versasca valley.

We were 3 days in Valsesia and 2 days in Swiss.

We were 4 kayakers and 2 cars, the first 3 days a friend of ours was our shuttle driver. we paddled Gronda, Sorba, Egua, Sermensina. then we drove towards Swiss. we arrive a bit late to paddle a small creek, so we decided to set up our camp. It was raining all night very hard.

Next morning we went to scout Verzasca river. In the guide book it said that the max level recommended was 20 m3. but that day had almost 50 m3. We went in any way and it was a great run. Next day we paddled the Rivo river which started with a 16m waterfall, fantastic!! Then continuous in a narrow gorge with 4 and 5 rapids for one more hour.

Enjoy some photos from the trip below.

Words and Photos Fabian Alejandro Bonanno.

£5.50 to get into Wales?! Best be Good... : Cardiff Bay Premier Race Report

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

The PeakUK slalom team commandos took a trip over the Severn Bridge last weekend to race the inaugural slalom event to be held at the new Cardiff International White Water Centre, located in the hip, up and coming Cardiff Bay area.

The new whitewater course at Cardiff is unique to the UK as it’s the first high quality pumped venue. The designers at the site have to be praised for the fantastic job there; being able to squeeze such a great amount into a very small footprint is incredible, honestly it has to be seen to be believed.

To paddle on the course there’s a very European feel to it, the water pushes pretty hard from left to right throughout and quite surging eddies makes you believe your on the mainland Europe. This along with the great weather experienced all weekend almost felt like we actually had left the country!

Gareth and I were given the honor to set the race course for the weekend, which we’d later find out to be a) harder and more stressful than first imagined and b) a nightmare when one attempts to paddle one's own course well...

So the scene was set; the country's top slalom racers were all in attendance and ready, beautiful weather conditions and a brand new slalom course. (This is also by the way the definition of 'Perfection' in the slalom paddler’s dictionary)

The slalom squad had mixed fortunes in terms of results; the newbies to the team were a mixed bag. Lizzie Neave came away with a very impressive win, Lizzie was the only K1W to come away with two cleans runs. Greg Pitt struggled with penalties but had a strong pace to his race and finished 7th, the same can be said for Gareth and I, we were disappointed to head home in 8th position.

PeakUK slalom legends Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott fell victim to the demons of penalties also but came away with a 2nd place finish. Fiona Pennie had a busy weekend, competing in both K1 and C1. Fi finished 2nd in her kayak making for a PeakUK loaded podium, which is always nice to see! Fi then went on to post a very respectable second C1 run time, which would have placed her well in K1W, C1M and K1M standings!! Racing was as always predictably tight in the kayak mens category and our representative Huw P Swetnam didn’t disappoint; coming back from a off form first run to slot him himself on the podium in 3rd place.

So with 5 out of a possible 7 podium finishes, we can class the PeakUK slalom squads first racing visit to Cardiff Bay as a successful one. So yes we probably would pay the £5.50 to come again or at least come down the M50 instead...

Peace!

Words by Paul Ramsdale.
Full race results available at: http://www.canoeslalom.co.uk/results10/110710cardiffP.pdf
Pictures: Mike Roberts www.mjroberts.co.uk and Chris Worrall
More extensive photo album to follow.

More Medals at Slalom World Cup 3

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

This past weekend Augsburg in Germany played host to the third and final race of the 2010 ICF World Cup Series. The race was held on the world famous Eis Kanal which is an artificial channel built for the Canoe Slalom event of the Munich Olympics in 1972.

The Kanu Schwaben Augsburg club, who celebrated their 50th anniversary this year, did their usual excellent job of the race organisation. It was slightly disappointing for spectators that there was no jumbo video Screen since it's hard to see much of the action on such a narrow channel but it's understandable considering the cost of hiring such a screen.

The PeakUK Slalom Squad arrived in good form with Lizzie Neave having recovered from the illness that forced her to miss the previous weekends race. Friday was Qualification racing for all categories so everyone was in action.

Huw Swetnam showed some very fast pace once again but unfortunately on this occasion collected too many penalties on the swirly unpredictable course and so missed the cut. The rest of the Squad progressed to the Semis.

Saturday was Finals day for the Mens C2, Womens C1 and Mens K1 categories. The finals course was continuously technical again but had a little bit more flow than qualification and only a couple of places where you were at the mercy of the water. Similarly to last weekend the Mens C2 class was very tightly contested. All of the crews had a mixture of different good and bad sections but the overall times were coming out very close. Tim and Etienne came out top of the pack in the Semi-Final aided by a clean run. In the final they produced another solid run with some really fast sections but also some time lost in places. At the finish they missed out on winning by just 0.37secs but were happy to still make the podium in 3rd place.

The Mens C1 and Womens K1 had to wait until Sunday for their Finals which meant they missed out on the legendary Saturday night Schwaben club party. It was worth it for Lizzie Neave who placed 6th in the Semi final but then went on to score 3rd in the final thanks to a blazing run.

In the Semi-Final Greg Pitt put in another solid performance to score 25th. Won't be long before he is working his way up the field.

The Slalom Squad have a few weeks at home now before the re-scheduled European Champs in August. Check out the links below for full results and video from the race.

Official race Website: http://www.kanu-schwaben-augsburg.de/

Video on Demand: http://vod.sportstec.tv/icf/

Words by Tim Baillie. Photos by Michal Jane and Ian the Driver.

Peak UK Summer Sausage Sizzle 2010

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

The first annual Summer Sausage Sizzle hosted by the Peak Shop Nottingham was a tremendous success! With 200 sausages ordered and the sunshine booked, it was guaranteed to be a splendid weekend all round!

Pyranha and Jackson had turned up for the special event offering free demos and advice to everyone all weekend and huge savings throughout the store meant everyone was sure to get their moneys worth.

The rodeo event was held in the second 'pool' (or twin waves as its known to some) which is one of the more tricky features to get to grips with on the whitewater course and many juniors, newcomers and even seniors made their rodeo debut! We saw some huge moves being thrown, big air, classic swims and superb moustaches, party dresses and old school air guitars! Prizes were awarded fairly and all the competitors enjoyed a sausage fest on the Saturday night with ball games chucked in for good measure!

Thanks to all the customers, helpers, judges, scribes and competitors for making the weekend a huge success and we hope to see you all again next year for the second annual Sausage Sizzle at the Peak Shop Nottingham!

Check out the Sausage Gallery for more photos.

Results:
Senior Kayak Women Frestyle (PDF)
Senior Kayak Men Frestyle (PDF)
Junior Kayak Men Frestyle (PDF)

Words by Jenny Chrimes, Photos by Pete Astles.

British Raft Teams Training for Worlds

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

After returning from the European Championships with 3 medals between them, Great Britain Men’s and Ladies Raft Teams are straight back into training in preparation for the Worlds.

The 2010 World Championships are being held at Dutch Water Dreams, Holland – the first competition to be held on a man-made course. This is a move to make the sport more Olympic friendly for possible future development. It also means that the rafts are smaller and more maneuverable, reducing team sizes to 4 people.

Both Men’s and Ladies teams will be heading out from 12th-18th July alongside the British Youth Teams. This event will also host the first ever Youth World Rafting Championships and is a huge step forward in the sport. For this year only, teams will be made up of 16-21 year olds, with this age band decreasing to 16-18 year olds in the future.

Good Luck to all Teams attending!

Stapes captured during a moment of intense mental preparation. Zach not so much.

The girls team talk tactics on the Winfield Pool.

Words and Photos by Georgie Preston

Photos by Bostjan Marcina

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Special Thanks to Bostjan Marcina - paddlesport photographer from Slovenia. Bostjan kindly supplies us with amazing images of team paddlers from around the globe. Checkout his amazing shot of Andrej Bijuklic flying off a sweet drop which featured on our poster brochure cover.

Check out more of Bostjan's photos in our GALLERY.

For more info on Bostjan's latest photo shoots and paddling missions check out his site:
http://bostjanmarcina.blogspot.com/

For a free poster brochure click the link HERE.

Summer Sausage Sizzle at The Peak Shop

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Come and join us at the Peak Shop Nottingham on the 3-4th July to be a part of the Summer Sausage Sizzle!

On offer over the weekend will be free demo boats to test on the river or white water course from leading brands including Pyranha, Jackson, Riot, P&H, Feelfree and Venture Canoes and Kayaks. There will be huge discounts on all Peak UK kit throughout the shop alongside a well-stocked Sale Rail. Kayak films will be playing on the ‘big screen’ for your entertainment and extended opening hours will ensure you don’t miss out on any of the action!

Peak UK will be hosting a Rodeo event with prizes for the best newcomers, most stylish moustache and best tan lines and there will be a free sausage sizzle for every entry! The freestyle event will take place on the Saturday evening followed by a BBQ and ball games with the finals and prize giving taking place on the Sunday. Registration is just £10 and will run from 10am Saturday in the Peak Shop.

For the latest information log onto www.peakshop.co.uk or find our Peak Shop Facebook page.

The Peak Shop @ The National Water Sports Centre. Holme Pierrepont. Nottingham. NG2 5AS. t: 0115 9813222.

Event Programme:
Saturday
10am – 8pm Demo Boats / Great Deals / Movies at the Peak Shop
10am – 3pm Rodeo Registration at The Peak Shop. £10 entry fee**
3pm Judges Meeting at the Rodeo Site
3.30pm Event Briefing at the Rodeo Site
4pm – 8pm Rodeo Heats
8pm Sausage Sizzle / Volley ball at the Peak Shop

Sunday
10am – 5pm Demo Boats / Great Deals / Movies at the Peak Shop
12pm – 2pm Rodeo Semis / Final and Fun Event
3pm Prize Giving at the Peak Shop – Fun / Spot Prizes so anyone’s a winner….

**normal course fees apply outside event times. Includes Sausage Sizzle.

Pringle update from Euros and Natural Games

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:01:01 GMT

The European Championships in Lienz, Austria are over now. The hole was good, albeit tough & flushy which made for some good fighting in the competition. For me the competition went almost perfectly.

Fresh from the World Cup win I was feeling very strong going into Lienz. I finished 1st in Prelims, Quarters & Semi’s with Mathieu Dumoulin always just behind me so I was preparing for a fight in the finals between me and him.

However in the final the water dropped making the hole more sticky. This put Peter Csonka into the running now he could stay in the hole better than at the higher flushier level.

After the 1st round of the final I was in 1st with an ok run but knew I needed better. 2nd runs came & Peter Csonka had a great run getting 986 points which left me with two rides in which to beat that score, my 1st attempt I got 875 just missing one of my Phonic's & had a sweet backloop but just out of time and my last attempt I was going well but didn't get my last few moves getting 850. Leaving Peter the champion with me in 2nd place losing by 109 points difference and then Mathieu Dumoulin 3rd.

I was pleased to get 2nd but still I was disappointed I didn’t get the runs I wanted in the final. I’m looking forward to the Worlds in Plattling, I think its going to be some very good fighting for 1st place with such good competitors in Europe going into the battle in some very good carbon kayaks ;-)

The next weekend we went to the Natural Games in Millau. The Natural Games is a huge international multi-sport festival held over 4 days featuring MTB, Kayak, Paragliding and Climbing with big Concerts every night from popular artists drawing in over 25,000 visitors. There was some really cool sports on show, with huge crashes and tricks on the Mountain Bikes events, some sick acrobatics from the Paragliders and some super impressive technical climbing on show.

The freestyle kayak event had over 45 entrants in the men’s and the standard was high, with some sick paddling from Gerd, both Mathieu’s, Casper and a few other french & spanish guys who I don’t know the names. They’re using different rules here so it was a little confusing to work out how you were doing until you saw the scoresheet and in quarters even then it was a suprise ;-) My rides went well enough on the first day anyhow winning the Prelims & Quarters and got 4th in the Semi’s. Finals came on the Sunday and I was looking forward to a tough competition with Gerd, Mathieu Dumouiln, Mathieu Coldobella and one other French Kayaker all competing in the final. I Had a good first ride of 1200 which gave me the first and then I bettered it on my second ride with a 1300 point ride. The end result was me 1st, Mathieu Coldobella 2nd, Mathieu Dumoulin 3rd & right behind him with 50 points difference was Gerd Serrasolses in 4th place.

We stayed in Millau for one more day with Mathieu Dumoulin who took us to a fun, chilled out after party with Natural Games volunteers. Thank you to Guiaumme for getting us to come to such a great event and thanks to Mathieu Dumoulin for looking after us so well in Millau and giving us such a good time here.

After an awesome two month roadtrip we’re on the way to the west coast of France for a one week beach holiday without kayaking & competing before I go back to work for a few months in the UK! :-s

Pringle

European Freestyle Champs Photo Gallery
Natural Games Photo Gallery

For full reports/ photos check out: http://riverzoo.eu/RiverZoo/Blog/Blog.html

Slalom World Cup 2

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Following the first World Cup in Prague, the PeakUK Slalom Team travelled to La Seu D’Urgell in Spain for the second race of the series. After a successful World Championships at La Seu in 2009, where Lizzie Neave finished 3rd, Tim and Etienne 4th, and Huw Swetnam 5th, the team were well prepared for racing. Qualification started off well, with all GB boats comfortably making it into the semi’s, except for Lizzie Neave, who was struck by illness and left unable to compete.

In the men's kayak semi finals, Huw Swetnam flew down the course in the fastest time, but was unlucky to receive a 50 second penalty, and, along with the other British men’s kayaks, was unable to progress to the finals.

Tim and Etienne were the only British C2 crew to make it to the finals. They posted the 3rd best run in the semi’s and went on to improve by over 2 seconds on their second run. However in a tightly contested final, they were left disappointed to not make the podium, and finished in 6th position.

Fiona Pennie continued to show good form, collecting her third international medal of the season. Paddling consistently well all weekend, Fiona qualified in 3rd and finished 2nd in the semis. In the finals she put down a faster run to take the bronze medal, behind Spain’s Maialen Chourraut and Slovakia’s Olympic Champion Elena Kaliska. Fiona was joined in the finals by fellow British paddler Louise Donninton, who was unable to improve on her first run, and finished in 10th position.

The PeakUK Team (minus Fiona Pennie) will now move to Augsburg, Germany, for the third and final World Cup race.

For more information and results check out the race websites below:
2010 World Cup Race #2 - La Seu d'Urgell, Spain
2010 World Cup Race #3 - Augsburg, Germany

Words by Lizzie Neave, Photos copyright http://canoeslalomseu.parcolimpic.com/

2010 World Wildwater Racing Championships, Sort, Spain

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

A Championship of 1sts

The Noguera Pallaressa river in Sort, Spain provided a true classic test of wildwater racing skills; long continuous rapids which rewarded the skills of the more technical paddler and physical ability of the elite athlete.

River levels had been running high after a later than usual snow melt period, coupled with rain.

The team had very high hopes of medals in more than one event following a very successful European championships (winning Gold, Silver and Bronze in WK1 events and 2 Bronze medal in C2) and a stunning series of races at the World Cup in Tazmania (winning 18 medals in total from MK1, C2 and WK1 events – including Jessica Oughton taking the World Cup title for the first time).

Classic Individuals
The classic racing was spread over 2 days, with MK1 and C2 on the first day and WK1 and C2 on the second day. The levels for the men were high, but for the women the heavens opened overnight and brought the river to the highest levels the organisers were comfortable with. It is great credit to the skill of all of the paddlers who competed, and it was a wonderful day for GB with Hannah Brown taking Silver, just a fraction of a second ahead of Jessica Oughton in Bronze.

Rain stops play
The rain continued to fall, the river continued to rise to a dangerous racing level, resulting in 2 days of cancelled racing. Jon Schofield joined the team straight from the last World Cup flatwater sprint event, where he had won the 200m K2 with Liam Heath convincingly. The team now was complete – we just needed a course to race on. Racing was switched to an easier section below the town. The course was still good and bouncy water – just much safer in high waters.

Team Racing day

Day 5 proved to be a very full day, practise on the new sprint and classic course – then racing the sprint team events in the morning and classic teams in the afternoon.

The womens sprint K1 team of Jessica Oughton, Hannah Brown and Sandra Hyslop took a bronze medal, just 0.2 out of 2nd after 2 runs. The C2 team were a little disappointed not to get closer to the bronze medal position they took last year at the Europeans – so it was all to play for on the classic team race.

The classic team course was shorter than the main course at just over 10 minutes, and the GB womens team stormed to victory to take the first world title GB WWR has won since 1975. The C2 team got agonisingly close to the medal, coming back from 5 seconds down at halfway to miss out by 0.8 of a second.

Sprint Individuals

So to the final day, sprint individuals. Jonnie Schofield was hoping to take his first world championships medal – but the lack of time on the WW was a concern. GB felt confident that even on the easier course they could excel.

The women did not disappoint, Jessica Oughton took the gold, Hannah Brown took the silver and Sandra Hyslop followed it up with a great 8th place in her less favoured event.

Jonnie Schofield found the standard of the mens event tough, and ultimately just missed out on a medal in 4th place. Ben Oakley put the mistake in his classic individual run behind him to take 9th place, a great result.

So champagne flowed at the final medal ceremony, and team GB got to sing the national anthem again. It was the best ever world championships for GB, and it was the result of many years of genuine team work from the paddlers and support staff – the whole standard of the team moved forward together. It was a championship of many 1sts to be proud of:

1st ever individual world champion
1st time since 1975 we have won a world title
1st time since 1975 that we have had 2 medals in a single class
1st time since 1989 that we have won 2 (or more) individual medals
1st time since 1981 that we have had 2 mens kayaks in the top 10
1st time since 1995 that we have closely contested a C2 medal (so close!)

The team now moves on to the World Cups. The World Championships move to Augsburg next year for the sprint worlds and then to La Plagne (Isere river) for the Sprint and Classic worlds the following year.

Full results can be found on the WWR website:
http://www.wildwater.org.uk/index.php/2010-Internationals/Sort-World-Championships.html

Words by Neil Stamps.

Wave Moves on HPP

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Check out the video below in which David Bainbridge and Tom Turner set out to disprove the myth that you cannot throw "wave moves" in Nottingham.

Note: The Disclaimer is purely light-hearted and based on common perception...

Video by David Bainbridge.

Teva Extreme Outdoor Games 2010

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

This years Teva Extreme Outdoor Games saw competitors from all over the world descend on the town of Ivrea in Italy to compete in Running, MTB, Bouldering and the Freeride Kayaking.

This years extreme kayak race took place on the Val Chiusella river. A longer race section was set than previous years, which, after running the river several times before the race and realising I couldn’t successfully remember any of the lines, resulted in having to draw myself a map and knuckling down to some revision the night before!

The top placed man was Mike Dawson (NZ) who stormed the lead with a cracking time of 6:16:20! Isaac Levinson (USA) and Eric Deguille (FRA) took second and third with times of just over the 6.20sec mark. The Women’s event was led by Anne Huebner (GER) with myself placing 5 after a slow but successful decent. The top 25 paddlers got entry to the ‘King of the Falls’, a great spectator event it was with the likes of Eric Deguille (FRA) making an awesome backward-paddle snapping manoeuvre over the main drop. Beer bootie was issued to Eric over dinner and the winner Mike Dawson (NZ) walked away with the crown.

The next 3 events of Sprint, Slalom and Boater X were held on the surprisingly meaty slalom course in down town Ivrea. The volume of water chugging down the course made for an interesting race in the Slalom with many competitors missing gates or entering them upside down and clean lines in the Sprint race were hard find. The Boater X was the final race of the week and a great one to watch with the current top 20 men automatically making the cut it left 5 places up for grabs in a mass downriver battle. Battling it out to the end in the men’s was Eric Deguille (FRA) and Anne Huebner (GER) won the women’s with myself in second place.

The overall results in the men’s went to Mike Dawson (NZ) closely followed by Fabian Doerfler (GER) in second and Dejan Krali (SLO) in third. The Women’s title was taken by Anne Huebner (GER), Nouria Newman (FRA) and I finished in a respectable bronze position!

Words by Jen Chrimes.

Photos by Jen Chrimes and Arnd Schaeftlein.

Helen Barnes sets new World Record

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Helen Barnes has set a new World Record of 100 hand rolls in a kayak in under 5 minutes. The record was set in the outdoor pool at Helens local David Lloyd center in Nottingham where children from the school Helen works at came to support. Peak UK used computer technology to design a new Topdeck to help Helen reach her new World Record. Friends, family, BBC press and the Trent FM team were all there to celebrate with live music and a BBQ. The actual record was 100 in 3minutes and 46seconds!

Well done Helen!

Besty's Uganda Video

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:01:01 GMT

Check out this video of Jon Best's winter in Uganda.