Another successful edition of the Charnay Beach Contest! I think this freestyle kayak competition will stay in everyone’s mind for a long time. With the presence of the best French kayakers Mat Dumoulin and Sebastien Devred as well as the two brand new world champions Nick Troutman and Emily Jackson, the event was on! The motto of this year: “sleep during the day and paddle at night…”
I had to cancel last year’s event due to the high flood on the Saone river. But this time around, the water levels were pretty low. I was sure that this wave would work for the competition, I just didn’t know at which time... So, I checked the water levels online all the week and realised that the wave would often work just fine at night and in the morning. Therefore, I decided to hold the first Charnay Beach Contest “By Night”.
All of the competitors arrived on Friday. Unfortunately, the wave wasn’t working yet. Just in time for the organisation, the water level rose and they finally could confirm the execution of the event during the registration at 11 p.m. The first paddlers started with their training while the judges where still preparing their eyes for the upcoming obscurity and high scores. Around midnight, in the windy and cold atmosphere, the first Free Kayak Tour of 2010 was launched…
Each participant came to the start in a controlled mess and jumped from the ramp directly into the wave for their first ride. This went on until about 4 a.m. … After just a few hours of sleeping, it was time for another qualifying session from 10h until 12h because the water levels were decreasing again.
The afternoon of rest was well deserved for everyone. Some people played football, other guys learned slacklining, the world champions learned how to play bowls (in French: Pétanque ;-)) while others were simply having a nap.
At 9 p.m. the band claimed the place for a friendly and funny concert in an awesome atmosphere! Once the concert ended, the water levels went back up and the semi-finals and finals were next up. We've had superb performances throughout the weekend, big aerials and combos, and even some new moves like the wavemonkey!
A big thanks to all of our partners: adidas and Sandiline, the Comité départemental de Bourgogne, Kayak Session and the local cheese Hervé Poulet from Jura.
I’d also like to thank all the guys who helped me throughout the week and the judges who didn’t crack up because of the French mess ;-).
Special thanks to Mr Vincent Dupond from Canada who motivated me to use the wooden sidewalls ;-) Without those, we wouldn’t have had such a nice hole with a small water level at the same time.
Right here, you can check out some pictures from the event.
See you soon!
Have fun,
