The excitement at the 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championships ramped up today, as over 70 men took part in 14 heats for the K1 Men’s division. In this event, the men have 45 seconds to throw a variety of tricks, such as McNasty’s, Loops and Helixes. Bonus points are awarded for entry moves and style, which certainly adds to the excitement of the event.

Not surprisingly, Dane Jackson (USA) is a heavy hitter in this event, and is in the lead going into Quarter-Finals, with a total of 2, 704 points. Close behind is Mathieu Dumoulin (FRA) with 2, 400 points, and Peter Csonka (SVK) with 2, 264 points.

Among the top 20 who advance to Quarter-Finals is 2011 World Freestyle Champion James Bebbington (GBR), who is currently in 9th place with a respectable 1,829 points. Paddling a carbon Dagger Jitsu 5.9, Bebbington was fairly conservative in his heat, where he was up against another big name in freestyle, Clay Wright.

“Today all the main competitors made it through comfortably, so no real surprises,” says Bebbington, “many of the top paddlers take it a bit easy on the first day to save their best for later. I was a bit nervous today, I think, so just wanted to blow away the first day anxiety.”

 His first ride broke 1,000 points, which he was very happy with, while his second scored an impressive 773 points. “I really liked how my first ride was coming together, but my Lunar Orbit tripped me up at the end,” he says.

Going into the Quarter-Final, Bebbington is feeling confident, and is enjoying the challenge that 2013 Wave has to offer, “It’s tricky, but I actually really enjoy paddling in it. I’m satisfied enough with my rides today, but I’m also burning to get in there again and show my true capabilities. I’m much calmer now and ready to kill it!“

Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day again, with both Men’s C1 Heats and Women’s K1 heats on the roster. You can catch James Bebbington, along with the other Top 20 K1 Men in the Quarter-Final at 5:00pm EST tomorrow (September 6th) on the Live Feed. 

The ICF World Freestyle Championships have wrapped up for the second day of competition at the Nantahala Outdoor Centre in Bryson City, North Carolina.  The day started with both Men’s and Women’s Squirt heats, and ended with K1 Junior Women’s Semi-Finals.

Squirt heats took place at 2013 Wave and the eddies below, where the athletes attempted to rack up high scores with combinations of classic squirt boating maneuvers such as flat water stern squirts and “mystery moves”, where the paddlers try to get as much down time in the feature as they can.

In the Men’s Squirt division, members from the US team dominated the top three spots. Dane Jackson earned himself first place moving into Semi-Finals with a 500 point lead and final score of  2,463 points. Teammate Clay Wright came second with a final score of 1, 953 points, while Jeremy Laucks earned himself a very respectable 1, 056 points.

In the Women’s division, reigning champion Claire O’Hara (GBR) came out swinging in the preliminary round, her first run earning her 1, 156 points, followed by a 781 point run, landing her in the top spot with 1, 937 points overall.  Rounding out the top 3 in the Women’s Squirt were two Japanese paddlers, Hitomi Takaku in second with 684 points, followed closely by teammate Motoko Ishida with 652 points. 

Breaking up the pro-division competition was the WaveSport Wesser Falls Extreme race, where pro athletes and recreational paddlers alike had the chance to duke it out in a head to head style race from above the 2013 Wave and ending below Wesser Falls, a Class V rapid. Fidel Moreno won the Men’s division, while Adriene Levknecht took home the gold in the Women’s division. While they both get to take home bragging rights, they also got to take home $500 in cash.

K1 Junior Women’s preliminaries once again turned into a Semi-Final round, as the field of competitors was only 10 deep.  Nuria Fontane (ESP) came first with a score of 530 points, while Rowan Stuart (USA) came in a close second with 493 points. Completing the top 3 was Kimberlee Aldred (GBR) with a score of 233 points.  The top 5 Junior Women will face off in the final on Sunday morning.

Tomorrow, the day will be devoted mainly to K1 Junior Men’s heats, along with some fun races sponsored by Bomber Gear and Dagger kayaks.  Be sure to catch all the action here: http://www.freestylekayaking2013.com/worlds-live-feed.html

Official results from today’s events can be found here.

Daniel Alvarez is your typical adventure and exploration junkie. The 32 year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, began his career of long-distance travels when he was 11 years-old, when his mother dragged him along on a four day hike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim. While reluctant at first, Alvarez soon grew to love long-distance trails.

“I tried to quit before I started”, he remembers, “I didn’t want to leave the parking lot. My mom handed me the keys to the car and $100. She told me I could sleep in the car and she would be back in a few days, so I followed her.”                 

Ten years after that first foray into hiking, Alvarez began to knock off some of the North America’s longest hikes: The Pacific Crest Trail (2,650 miles), The Appalachian Trail (2,180 miles), the Continental Divide (3,000 miles), and the Hayduke Trail (800 miles). Alvarez even managed to put 300 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail under his belt while he was still in law school.

“I walked out of law school halfway through the my last semester intending to carve out the first three hundred miles before coming back to take exams and graduate,” he says, “I printed out a few class outlines to study with and got on a plane to San Diego.”

Not long after finishing school and starting work at a law firm, he began to grow restless again.  In 2009, he was laid off from the company, at which point he couldn’t keep the smile from his as he packed up his desk and thought, “I’m free to go do this thing that’s been burning in my heart.”

During his time at the law firm, he had been daydreaming about planning his next big trip – a long-distance solo kayaking expedition. Even though he had virtually no kayaking experience to speak of, he began e-mailing kayak manufacturers across the country, as well as applying for a $10,000 adventure grant from Outside Magazine. In the end, he got a 17-foot Necky Looksha given to him by the company (he may, or may not have bent the truth about his paddling experience to get it) and readers on OutsideOnline.com voted heavily in his favor to win the adventure grant.

On June 11th, 2012, with his boat in tow and money in the bank, Alvarez began his long-awaited journey – to paddle from Northwest Angle, Minnesota along the Mississippi River to Key West, Florida. The 4,000 mile journey wasn’t easy – long-lost portages, cold weather, and constant strain on his body from paddling and portaging, but he arrived in Key West on March 11th, 2013, nine months after he first began his journey.

While some people may have been happy to be back on dry land after such a long stint in a kayak, it wasn’t enough for Alvarez. Less than a month after completing the monster trip, he once again packed up his Looksha and hit the water, heading north for a second time. This time he began along the Eastern Seaboard, turned into the St. Lawrence Seaway, and eventually found the Ottawa River. Once off of the Ottawa, Alvrez isn’t certain how to get to the Northwest Angle, but that doesn’t have him concerned.

“Treat it as an adventure, it’s all about how you’re viewing it. If you see it as a horrible thing, it will be a horrible thing,” he says, “be like a kid in the park—jump over trees, splash in the water, enjoy it! Relish it—this is a crazy adventure.”

To keep up with Daniel’s travels, check out his blog: www.predictablylost.com

The 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championships got underway on September 2nd, in Bryson City, North Carolina, where over 300 of the world’s top athletes will compete for the K1, C1 and Squirt World Champion titles over the next six days. This year’s event kicked off with the Opening Ceremonies, which included a parade of the athletes, Big Air Show and a performance by Warriors of AniKituhwa, a traditional Cherokee dance group.

New for the World Champs this year is an automated scoring system, created by the Nantahala Outdoor Centre, which allows for real-time results, athlete information and playback potential, making the event extremely spectator-friendly. Athletes will have a set time to perform as many tricks as possible, with additional points being awarded for style. The moves fall into three categories: Entry Moves, Basic Moves, and Bonuses. The type and number of tricks and how well they execute them ultimately determines the score at the end of their ride.

Competition officially began on the 2013 Wave today (September 3rd), when K1 Junior Men took to the wave in the morning and afternoon.  Hunter Katich (USA) currently sits in first place going into Semi-Finals after two amazing rides, earning him a staggering total of 1, 979 points. Not far behind him are Max Karlsson (SWE) with a score of 1, 206 points and Alec Vorhees (USA) with a score of 1, 204.  The top 10 from the Junior Men will continue on to Semi-Finals, which take place on Saturday September 7th. See all the K1 Junior Men results here.

The OC-1 Men also took to the 2013 Wave today in what should have been the preliminary round, but due to small numbers became the Semi-Finals.  Jordan Poffenberger (USA) topped the competition, with his first ride earning him 93 points, and his second 203 points. Coming in second was Dane Jackson (USA) with 140 points and in third Matthew Godsoe (CAN) with 50 points.  The top five will continue on to Finals on Sunday September 8th. See all the OC-1 Men results here.

Spectators will also be entertained by various raft races, SUP races and live musicians around Bryson City throughout the event. For more information and event times, check out the event schedule.

Tomorrow, the fun continues as Men’s and Women’s Squirt classes get underway, along with the K1 Junior Women’s heats. You can catch all the action live at the following link: http://www.freestylekayaking2013.com/worlds-live-feed.html.

Be sure to check out our article about the top contenders for Worlds, which appeared in Rapid, Summer/Fall 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.