The 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championship has come to an end after an exciting week at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina.

Men’s and Women’s Squirt Finals were first on the list of many Final rounds. In Women’s Squirt, Claire O’Hara (GBR) proved herself yet again, and took home the gold and the World Champion title in her division with 1,153 points. Bringing home silver was Motoko Ishida (JPN) with 603 points and Yoshiko Suematsu (JPN) took the bronze with 286 points. In the Men’s Division, Clay Wright (USA) topped the podium with 1,340 points. In second place is Dane Jackson (USA) with 1, 160 points, while Max Karlsson (SWE) nabbed bronze with 860 points.

Jordan Poffenberger (USA) came in first place with 283 points in Men’s OC-1, Dane Jackson (USA) took home silver with 103 points, and Jez Jez (AUS) came away with a bronze medal with 100 points. In Men’s C1, Poffenberger (USA) took another gold medal with 1,068 points, while teammates Tad Dennis (USA) came in second with 843 points and Dane Jackson (USA) took bronze with 840 points.

Home-state hero Rowan Stuart (USA) was able to snatch a gold medal in the Junior Women’s K1 division with a 423 point ride. Nuria Fontane (ESP) came in second with 380 points, and Kimberlee Aldred (GBR) placed third with an even 200 point ride.  In Men’s K1 Junior, Hunter Katich (USA) took top spot with an impressive score of 1,200 points. Thomas Richard (FRA) took home silver with 1,006 points and Alec Vorhees (USA) took home bronze with 953 points.

In one of the more anticipated Finals of the week, Claire O’Hara (GBR) grabbed yet another World Champion title in the Women’s K1 division, with a 708 point ride. Hitomi Kakau (JPN) took silver with 650 points, and Adriene Levknecht (USA) went home with bronze after her 326 point run.

To some, it may have come as no surprise that 20 year-old Dane Jackson (USA) walked away with the gold medal in the K1 Men’s division. His ride earned him 1,240 points, while Peter Csonka (SVK) came second with 1,233 points and Tomasz Czaplicki (POL) came in third with 1,208 points.

The 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championships was another raging success. The Nantahala Outdoor Centre did a phenomenal job hosting the events, especially with the inclusion of the LiveFeed and the automated scoring system, which made the event extremely spectator friendly. It will be interesting to watch the up and coming athletes over the next two years as they prepare for the next competition, with the scores we saw throughout the event this week, who knows what’s coming next in 2015. 

Semi-Finals for most events were on the agenda at the 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championships in Bryson City, NC today.

The day started off at noon, with Men’s and Women’s Squirt boating Semi-Finals. The boaters had two runs, with their best of the two determining their overall score. Clay Wright (USA) posted a 1, 220 point first run, which earned him top spot going into the Finals. Dane Jackson (USA) also had a good first run, scoring 1,076 points, which put him into second place. Rounding out the Top 5 athletes going into tomorrow’s Final are Max Karlsson (SWE) with 866 points, Jeremy Laucks (USA) with 796 points and Benjamin Aldred (GBR) with 523 points.

In Women’s squirt boating action, Claire O’Hara maintained her first place position easily with a 900 point lead, earning herself 1,253 points. Completing the Top 5 are Motoko Ishida (JPN) with 390 points, Elaine Campbell (USA) with 553 points, Hitomi Takaku (JPN) with 293 points and Yoshiko Suematsu (JPN) with 243 points. Tomorrow, we find out if O’Hara will once again nab the Women’s World Squirt Champion title.

In K1 Junior Men, Alec Vorhees (USA) was able to sweep top spot with 966 points. Bennett Smith (USA) is close behind and takes second place, with 945 points. Also moving on to tomorrow’s finals are Max Karlsson (SWE) with 916 points, Hunter Katich (USA) with 833 points and Thomas Richard (FRA) with 690 points.

Tad Dennis (USA) was able to unseat Jordan Poffenberger (USA) going into tomorrow’s Final with 1,086 point ride, which at press time was the unconfirmed highest score in ICF history of C1.  Dane Jackson (USA) came second with 893 points. The other three men advancing to the final tomorrow are Poffenberger with 736 points, Sebastien Devred (FRA) with 690 points, and Seth Chappelle (USA) with 640 points.

Wrapping up the day was the nighttime rodeo for Men’s and Women’s K1 Semi-Finals, where the Top 10 from each division faced off to try and secure a spot in tomorrow’s Final. Claire O’Hara (GBR) maintained her first place position with a 575 point ride, while Ekaterina Kulkova (RUS) was only points behind with a score of 546 points. Also advancing to finals are Hitomi Takaku (JPN) with 413 points, Anne Hubner (GER) with 410 and Adriene Levknecht (USA), also with 410 points. It’s a close race for the ladies, and the Final should be interesting to watch.

In Men’s K1, the competition was fierce, with non-stop action. The bar was set high from the beginning, as the first two rides of the evening scored above 1,000 points. Going into Finals tomorrow sitting in first place is Dane Jackson (USA) with 1,230 points. Only 27 points behind, Tomasz Czaplicki is sitting in second with 1,203. Also in the Top 5 going into tomorrow’s Final are Peter Csonka (SVK) with 1,113 points, Sebastien Devred (FRA) with 1, 073 points and Alan Ward (GBR) with 1,058 points. Nick Troutman (CAN) and Eric Jackson (USA) didn’t make the cut along with James Bebbington (GBR), who missed moving on to Semi’s yesterday. With three former World Champions out of the running, it’s anyone’s guess as to who could take home the title tomorrow, especially after watching such dynamic boating.

Finals take place for all events throughout the day tomorrow (September 8th). For a schedule of events, as well as a link to the LiveFeed, be sure to check out the 2013 ICF Freestyle Championships website.

Another day has gone by at the Nantahala Outdoor Centre, which means we are one step closer to finding out who will be named World Champion in  the various events taking place at the 2013 ICF World Freestyle Championships.

Men’s C1 heats started off the day at noon, with over 15 men looking to make the cut in order to go on to Semi-Finals. Leading the pack is Jordan Poffenberger (USA) with a score of 1,382 points. Closely following is Tad Dennis (USA) with 1, 277 points and Lucas Cervinka (CZK) 1,228 points. The Top 10 will throw down tomorrow afternoon in the Semi-Finals.

K1 Women’s heats got underway today as well, and it came as no real surprise that Claire O’Hara (GBR) came in first in the preliminary round with a total of 1,220 points. Rounding out the top 3 women are Ruth Gordon-Ebens (CAN) with 713 points and Hitomi Takaku (JPN), who is following Gordon-Ebens extremely closely with 712 points. The Top 10 ladies also go into Semi-Final rounds tomorrow afternoon.

Wrapping up the day was the Men’s K1 Quarter-Final, where the boys laid down some impressive rides. Mathieu Dumoulin (FRA) threw down a massive 1, 520 point score, quickly linking huge loops, McNasty’s and Phonix Monkey’s, earning himself some bonuses for big air. Not to be outdone, Dane Jackson (USA) followed Dumoulin’s performance with a 1, 560 point ride, the highest of the day. Going into Semi-Finals, Jackson is in the lead with a total of 3, 106 points, Dumoulin is in second place with 2,616 points and Peter Csonka (SVK) is in third with 2, 369 points. The Top 10 men go onto tomorrow’s competition, which promises to be exciting as previous World Champions such as Nick Troutman (CAN) and Eric Jackson (USA) are in the mix. Tomorrow’s Semi-Final gets underway at 9:00Pm EST for a nighttime rodeo, be sure to catch all the action on the LiveFeed.

For a full list of today’s results, click here.

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.