Varsity Kayak Freestyle
Sunday saw the Varsity Kayak Freestyle event. For the uninitiated Kayak Freestyle involves pulling as many tricks in a kayak as possible whilst surfing on a river wave. Points are awarded for the length of the run, the technical difficulty of the moves attempted and the variety of the moves completed. In this case the wave is an artificial one created by the rapid flow of water through the gates of Hurley weir on the Thames. Widely recognised as the UK's finest play-spot, Hurley was running on a good three gates (depending on river levels between 1 and 4 gates are opened to allow water through). The Oxford team were confident of their prowess in the white water disciplines following a comfortable victory over Cambridge in the Varsity White Water Race back in December. The conditions looked promising for an exciting days competition. Some impressive paddling saw Oxford run out 32-26 victors. Most notable for their performances are Tom Wolstenholm (Wadham) who lived up to expectations in producing a number of spectacular runs, with great variety ranging from cartwheels to aerial blunts. He was clearly deserving in taking first place comfortably. Jon Fuller (St Anne's) also deserves mention for a strong, if one dimensional, performance to progress to the final where he finished fifth. The other Oxford finalist was Alan Rotsey (SEH), who was accomplished throughout; finishing third. The rest of the Oxford team comprised of Nick Smith (Trinity), Geoff Martin (St Anne's) and Andy Nalty (Keble).
13th May 2004