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August 22, 2008

By Clay Wright

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Constructed for the slalom event of the 1972 Olympics, the Eis Canal in Augsberg Germany still ranks as one of the most fun and beautiful artificial courses in the world. The water comes from a large river’s path around a dam. Part of the water is diverted for hydro electric, part of the water falls 25′ into a nasty cement-pillar backed hydraulic, and about 700 cfs channels into 2 man-made vertical walled slalom courses that careen between smooth cement boulders and small wooden diversion walls. The left channel is easy water with eddies and small holes and leads right back to the campground before heading into town. The right ‘competition channel’ descends over 2 steeper ‘drops’ and bounces between the boulders and walls on it’s 1/8 mile journey back to the river. Both channels are completely covered in slalom gates and overhead cables but flow through an otherwise beautiful park setting with an extensive trail system, terraced grassy banks, and 2 ‘Club Houses’ where members can change, shower, sleep, and store their boats between visits. The trophies, medals and posters proudly displayed throughout these houses speaks of a long tradition of German prowess in the sport of kayaking, and adds to the historic wonder of this beautiful course.

At the very top of this right channel lies the famous ‘washing machine’ hole – site of the 1995 Freestyle World Championships and also our 2nd event of the World Cup. It’s a frothy foam-pile with a small right shoulder and a bigger left one perfect for loops, Mcnasty’s, Phonic’s, and especially fast out of control cartwheels. There are eddies on both sides of the hole for quick recovery when you flush, but at the back of the eddies the water slams into the vertical walls and there is a midstream shallow section and rock awaiting the ‘slow rollers’ .. once below this rock it’s a tough ferry back up. The U-shaped river bottom allows for big loops that rarely bottom out, but on each side of the hole the cement is just a foot down, awaiting the bow or stern that veers off course. In 1995 practice sessions, bending and breaking the ends off our 9′ boats was was not just a risk but a reality. Every serious contender had a back-up boat and was welding, taping, or even sawing at night between sessions. The event was a cartwheel-contest, with variety awarded in a simple but in-effective ‘1-10 Style’ score that didn’t encourage creativity. Today’s 6’ers are holding up well – not only cartwheeling faster and closer to the walls but also flying high above the hole for some of the biggest loops ever witnessed in competition. Today’s system requires variety – as each move you do only counts once and we will surely be seeing many exciting rides in the days to come.

The ICF proposed scoring system is an attempt to give a value to each and every move possible, from the shovit and aerial roundhouse to the ‘non-aerial Felix’ and ‘clean lunar orbit’. It’s really cool to see aerial and non-aerial Mcnasty’s and Phonic’s scored differently and even the Jr. Women have a large list of moves to choose from. Unfortunately the 200 point ‘trophy move’ is worth less than the aerial combos so we won’t be seeing any of those here: 10 points for ‘linking’ is the same value as a ‘spin’. It reminds me a bit of 1995 when split-wheels and loops scored the same as a cartwheel, but surely these issues can be resolved before Worlds. While this will surely be one of the most impressive, well organized events I’ve ever seen ( we’ve even got computers on the judges stand for instant results! ) we have a lot to work on in order to encourage ‘combo’s and new tricks that allow the athletes to put the ‘free’ back in ‘freestyling’. So much has changed in the sport since 1995 – the boats, the fitness of the athletes, not to mention the tricks! I am confident ICF Freestyle Committee can appreciate and move to encourage our proud tradition of evolution.

Some of the beauty of this course is the differences we see between our US courses and here. Little kids coming down in little slalom boats with their parents or coaches in the ‘training channel’, the early morning and after-work gate workouts by big German men wearing a boat, a skirt, and and nothing else, sunbathers jumping in for a swim and riding it all the way to the bottom, and the incredible diversity of kayak styles – 13′ slalom rigs, topo duos, creekers, and 1990’s era freestyle boats all on the same waterway. The club garages are filled to the roof with long glass boats of all sorts and in some sections any equipment from the 1990’s sticks out as ‘short’ and ‘new’. But these garages are no graveyard for ancient equipment – they are a celebration of the diversity of white water paddling styles where even the oldest boats have fresh hip pads or repairs. We can only wish the Charlotte’s, ASCI’s, and Fibarks can find a way to preserve the history of our sport as proudly as they have done here in Augsberg – it is truly a sight for any lover of kayaks, kayaking, and kayak history to behold.

The competition has started, and Jonathan Shales just killed it – wowing the crowd with a Gi-normous ‘Huge, Clean Air-loop’ and then tossing his paddle at the buzzer just to show off with a few more moves just for the crowd. While he may or may not make the cut, and we made sure he knew the "Clean” part of his loops would not score here, the enthusiasm he showed for his paddling and the loud road of the approving crowd paints a very clear picture of our future. No matter how historic the setting, no matter how important the event, and no matter whether the judges will reward certain things or not – the part of us all that wants to show off our best tricks for our friends is the core of Freestyle Kayaking – and that will live longer than we do.

Clay Wright

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