Little Shredder Tim from Germany talks about Hurley Classic

Hurley Classics – H30

Legendary competition on the Thames in London

The competition season started this year with a highlight.

On 16 and 17 March 2019 the legendary Hurley Classics took place on the Thames in London. This competition is popular and well-known among whitewater racers all over the world. There were Paddler from UK, Spain, Poland and Germany.

The Classics consist of many individual competitions. I competed in the disciplines Freestyle and BoaterX.

But first the Youngguns Meet the stars took place on Saturday. Here the participating kids were divided into different groups and coached by several professionals. I was very happy to be in the group with Bren Orton and Harry Price. Both were really very nice and we got a lot of good tips.

On Saturday afternoon the BoaterX took place. Since the track wasn’t very long, the organizers came up with a few things to make the whole thing more interesting. It was started classically from the BoaterX ramp. I must admit, this is really fun! Among other things we had to surf through the wave to the other side of the river, do some slalom in the rough water around buoys, open and close the spraydeck while driving, get out of the boat at a certain point and throw the paddle through a hanging ring and catch it again. Since there was only one men’s ranking in this category, I am more than satisfied with my 23rd place in the overall ranking of over 80 participants.

On Sunday the freestyle competition took place. There were over 180 participants in all age groups and skill levels at the start. However, many participants also mean a long day of competition. It started in session jam in groups of 10 starters per heat. Since it rained a lot the day before, the conditions were very difficult. The wave was very flush’s. The first disappointment about my run was quickly forgotten and in the end I was very happy with my achieved 324 points and the first place in one of the junior categories.

It was a really great start into the season and I am looking forward to many beautiful and exhausting paddling days this year!

After all, I want to tell you, that the Hurley Classic is for me one of the very best competitions and I really want to come back in 2020.