The 2022 Freestyle Kayaking World Championships finished yesterday in Nottingham, England and what a whirlwind week of Worlds it was! This is my 6th Worlds as a member of the US Women’s Freestyle Kayak team, and this year may have been the best! First off, the feature was really great. A hole that had been built specifically for this Worlds, it was both challenging and fun – the exact mix you want. It demanded your best technique to correctly execute your tricks. You constantly had to pay attention to where you were in the hole before initiating your moves, paying attention to where the flushy spots were. It helped everyone get better – that’s for sure! Second, it was an incredibly happy kayaking reunion for everyone participating because we had not all been back together since the last Worlds in Spain in 2019, pre – COVID. There was an atmosphere of gratitude and joy to be there coming from everyone.

This year, both EJ and Clay were back on the team and that was especially fun – I never know how many more of those incredible moments we will all have! Many I hope, but you never know! That combined with the very organized team management (thank you Andy, Kathy, and Todd) and the enthusiastic team spirit everyone brought made this year’s team experience the most fun of all! There were two father child combos on the team. OC1 and C1 paddlers Brian and Landon Miller, and K1 EJ, Emily and Dane! It was terrific to have different generations paddling, training, and competing together.

Everyone was supportive and positive leading to great team cohesion! The super organized training schedules at the National Water Sports Center where the Hole is located, lead to plenty of practice time for everyone – a new first for Worlds! That really helped for planning my days and time while I was in the UK, and I sincerely hope its something that we can continue for future Worlds.

This year’s competition also had a Master’s Class for paddlers 40 years and older, broken out by decade. This was also an incredibly fun event that made use of just about all the play features on the river with the finals being held in the main competition hole. As I competed in both the women’s class and the Masters’ classes, I did a lot of paddling during Worlds – which is really how you want to spend your time at Worlds (besides watching and cheering other paddlers on)! By the time it was over, I was exhausted but happily so! Another added bonus for me was that many people I know who I had met in Uganda were at the Worlds – it was a mini reunion of sorts and that was great fun too!

Finally, this year, I had the distinct honor of being the oldest woman competitor! It is amazing to think that on our woman’s team we have an age range of 20 – 54, all competing in the same class! There are very few places in life where you get to have that opportunity, and it was so much fun! I gain a lot of inspiration and learn a tremendous amount from my younger team mates, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had that chance! Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s worlds possible and such a great experience!! A special thank you to my cousin Annie Chester who traveled all the way from Atlanta, GA and took a break from her ER nursing job to come support me! Thank you Annie – you are the best!