I said I would never do it.

So I have been a very strong advocate of all kinds of paddling, however have to admit that I have never been very fond of paddling carbon boats through gates. I have been fortunate enough to be able to partake in a stack of different types of paddling including freestyle, creek boating, OC1, C1, K1, World Cup, Nationals and even paddled for Australia in the Rafting World Championships. Everything it seems except slalom boating. With the ICF competition for slalom boating in Australia and the potential selection to the Olympics Team I thought, why not give it a go. And lets face it, paddling by yourself is not a exciting as paddling in a C2 boat as I foolishly thought that paddling by yourself was not a challenging enough. What is the worst thing that could happen? Miss a roll and swim, losing face with the paddling community and becoming a bit of a joke amongst the slalom community. With this in mind I decided I would go for it, I’m not scared of a couple of very large lycra wearing paddlers making fun of me, a playboater who has been known for having a few dents in my helmet from purposely hitting slalom gates.

With a few days before competition I got in a C2 boat with my partner Lewis for the first time. The boat we use is way too small and the straps really are not conducive to getting out quickly so we continually make sure a guide is on hand with a rope not far behind.

This past few weeks have been a very interesting time in my life as I have got constant witty banter from all my boating buddies who decided to take the mickey out of me for giving slalom a go. Comments like, “Jez, really, you used to be cool” and “You do realise we can’t be seen together mate.”