Competing at Night: World Cup Finals

World Cup this year was an amazing trip. We had a lot of fun just traveling together in a big group with a lot of my close friends. We also pulled out some tourist stops and visited a couple beaches, ate some good sea food at the Mediterranean and did some good kayaking too. Though one of most favorite times was being able to kayak at night for the Finals of the last event of the World Cup in Sort.

It was an incredible experience, I was able to be sitting in an eddy upstream  of the feature with three of my best friends, with Jason Craig, Dane Jackson, Mathiue Dumoulin as we all wait for our names to be called. Then we paddle out from the darkness and into what felt like a live concert. The stands were packed with people all cheering, lights were flashing and music was blaring.

As for the actual kayaking, it is quite different to paddle at night. Even though the hole was well lit with lots of light, it was still very different from paddling in the day time. Your subtle markers of exactly where to plug your bow, or where to stay in the wave were lost, and it forced you to paddle with way more feeling than actual sight.

We all were  given three rides to outdo each other, and after some incredible tricks and high flying air, it was Dane Jackson was able to take home the top spot, Mathieu was second, and I took third just knocking out Jason by a couple points. They finished the night off with an amazing Fireworks show and Medal ceremony.

It was an event that I wouldn’t soon forget, and I can’t wait for my next opportunity to compete in a Finals under the lights.