The Battle of Big Bull Falls

by Jake Ament | Sep 9, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, Playboating, United States, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW Disciplines

80 degrees and low humidity- Northwoods summers are hard to beat.  Which is why, every August boaters from all around Wisconsin and the surrounding states gather in my hometown at the Wausau whitewater park for the annual freestyle clinic and Midwest Freestyle...

THE ROCKSTAR 4.0 ROCKS!!

by Jacob Walker | Sep 8, 2018 | Playboating, Reviews, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

This weekend I got to paddle the new RockStar 4.0, and it really does live up to the hype! My first impressions just from sitting in it was that there is a little bit more volume in the middle of the boat because the knees are raised up higher. Personally, I think...

Stephen Wright’s Freestyle Fundamentals video #4: the Lean Clean

by stephenwright | Sep 7, 2018 | Instructional, Playboating, Rockstar 4.0, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines

This video teaches you to do the ULTIMATE freestyle fundamentals skill drill: the Lean Clean.  This exercise will help you learn to do so many freestyle tricks: cartwheels, splitwheels, stern squirts, blunts, back blunts, air screw take-offs, pan ams, back pan...

Stephen Wright’s Freestyle Fundamentals Video #3: horizonal spinning

by stephenwright | Sep 3, 2018 | Instructional, Playboating, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines

This is the third video in my Freestyle Fundamentals video series. This focuses in on spinning the boat horizontally using forward and reverse sweeps. As always, practicing these skills in the flatwater will make you learn faster and help you to have more fun in a...

The Amazing Macho Move

by Cameron O'Connor | Aug 30, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Instructional, Playboating, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines

The macho move is truly one of, if not the most, macho move on the river to this day. Combining two amazing tricks in themselves, the double pump and the loop over a set of waves, this trick looks awesome and feels totally rad! First things you will need to be able to...

Freestyle Fundamentals Instructional Video with Stephen Wright #2

by stephenwright | Aug 29, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Instructional, Playboating, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines

Check out the second video in my “freestyle fundamentals” video series! This one focuses on edge control, balance, and bracing.  These drills will help you improve your ability stay upright, and to brace the boat to flat quickly and...

Skookumchuck Stardust

by katiejackson | Aug 22, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Playboating, rivers, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

I’ve always dreamed of how magical it would be to surf Skook, but somehow I’d never heard of the magic in the water. I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one either. In all of my time drooling over footage of the wave with friends no one ever mentioned it. During...

“Golden Hour” on the Ottawa River

by Cameron O'Connor | Aug 10, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Playboating, rivers, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

“Golden Hour” on the Ottawa River is truly a magical time of the day. When the sun starts to peek through the clouds, over the trees, it aluminates the water creating a golden glow that attracts photographers and kayakers from around the world. My first-time...

Bedford River Festival 2018 Big Air Ramp

by alexread | Aug 2, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, Playboating, UK, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

Last weekend I headed up to Bedford for the 2018 River Festival to try my hand at the Big Air Ramp with the guys from Canoe Trail (www.canoetrail.co.uk) Once I got there I was super excited to get on the ramp and have a go. Sitting on top of the 6m ramp for the first...

Check out this Freestyle Fundamentals Instructional video with Stephen Wright #1

by stephenwright | Jul 28, 2018 | Instructional, Playboating, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction, WW Disciplines

Want to learn to have more fun in a playboat?  Check out my 3-part series on flatwater drills that will take you to the next level.  These videos will focus on the fundamentals of freestyle kayaking with a series of fun warm-up drills to build the skills to...

Quick First Impression of the Rockstar 4.0

by Andrew Regan | Jul 24, 2018 | Playboating, Reviews, rivers, Rockstar 4.0, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

This design marks quite a stark difference to previous Jackson Freestyle boats, I’ve had the 4.0 out for the past few days on the waves of the Ottawa River.   Seated position: The first thing I noticed about this boat was the higher knee position coupled...

Dirty Bird Confidence Series Recap 2018

by crystalgustin | Jul 16, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, Playboating, United States, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW Disciplines

There is something magical that happens when a large group of women get together to paddle. The energy is high, smiles are vast and the camaraderie is second to none. Every year, Paddle in Pink leads a few trips, one being an all girls paddle on the Pigeon River in...