One day I was paddling on the Ottawa when somebody in the eddy was talking about the upcoming Pan-American championships that will be held on either Garb or Push Button. I figured I’d ask for the time off and give it a shot in the pro men category. I had no hopes of winning but my goal was to be in the top ten after the first round. I wanted to do well so the week leading to the comp was practice sessions with Irish Dave and the Airborn guys every day working on my 45 second rides.
The event was held on Push Button because the river was at -3 on the owl gauge. The wave was completely green for the most part, which made it more difficult to stick moves and score points. I felt that this was a good thing because in order to have a solid ride you had to throw tricks with prefect technique and not be sloppy on the wave.
For my first freestyle competition I feel I performed decently but could have done better. During my first ride I flushed on my second trick and only scored 35 points. Luckily that seemed to get rid of my jitters because during my second ride I stomped the majority of the tricks I planned to throw and scored 200+ points. This was a huge confidence boost because it showed me that if I keep working at it I am capable of accomplishing my competition goals and being successful.
Photos: Dave Crerar
