Tag Archives: Hawea Whitewater Park

NZ Freestyle Kayak Championship 2015

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freestyle-antz-hawea

The 2015 NZ Freestyle Kayaking National Championships and NZ freestyle kayak team selections are going to be held on the 7th & 8th of March, 2015  at the Hawea Whitewater Park near Wanaka.

This an extremely important year for freestyle kayaking with the World Championships being held on the famous Garburator wave on the Ottawa River, Canada. Come join in the freestyle action on the Hawea River over the 7th & 8th of March, free event singlets and BBQ lunches for athletes. Thanks to our generous sponsors Rochfort Paddles, Rasdex, Cumec Magazine, Paradiso Cinema and Up The Creek Kayaks we have some fantastic giveaways be there to get yours!

Date: 7th – 8th March 2015

Registration: 7:45am – 9:15am 7th March 2015

Athlete Briefing: 9:15am – 9:30am 7th March 2015

Venue: Hawea Play Park

Feature: Bottom wave

Flow: 7th March 2015 – 120 m3/S Steady flow 8:00am – 6:00pm
8th March 2015 – 120 m3/S Steady flow 7:00am – 5:00pm

Scoring System: Formal International Canoe Federation
scoring system. For further information
please see http://www.canoeicf.com

Entry Fee: $50:00 Non NZFKA members.
$40:00 NZFKA members.
To be paid upon check in at the event.

Categories Age Group (years)
Cadets 14 and under
U16 16 and under
Junior 18 and under team selection event
Pro 19 and over team selection event
Veteran 35 and over

Further Information: Please contact Jason Searle freestylekayaknz@gmail.com or 021 245 7702

NZ Freestyle Championships 2014

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The Hawea River played host to the 2014 NZ Freestyle Kayak Nationals over the last weekend of March. The event coincided with the NZ Slalom Championships and saw almost a hundred kayakers descend on the Hawea Whitewater Park.

The Freestyle Events drew a smaller, but very committed field than the slalom and competitors fought it out in a two feature event. Each entrant received 3 rides on the bottom wave and 3 on the top hole. Entrants could drop there lowest scoring ride on each feature and the overall title was awarded to the best combined results over the weekend.

The Open Mens and Under 18 Mens were both hotly contested as Stephen Bartlett, Jason Searle and Robert Hervey all looked strong on day one, only for Robert Hervey to pull out of Sunday’s event with a shoulder entry. Jason and Stephen showcased the high level that freestyle is reaching in New Zealand with strong and consistent rides on both features. Jason took the win on the wave, while Stephen claimed the hole competition. With scores tied the final result fell to our tie-breaker rules where only the best ride on each feature counted. Using this information Stephen claimed the top honors of 2014 NZ Freestyle Champion. Jason wasn’t left empty handed as after a check of results after results were first released he in fact won the overall C1 National Title.

In the Junior Mens Max Rayner succesfully defended his title, but was pushed by fellow Alexandra paddler, and in the hole a strong performance and huge loops from Invercargill’s Justin MacGregor kept everyone’s attention.

The women’s field was small this year and defending NZ Champ Courtney Kerin played it safe on her rides due to recovering from a shoulder injury. Courtney still held her title comfortably. Young Lotte Rayner showed her new routine after recent training with Claire O’Hara and at only 12yrs old claimed the Under 18 Womens title.

Full Results are attached in PDF for Wave, Hole and Overall.

nzfreestylechamps_2014_results