Freestyle

The freestyle competition was the biggest event at the Potomac Whitewater Festival in terms of attendance with a total of 63 competitors. All three classes, beginner, expert, and pro, showed their playboating skills at the Maryland Chute on Sunday. The format was 2 rides, 45 seconds each, with each ride counting toward the total score in a variety only scoring system. The event stretched from 10:30 AM until 4 PM with a few occasional breaks to take a dip in the river and cool off in the hot weather. Thankfully MD Chute was at a great surfing level and the event went smoothly, despite running two hours over the scheduled time.

In the beginner class Kate Beaver and Thilo Rusche walked away with wins. Kate pulled off two solid surfs with smooth spins while Thilo threw vertical blunts and cartwheels. We hope to see you two stepping up to the expert class next summer. Monique Hubshman took first in the expert women's class and was one of the few women to go for a front loop. In the expert men's class Joseph Potoczak pulled ahead of Jim Hubshman and Danny Stock who tied for second.

The pro classes kicked off around lunchtime with C-1 finals and Men's K-1 Prelims. Eric Jackson (EJ, Jackson Kayak) and Billy Harris (Fluid), currently ranked first and second in the World, finished the preliminary round at the top. Wavesport was well represented with Brian Kirk, Luke Hopkins, and Todd Baker placing 3-5 in the prelims. In the C-1 class Seth Chapelle (Fluid) and Joe Stumpfel (Wavesport) vied for the top two spots with scores that were competitive in the K-1 class.

The K-1 finals for women and men marked the end of the competition. In the women's class Kristen Podolak (Dagger) and Tanya Shuman (Wavesport) came in first and second. The men's final heat was scored differently, with the best ride of two determining the score. Todd Baker excelled with this format, which encourages competitors to go for bigger, riskier, moves. He consistently landed huge air loops to move from firth to second place. EJ held down his first place with an impressive one-ride score of 249 points. He was the only competitor to throw entry moves, and he proved that it is possible to throw a variety of big moves at MD chute. Brian and Luke stayed in third and fourth, and Mark Cecchini (Pyrahna) edged into the top five.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped time, judge, scribe, and run the event. Especially: announcer extraordinaire James Sneeringer; judges Dave Hoffman, Seth Chapelle, Joe Stumpfel, Rob Terry, and Mike Mathwin; scribes Sera Jansen, Michelle, Bernie Green, Sasha Podolak; timers Scott Anderson and Julie March; and mathematicians Helene Scalliet and Bob Podolak. Without your help the freestyle competition would not have been possible. Thanks also to Hudson Trail Outfitters for sponsoring the Beginner Freestyle and Bryon Dorr and Fluid Kayaks for sponsoring the Expert and Pro Freestyle.

Kristen Podolak

Final standings:

Beginner Freestyle (Women)

Beginner Freestyle (Men)

Expert Freestyle (Women)

Expert Freestyle (Men)

Pro Freestyle (C-1)

Pro Freestyle (Women)

Pro Freestyle Prelims (Men)

Pro Freestyle Finals (Men)