A short film from Hurley & HPP

Jon

Hurley Classic and the GB team

Monday morning and the weekend is over.
We were lucky to get Hurley on a good level both for Selection and the classic. On Saturday they held the 3rd selection event for the British team, with a low 2 gates and not many entries the event was over by 2 o'clock. Well done to all the paddlers and congratulations to all the boaters who made the team. Saturday saw some good rides, well done to Sam Anderson who steamed into first place after his 2 ride with some quick felixs and clean blunts, also to local boy Pikey who came a very respectable 2nd. The junior men saw some big air loops and with a low turn out from the women Claire O' Hara and Nicola Beeby had a chance to enjoy each others company with not to many distractions.

These are the final results for the GB team here

For the Hurley classic we were blessed with 3 gates which gave people a chance to really showcase thier paddling ability. About 10 paddlers in a heat and with half an hour to strut thire stuff, the highest scoring 4 moves were counted. Well done to Gerd Serrasolses for spain for takeing top spot and Gav Barker hot on my tail in 3rd place.
Check the results of the classic here

Well done to all the judges and organizers for both events and a big thanks to the rain gods for letting it happen.

Photos by Dave Wortly see more here GB selection  Hurley Classic

Hurley is back, but for how long?

So on Sunday Hurley was on a great 3 gates, a strange layout as it was on the 3 next to the wall which made the middle wave gate slightly more piley but still with some nice green shoulders. Popping back down today I expected the same sort of level, only to find the water had dropped substantially and Hurley was back down to 2 gates. No grumbles as we slid down the steps and made the best of a good level, with a big green right shoulder, pan am's, donkey flips and clean blunts we all making an appearance.
With the 3rd selection event looming on the horizon I did feel quite guilty just using the wave gate and not even having one ride in the hole, but with way water levels are looking I have heard it said that the weekends event may not run.
Updates on the event and wether it will run will be posted on tvfreestylers

Jon

Photos by Pringle

The results from the 2nd selection event

Here are the results from the 2nd selection event held in the tardis HPP. For the full listings click the link below. selections_results.doc K1 Men 1. James Bebbington 2. Jon Best 3. Joe Bradley 4. Alan Thwart 5. Stu Parry 6. Sam Anderson 7. Ben Brayfield 8. Ed Smith 9. Benjamin Aldred 10. Matt Nicholas K1 Women 1. Jen Chrimes 2. Claire O'Hara 3. Lowri Davies 4. Georgina Preston 5. Nicola Beeby K1 Junior Men 1. James Benns 2. James Weight 3. Brandon Hepburn 4. Brenden Orton 5. David Wild K1 Junior Women 1. Gabby Bates 2. Rachel Bovil 3. Tasha Isaacs C1 1. David Bainbridge 2. Stu Parry 3. Lee Pyke OC1 1. Paul King 2. Peter Orton 3. Lee Pyke Squirt Men 1. Josh Gosling 2. Chris Jones Squirt Women 1. Claire o'Hara 2. Sara James

Mini DV vs HDD

So my video camera finally blew up the other day, and with a trip back to Uganda on the horizon I thought id best go out and but a new one. This is where the problem starts, which one to get?

My old camera was Mini DV (little tapes) and with a budget of about $250 I couldnt afford an all singing all dancing HD camera, just standard quality for me.
I wasn't till I got to the shops that I realized that not many places sell mini dv cameras anymore. John Lewis seems to be one of the only shops in Nottingham who's sales assistances brains haven't been replaced by soggy marrows, so John Lewis it was. The tall bald man told me that Mini DV is becoming obsolete and that Hard Drive is now the way forward. I then told him that I had heard that editing with tape is genrally easier and less hastle especially when formating and importing film. He said the HDD cameras now are getting super advanced and editing is just as easy and you dont have to worry about buying tapes. The only problem with HDD cameas is the softwear it comes with is quite advanced too and so your computer needs to be up to the job.
I have a pretty old MAC and so he said I may have trouble importing footage from the camera to my laptop. John Lewis and most other electrical shops have stopped stocking mini dv camears now, so to jessops it was to get the only SONY mini dv camrea in Nottingham. I think in the long run HDD is the way forward and soon all cameras will be using Hard Drives, but for ease of use you cant beat using tape. It seems to me the standard quality on tape is just as good as on HDD and editing on tape is slightly less flawed, only time will tell.
If anyone else has come across a similar dilemma please feel free to comment.

Jon

2nd Selection event done!

So the rain gods were kind to us last week and the river levels stayed low.
The Tardis was in good condition and showcased some huge air by many of the paddlers. The results have not yet been posted but as soon as they are I will post them on here. At the AGM on Saturday night they discussed what will happen with the results if Hurley isn't high enough to use as the 3rd event.
Again as soon as they are published I will post them up.
Well done to all the paddlers at the weekend.

Current rankings after the 1st selection event.

Here are the rankings after the first selection event.
Check back after the weekend for the second update.
Good luck to all the paddlers.

K1 Men rankings
1. James Bebbington
2. Richard Chrimes
3. Alan Ward
4. Joe Bradley
5. Stu Parry
6. Ben Brayfield
7. Jon Best
8. Matt Nicholas
9. James Reeves
10. Chris Bucksey

K1 Women rankings
1. Jenny Chrimes
2. Lowri Davies
3. Claire O'Hara
4. Nicola Beeby
5. Poppy Layton

Junior Men
1. James Weight
2. Brendon Orton
3. Matt Rogers
4. Rhys Roberts
5. David Wild
6. Brandon Hepburn
7. James Benns
8. Jamie Mitchel
9. Ryan Liquorish
10. Aaron Layton

Junior Women
1. Gabby Bates
2. Rachel Bovill
3. Millie Leith
4. Kim Aldred
5. Tasha Isaacs

C1
1. Dave Bainbridge
2. Stu Parry
3. Lee Pyke
4. Jamie Burbeck
5. Adam Ramadan

OC1
1.Paul King
2. Lee Pyke
3. Jamie Burbeck
4. Chris Noble
5. Peter Orton

Squirt Men
1. James Reeves
2. Chris Jones
3. Josh Gosling
4. Jamie Austin
5. Aaron Layton

Squirt Women
1. Claire O'Hara
2. Lowri Davies
3. Millie Leith

Water condition for this weekend / 2

So the water is slowly dropping the tardis is back in though not as big as it usually is. A little more rain is due, but fingers crossed all will be good for the event.
Keep checking the right hand side of the site for daily updates.

Water situation for this weekend at HPP

So the rain on Sunday has raised the water levels considrably at HPP, not to mention the water quality is pretty bad too.
The Tardis is washed out and muncher is very small.
The 2nd selection event for the British team is planned to be held in the tardis on Saturday, at this rate it looks like the tardis could be washed out and they may have to look for an alternative feature. The forcast is not looking good for this week, let's hope the level drops before the weekend.
I'll keep this updated.

Jon