At this time we used to finish our competition session but this year was special. Few weeks ago we got an invitation form Jacko Jackson from UK. He invited us to their local event in Hurley. We saw many photos and videos form this place but actually we never been there before. I was a little bit worried about the weather. November can be quite cold so I was a bit scared. We haven't paddled waves this year yet so we couldn't wait to get there and check it out. I got really tired of paddling only in holes so that was a nice chance for me. We got there a few days before the competition started. Jacko picked us up at the airport and invited us to his place for dinner with our other friends as well. He and his wife prepared a tasty food. They served eight very hungry kayakers and they did an awesome job.
The next few days we spent by training in the wave. I enjoyed it so much! I almost forget how funny it is to paddle such a good wave and gave me new energy to paddle. There were two freestyle events and some other covering events like cross and stand up paddling. Saturday we took part in final event of the UK freestyle league. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay for the evening ceremony and dinner because Peter got sick and we went back in to hotel. In the evening we got text messages that we both won. Last time that Peter and me won at the same comp was a long time ago and we already started thinking there must be some kind of a curse that we never win together.
Next day Peter felt a bit better and we were ready for second competition of the weekend - the Hurley Classic. The concurrence was very strong as it wasn’t a local event anymore. I counted 10 nationalities! France, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Poland, Czech, Sweden, Slovakia and of course Great Britain. Athletes like Mathieu Dumoulin, Quim Fontane, James Bebbington or Alan Ward set up the high level of paddling. And it was a great show to watch. Peter and me reached the finals. I was a bit nervous because competing in two competitions in a row is quite a big pressure. Women finals took place first. I tried my best and waited for the results. As I mentioned before it was a stunning show to watch. It was really tough and nobody knew who is going to be the winner neither in men nor in woman category. When they announced the results and I heard my name on the first place I was very happy. But when I heard Peter’s name on the first place too I was even happier. And I don’t need to mention how happy I was when I realized that we won prize money :-) Finally we were able to be happy about a victory at the same time.
I enjoyed this weekend so much. I met so many friends I haven’t seen for while and we are happy to have those friends! Despite the fact that we are rivals in sport we are also friends. I have to thank all of my friends who helped us during this week especially Katya and James, Claire, Adam and really big thanks to Jacko who took care of us and made this event so special. It was a perfect end for our season. Next stop: Uganda :-)
