FREESTYLE IN THE OLYMPICS....
If youknowme,youknowthatmypositiononfreestylekayakingbeingin theOlympics is a
consistent,“NO.”I caretoomuchaboutthesporttowantthattohappen.Now,if it werein theOlympics,it wouldbea goodthingfortheselectfewwhowouldgetto
compete.TheOlympicswasoneof myfavoritepersonalexperiencesin slalom,andit would
beawesometoknowthatmykidsmighthavea chancetohavethatexperience.However,slalomkayakingusedto takeplacepredominantlyonnaturalrivers.In myopinion,
it wasa muchbettersportin the80sand90swhenI wasdoingit- beforeit becamea sport
of artificialcourses.Nolongerarethemainpeopletrainingforslalomenjoyingthevarietyof
natural rivers. Many people live where the artificial courses are, where there are not any rivers.If freestylewerein theOlympics,theeventswouldbeheldin holesandonlyholes.Therearen’t
currentlyanywavefeaturesbeingdevelopedonartificialcoursesthatwouldmakea good
competitionlocation.Thewaysportsevolveis easyto see.TheOlympicsarethereasonthat
slalomgotsmaller.First,theywereheldonartificialcourses,startingwithBarcelona.(I am
notcountingMunichasit was 20 yearsearlier).FromthatOlympicson,almosteverycountry
started moving their training locations to artificial courses. As more courses were built, moreIn thiscolumn,EJshareshisopiniononfreestylekayaking
potentiallybecominganOlympic discipline.By Eric Jackson
THE EJ APPROACH TO
LIFE AND KAYAKING
peoplemovedtothem,andawayfromtheriverswherethesportwasborn.Next,byintroducingslalomto theOlympics,thecompetitivefieldwasgreatlylimited—one
personpercountry,perclass.If youlookatthetotalnumberofmen’skayakerswhohave
competedin theOlympics,forexample,fromanyonecountry,it is undertenformostorall.
Onedominatingpersonwould be the one to go, and then go again, and again, until the
nextpersontakesover.ThehypeandacclaimassociatedwiththeOlympicsmeanthisis a verydemotivatingreality
forthesportin general.Forcompetitorswhoarenumber two, number three, or number ten:
the fact is they won’t be going to theOlympics.RightnowweareseeingtheICFtakefreestyledown
a roadthatworrieskayakerswholikevariety,such
aswaves,naturalrivers,etc.Thecurrentstateof
freestyleis stillamazing,andthecompetitionsare
incredible.However,if theplanis tokeeppushing
towardstheOlympics,thena newfederationwill
beformedthatsupportscompetitionswherethe
bestfeaturesare,regardlessofthecountry,etc.It
is sucha shamethattheNileRiverneverhada
WorldChampionships.Why?Becauseit wastoo
farandtheinternetwasnot reliable enough for
live streaming, in part.Asanathlete,I wantto seevariety.I lovecompeting
onartificialcourses,bytheway.I justdon’twant
thatto betheentiresport.And,if freestylegetsinto
theOlympics,thatis wherethesportwill go, almost
exclusively,forallmajorevents.So,asI havebeensayingfor 20 years,saynoto the
Olympics.Butif youmusthaveit, enjoytheshow
onyourTVScreen,unlessyouarethetop person
in yourcountry.(InMen’sorWomen’s...noC1,no squirt, no OC1, of course).Butthenagain.... I would train for it. Hmm...:) EJ
“ASANATHLETE,
I WANTTOSEE
VARIETY.”
©Peter HolcombeTECHNIQUE